How do you know if you have a hernia?

How do I know if I got a hernia or not?

• I was deadlifting, and when I stood up I accidentally pushed out my stomach a little bit, and I felt a sharp pain in my stomach area, I immediately tightened up and stopped. The pain was like 2 or 3 inches to the left of my belly button. It feels normal like my abs in that area, but when I mimic the dead lift motion and stand up I kind of feel a little bit of pain there. I suspect I just lightly strained my abdominal, but How would i know if it was a hernia. I lift heavy weights a lot and I don't want to get hurt or worsen it.

• Answer:

  Hernias are common in weight lifters but since you are probably doing an organized training I don't think what you are describing is a hernia. What you are having is a sprained or at maximum an injured abdominal muscle. Probably you need you to change your exercise technique to rest the painful muscle for a few days.