Lower Ab Pain

I once managed a small tear in lower abs (or that was what was diagnosed eventually) that left me mostly unable to do sit ups for about a year. Most painful were sit ups and getting up off the ground on my right leg without using my hands -- holding my baby daughter and trying to stand up the wrong way was excrutiating. Hard running, esp. hills or stairs, aggrevated tho not acutely. Didn't interrupt training for the most part.

Nothing but time could heal this for me. And avoiding the really excruciating things that seemed to set me back. I can't afford ultrasound or electric stimulation, that might help.

Its kind of weird, because its only in the lower region.... I'm wondering if I somehow just need to stretch out that area. I don't recall ever having this problem before.

I had a similar thing happen about 3 months ago and it is just now getting better. I was doing push-ups and felt a "pop" in my lower abdomen. There was no immediate pain, but the next day I really felt it. At first I thought that I had given myself a hernia, but now I believe it was just a torn or strained ab muscle. It was intolerable to do sit ups for at least two months, and I would really have trouble sitting up and getting out of bed in the mornings after I raced or worked out hard. However, I was able to train through the injury, just avoided sit ups for a while, stretched it a lot (the "one foot forward one foot back, lean forward on front foot" stretch worked best) and took it a little easier after workouts and races. If it doesn't subside by taking it easy, then I would get checked for a possible hernia. Best wishes.

Me too! I've been struggling with an abdomen strain (doc says it's not a hernia) and it really hurts when I try to get out of bed... I have to roll onto my right side and then sit up. I've recently been taking Voltaren, a precription anti-inflammatory which has alleviated the pain, but I don't know if the injury is actually healed. I guess I'll try stretching the area, but I always thought you weren't supposed to stretch an injured area? Any thoughts?

DougC

I had this happen after a period of too much racing shorter, harder stuff, like going to a track meet and doing a 1500, 800, 5000 triple when I had not been doing speedwork, doing longish, runs, and doing too many sit ups when I had not been doing alot previously. It was diagnosed as a torn muscle down there, although your symptoms sound a bit different than mine - I couldn't run at all and had to lay off for a few months. Apparenly this injury happens to basketball players frequently. So go to a doctor (preferably one that deals with runners)and get this checked out in order to prevent doing greater damage and having to lay off running for a while.

Is the pain restricted to the lower ab area, or does it spread to the groin? If so, and if the pain is sharp or "knifing," have a doctor check you for osteitis pubis (inflammation of the bones and connective tissue at the pubic symphysis). This nasty little condition (I think Mark Plaatjes struggled with it back in '96) can only be controlled with complete rest (3-4 months) and NSAIDS. If the pain is limited to the abs, ice it 2-3x day (direct skin contact with the ice). I tore an ab muscle a few years ago and after suffering for two months, the pain was almost completely gone after a week of icing.

Doug C. I don't know if the stretching is professionally advisable for this condition or not, that's just what I did, and it did tend to loosen up the area so I could continue training. Some days it would hurt pretty badly for about 10-15 minutes into the run and then subside, other days it would subside sooner. I put one of those reusable ice packs in the freezer each night and applied it after almost every run, which also seemed to help. I can say this was one annoying as hell injury, and doesn't go away quickly. The worst was when I had to sneeze or cough, very painful. I found that by bending my abdomen forward (like doing a crunch situp) the pain from a sneeze or cough can be reduced. Good Luck..

I feel a little soreness in the groin area, but not sharp ro knifing. Its just a tender feeling in the lower abs, right down into the pubic area (I love saying "pubic area")... especially sore when I sneeze or try to sit straight up from lying on my back. From what I've read, osteitis is a bit more severe, no? I'm hoping its just some strained musccles from pushing too hard on the track.

I have a pain in the lower right abs deep down too. I think I injured it playing some recreational soccer by kicking the ball too hard without proper warmup.

I can feel the pain when I kick the ball. Also at random times: Doing pullups, situps, getting out of bed, and sneezing or coughing. Sprinting hard, toeing off seems to bring on the uncomfortable feeling.

All in all, it is more of a pain than anything else. It's just there, but doesn't really affect my training too much, though I have not been able to do situps, and have stopped the soccer.

Osteitis pubis is usually a sharper, knifing pain, but early symptoms include inability to do sit ups and pain during activity using the lower abdominal muscles (getting out of bed, leg raises, etc.). It is also usually not constant; one of my friends had it a few years ago and she said that she'd be walking or jogging pain free and all of a sudden - wham. Stopped her in her tracks. Then she'd be fine again. She also ended up having hamstring problems because the inflammation causes some kind of "self defense" reaction in the body where it tries to minimize the pain and thus restricts use of the hamstring. This can lead to muscle imbalances and severe hamstring strain.

I struggled with a very similar problem for most of the last year. Mine got so bad that it would shut down my breathing after I had exerted(spelling?) myself for about 10 mn. It sounds like mine was a little higher but mine also went down into my groin eventually. Massage with an ice cup and Celebrex helped but I eventually found that some light swimming, just 400 or 500m of freestyle, stretched it out or something and I have had virtually no hint of the pain in the last 2 months. Hard to say if it is the same thing but it might be worth a try.

There are so many different clues here, this thread is an example of what can be done on these boards when people get together and spread nothing but there actual experiences, as opposed to flaming other members of the board.

The universal problem is that bandaids are being used over and over again instead of extinguishing the culprit. Some muscle testing and theory could be used to show you the problem you are having with your lower abdomen. Over the course of your life your central power distribution station has been slowly moving away from that sacred spot of your body that affords perfect geometric efficiency, a bit below and behind your navel, to where it resides now, which is most likely very near to if not in the exact location of your current abdominal injury.

Try performing a muscle test to see if the horns of the downtown Eugene trains have kept me up in these wee hours for nobody's benefit...

A. Lie down on the floor in the anatomical position; arms to the side, and stomach/abs, palms of hands, forehead, and tops of pointed feet are in contact with the ground.

B. Begin to flutter kick, as you should expect a swimmer would.

C. Raise your head up so that if a mirror were before you, you would find yourself staring back in/through your own eyes. (Keep flutter kicking)

D. Perform a motion nearly identical to a swimmer's stroke by extending one arm out ahead of you then sweeping it back under your chest; obviously, repeat with the other arm as well.

D.(b) You could also choose to mimic the action of a runners arms, and find the only thing possible is quite similar to the stride Micheal Johnson has made popular.

I'll assume you are a bit wobbly and may find that you roll towards that injury, the power source. This should come as no surprise as energy grounds itself through the quickest line available.

The person who commented that sneezing was especially excruciating seems to have tied this together. It is quite rare to find someone who can induce sneezing at their will. In the world of sport, one could reason through observing elite athletes inconsistent performances that it is also rare for someone to induce, through will, a state of pure flow where the athlete finds/loses? themselves in a zone. This is important to note as sneezing is an action so unconscious yet perfect that we can safely conclude it to be a brief moment of aforementioned pure flow. During that brief moment you are not choosing where your power comes from, your body intuitively knows where the most energy can be generated from and sends out an incredible burst of energy that has such an effect as to create an internal hurricane when measuring air speeds exiting the nostrils.

The post about swimming backs this up as well, as that person seems to get better once in the pool and feeling properly "stretched out". If you don't swim from where your core was designed to be, you will find it difficult to hold a straight line, the legs may fall a bit causing increased drag, breathing out one side of the mouth may be found to be much easier or feel more natural than breathing out the other, etc. It sounds like swimming would be the best way to rewire your grid and "extinguish the culprit".

...why a runner, performing but one of their inherent capabilities, should be viewed as superior to the well trained triathlete is beyond me.

I read about your injury and found it the same as mine.When i run every stride hurts as if a stitch would,i was wondering if i continue to run through the pain would it get any worse or can i keep it up like some others seem to do?

I have been going through what seems to be a very similar problem, I have seen Chiropractors, Orthopedic Surgeons, Massage Therapists, etc. What I gather was the problem was a strained illio soez (sp) muscle. It was caused by a muscle imbalance. The last few weeks I have been going to PT to try to correct the imbalance. It has gotten remarkably better. If this is your problem, scale back your training, until it gets fixed. Continuing to train on it caused a bad glute strain for me.

For me, it also began as a 'pop' while stretching that didn't really hurt until the next day. It was in the lower abs at first, but I think it is the psoas muscle because the pain radiates into my hip & butt after interval workouts.

Lots of stretching and strenghtening have not made it go away, over nine months. Haven't tried rest or anti-inflammatory drugs.

For me, this is a really persistent, nagging injury, like achilles tendonitis. Can train with it, but it is hard to ignore on some days.

When my psoas muscle flares up it is usually during striders or when I sprint. It begins as sharp pain in my lower abs and then radiates to my back and butt. Hurts like hell so sprint workouts have been a nuisance

i found this old thread searching for some info on strained posas muscles.

i understand that the psoas needs to be strengthened and stretched. however, should this be done while there is still pain in the area?

are there other muscles that need to be strengthened at this time to take the pressue off of the psoas?

If what you've got doesn't go away - read this...

waves2ya wrote:

If what you've got doesn't go away - read this...

I just got my Athletic Pubalgia (also refered to, wrongly, as a "sports hernia") fixed this summer. A bunch of the above posters sound an aweful like what I had. I hope you don't have it but if you do there's a doc named William Meyers in Philly who is your man. And you will ask a million docs about this and they will have never heard of it. Start reeading up.