How do you know if you pulled a muscle in your abdomen or is it something else?!
Question:
How do you know if you pulled a muscle in your abdomen or is it something else?
Yesterday I went flyfishing for the first time and fell into a hole o the river. I didn't hurt at the time, but today I have a moderate to severe pain in my lower abdomen on the left side. It doesn't hurt to sit quietly or to stand, but any twisting movements or stretching is quite painful.
Can I just rest it or should I call the doc?
Answers:
Your mechanism of injury indicates that it is probably an injury muscular in origin. If you recieved a direct blow to the area and the pain is progressively getting worse at rest it may be one of your abdominal organs. If you have pulled a muscle in your abdomen, movement such as forward flexion, rotation or lateral flexion will be painful. If a muscle is involved usually resisted movments are worse. Rest or passive movements may indicate that something else is causing the pain (eg: Joint, bone, internal injuries etc...). If the pain is not getting worse and the injury is less than 72 hours old, I would suggest you use the RICE protacol (eg# rest, ice, compression). Ice the area for 15 minutes every 2 hours. If the pain gets worse at rest go to the doctor just to get checked out. However if you think the injury is musculoskeletal in nature you would be better off going and getting a consultation with a Physiotherapist.