What to Know When Abdominal Pain Goes Low

Abdominal pain is a broad term to describe your entire midsection. Your abdomen includes several organs, and sometimes narrowing down the location of the pain can provide clues to the cause.

Your lower abdomen includes anything around or below your belly button. Abdominal problems that may occur in this area include:

• Inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulitis: These conditions occur when small pouches along the length of the digestive tract become inflamed or infected, causing lower left abdominal pain.
• Appendicitis: Appendicitis occurs when the appendix becomes inflamed or infected, and symptoms include lower right abdominal pain.
• Ectopic pregnancy: An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg goes off course on its journey to the uterus and implants itself elsewhere in the abdomen, usually in the fallopian tubes. This pregnancy usually cannot survive and often causes lower right abdominal pain.
• Hernia: An inguinal hernia occurs when soft tissue (usually the intestine) sticks out through a tear in the lower abdominal wall. This can cause lower right abdominal pain.

Narrowing down the location of your abdominal pain will help to pinpoint the possible cause. Get the professional help you need. Use our free clinician finder tool to locate a qualified clinician near you.