Upper abdominal pain w/ exercise

I am a 21 year old female. I exercise on a very regular basis. At least once a day. I have a very strong core and I do core work every other day. My ab work outs are challenging but I have never experienced any problems. Yesterday, I was working out my abs and started doing side crunches which I have done a million times before. I had to stop after only a couple reps per side due to a sharp cramping pain in my upper side abdominal wall on both sides. It was really weird. I had no problem with normal crunches. It was very painful and odd and I have no clue what it is. Any ideas???

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

Sometimes it is possible to pull a muscle while exercising and weight bearing.

I would suggest you to rest for couple of days, to take NSAIDs and also to apply ice packs. I would suggest you to start your work out after few days with proper breakfast and always re hydrate yourself while working out.

Take care!