Do I have an abdominal hernia?

What are the symptoms of abdominal hernia ?

• i twisted my torso awkwardly and its been stiff/tender for past 1 wk, there was some dull pain but its gone, i have some mild swelling on the side, but its just a little raised, from what ive heard hernia's look more like golf balls, also i dont have any other related symptoms like fever, vomiting, constipation. i saw my physician and he thinks its just a strained muscle, and told me to ice it, but its been a week since i injured it and the swelling is still there, could it be that its a mild hernia and is not fully formed ? in other words should i get a second opinion ?

• Answer:

  Well, a hernia is not 'fully-formed' or not, it just is. You certainly dont get a hernia from twisting yourself some weird way. First of all, all babies are born with a natural abdominal hernia, just in some cases the hernia or part of it doesnt completely close. This allows part of the intestine (or occasionally another organ) to poke through the abdominal wall and be pinched. I had a hiatal hernia (like the one I just described) and it was painful, causing me constant nausea until I had it fixed. Prego women develop hernias in late prego, b/c of the uterus size. Men are also prone to groin hernias when doing heavy lifting, but that is something else entirely. A pulled muscle can take weeks to heal, dont expect anything for a while yet. It absolutely does NOT sound like you have a hernia.