Right side pain, under the ribs

[vnenov]

I’m a 35 y/o male, 178cm and 155 lbs. I’ve been experiencing right sided pain for about 6 months now. The pain is just under my right ribs. The pain radiates to my back as well. I’ve practiced weight lifting, swimming and karate for years. I'm completely unsure what caused it. It started as very minor pain, more like pressure. I’m fairly athletic and exercise 3-4 days per week, or used to… I haven’t been able to since I’ve had this side pain. The odd thing about the pain is that over few weeks it has gotten a lot worse, rather than getting better and since then stayed almost at the same pain level. This pain has stayed with me every single day for the last 6 months. It gets worse when I sit down. It’s not a sharp stabbing pain, it’s more of a severe ache. It feels like a warm/burning/almost tingly sensation on my right side. The pain goes over to the right side of my back, above my hip bone just below my ribs. It’s like my whole right torso is affected! I have a hard time sitting at my desk for work. Also, driving long distances is very uncomfortable and painful now. It feels like someone is poking me right below my right ribcage and I feel a lot of pressure and a pulling sensation on the right side of my back at times. My right oblique muscles are felt very tight on examination. When sneezing I feel a strong tingling in my right side. Sleeping on my right side doesn’t bother it at all, and when I wake up in the morning, the pain is pretty much gone! But of course within the first 10-15 minutes I start walking around a little bit and sitting down to eat my breakfast, it starts. It progresses throughout the day. (I have a desk job, and of course sitting makes it worse….) I can no longer exercise, all I can do is walk, and even that aggravates it sometimes. Food doesn’t seem to make any difference. What I eat doesn’t bother it. Nobody can figure out what I have. I’ve had many different types of blood tests, I’ve had a CT scan of my right side abdomen, a colonoscopy, an ultrasound of my right side and everything has shown up normal. I’ve been checked for kidney stones, gall stones, kidney problems, liver problems, gallbladder problems, but so far, everything is normal! I did go to physical therapy for a couple of weeks, but it did not help, it only caused me more pain. Same thing with a chiropractor. I have also tried acupuncture and injury massage therapy with no luck. I have booked an appointment for a neurologist, but the earliest one was for April, so I am just waiting and wondering what I should do meanwhile? Do you think I may have Thoracic Radiculopathy or something else related to nerve entrapment? What other diagnostic tests should I have? What medications should I take for the pain/treatment?

Thanks,

Vlad

[Katcc87]

Have you been checked for sciatica? Does the pain radiate to your leg? What about a spinal mri/ct to check for thoracic or lumbar disc problems?

[GI820]

No leg pain for me, just abdomen and back pain

[vedtam]

By the way, I have lumbar herniated disks, can these be a cause of my abdominal pain/tension?

[vedtam]

Hi again,

This may sound somewhat strange, but I think I have found a hack/temporary relief for my pain! As others noted above, when I'm massaging the area bellow my ribs, on the right side, I can feel a tight, oval organ, actually I think its more like a muscle. While massaging it, I gently push it towards my back, than it suddenly "sinks" and my pain is gone! After this sitting/slouching in my chair gets pain free and I can move around without any symptoms! I think this is crazy, honestly I'm a bit more worried than before discovering this. I am scheduling a meeting with my gastroenterologist, but I think he gonna think I'm making this up.

[GI820]

Hi vedran, I have the same feeling as you are describing.  Did you get any additional information as to what this is?  

[GI820]

Did anyone figure this out?  I have the same thing.

[vedtam]

Hi GI820, unfortunately I haven't found any more clues so far, but hope me or other members gonna figure it out.

[GI820]

I was told that lump, which for me is sort of sausage shaped is my intestines.  We have like 23 feet of intestines in the area of a hot water bottle and if you are thin in the abdomen area you can feel them.  So not to worry about that.

[vedtam]

Right, this makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

[vedtam]

Hi vnenov and everyone else! I have the exact same symptoms and did most of the test that you all, but so far I have no answer, I was told that my tests are ok, but I still experience the pain bellow my right ribcage when sitting or driving...

I am wondering how is vnenov doing? Did other members managed to find an answer or a way to handle the pain?

Thanks,
Have a nice day all!

[Markusj]

VNENOV - great description of this pain that apparently we are all suffering from. I am visiting my Gastroenterologist and I will ask him to consider the following things:

Costochondritis
Liver problems
Liver cyst
Fatty Liver Disease?
Fecal impaction?
Ventral hernia?
Slipping rib syndrome
chronic insertionitis, or inflamation at the insertion of the internal oblique muscles into the lower ribs
Intercostal nerve entrapment
Celiac?

I will report back if there are any answers. This has been going on for 3-4 years. I'm done.

[Markusj]

VNENOV - great description of this pain that apparently we are all suffering from. I am visiting my Gastroenterologist and I will ask him to consider the following things:

Costochondritis
Liver problems
Liver cyst
Fatty Liver Disease?
Fecal impaction?
Ventral hernia?
Slipping rib syndrome
chronic insertionitis, or inflamation at the insertion of the internal oblique muscles into the lower ribs
Intercostal nerve entrapment
Celiac?

I will report back if there are any answers. This has been going on for 3-4 years. I'm done.

[Nicknamewastaken]

Well I'm gonna find the answer! This is driving me crazy so many people have this and no answer grrr. Years of this pain and now its gotten worse. I have a very severe case of celiac disease <~~( it's not that) I would get pain 5-10 minutes after eating gluten. And that pain was on left side under breast.  just had CT scan find out results today will post update. I am ready for there to be no finding or answers with this Ct scan and it's gonna **** me off but. Gotta play the whole hide and seek game. I need pain relief something has to give and I think it's gonna be my mental status. So today when I get results I'm gonna ask doc to do blood work on some crap that I found last night. Something is better than nothing, right?! Anyways I found it on the internet... so it has to be true!!! Lol
Erin
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/02/think-like-a-doctor-doubled-over-in-pain-solved/  
P.s does anyone still update the comments they leave with some answers? maybe what they do to get relief, other then hitting head against the wall.  

[dlbttnr5]

Go to a physical therapist

[majdi1975]

I found it.

Before 4 years I made a comment here as below:
------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm 37yrs, 170cm and 83kg. I have exactly the same pain describe here for almost a year, but it radiates between left to right and build up with sitting or while driving.
I did bodybuilding in the past, before this problem I maintained a sport habit with a high protein input. I do office work for the last 5 years and suffered some pressures in life last 2 years..  

I did CT for the liver, lungs. Ultrasound for the abdomen, Endoscopy for the stomach, heart diagnosis .. . I was diagnosed with colon ulcer, after taking the treatment the symptoms still exist. The symptoms terribly intensity when getting emotionally angry and it feels like a belt tight around my lower ribs. There are more stomach gases since this problem started.

Recently I received injections for gallbladder inflammation/stones, but nothing changed.

I discovered that drinking more water and taking 1-2 Aspiring tablets per day reduce the tension by 60-90%.

Much thanks for vnenov for sharing this information, hope vnenov  
can come back to tell us the what happened next.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Today: It has been six years since this whole thing started. I had to take Omeperazole daily otherwise the acidity in my stomach is very intense that I could faint of pain. Until last month the pain continued and it got even wrose, before 3 years I had a chronic sore throat that couldn't be alleviated and before few months I developed serious numbness in the head, started form the right part of the scalp growing to cover the full scalp. I doubted it was tumor but diagnosis showed nothing. I also developed chronic nausea, pain in joints, pain in body muscles, inability to focus, and I could hardly perform at work.

Life was becoming quite miserable until last month I saw someone commenting about a disease called "Celiac", allergy to wheat products. As my last hope I started a gluten-free diet and suddenly and continued taking the Omperazole but started to feel no traces of acidity at all, I stopped the omeprazole and I got no acidity back. other symptoms started to reduce, got the body energy back, gases disappeared, no pain in joints anymore, numbness is going off, the pain under the chest is far less intense and a lot of fat around my hip got suddenly disappeared. It has been almost 6 weeks since I started the gluten-free diet and I feel like being born again.

Hope this can give answer to some of you and mind you that the gluten-free diet is a bit hard to achieve at the beginning, because most food on shelves or restaurants contain very tiny traces of gluten which could trigger a reaction in your body, however once your diet is stabilized you'll feel quite relaxed and hopefully an end to this traumatic problem.

[Fitnesspm]

You need to rest your obliques for at least a week. Sitting down is the cause of so many back/trunk issues. Office work causes so many back issues so you might want to avoid office work and just lay down for a week. STRAP your obliques with Kino. Tape which will help turn off the muscle so it can heal. You want to avoid having your trunk vertical for about a week so you can heal.  Avoid twisting at all cost and to speed up the recovery eat only organic food. You body won't heal if you eat toxic junk food.  

[Fitnesspm]

Comfery crean will help!

[Fitnesspm]

Also wear a sling (same position as if you broke your arm) will stop the muscle being used so it can rest! I use a sling when it's bad and when it gets better, I strap it.

[bkecskemeti]

It is hard not to get angry when reading such uninformed answers. Do you think people who have these symptoms haven't tried complete rest for weeks, just to get the same pain immediately after the gentlest resuming of activity? No amount of taping an organic food is going to fix it either.

[TLL22844]

It sounds like an intercostal nerve entrapment. I have injections in mine at a pain Clinic. Mine is from my gallbladder surgery. You may want to try and get in to see a doctor at a pain Clinic. I pray you get some relief soon.

[DaveRW]

simply amazing, because most of the comments could have be written by me. I'm 51yr male. Almost three years with pain under ribs on right side. I've tried acupunture, naturopathic, chiropractic, colonoscopy, several blood tests, special diets etc etc. Nothing seems to make any difference.
It's much worse when driving and for three years I've been driving with right hand inside trouser belt on ride side as that seems to reduce pain.
I'm just starting with some essential oils, but too soon to say.
Interestingly I too have been training in Karate for many years, but fortunately I'm still able to teach and train as pain is mostly when sitting and especially driving.
I've just started using essential oils, but too early to say.
I'm joining this community forum and will check in and provide updates if I found anything that helps.

[psusteven]

Crazy how we all have something similar.  I am a pediatrician, so this has been especially frustrating since I haven't figured it out.  Started a little over a year ago with pain in the right upper scrotal area and then it also hit the right lower abdominal area and then the right upper abdominal area radiating to under the right scapula.  At one point I had weakness with hip flexion but that has resolved.  I can sleep on my right side or back.  If I sleep on my left it often feels if something is "falling down" from my right side.   I have had scrotal ultrasounds, inguinal ultrasounds, CT abd/pelvis with contrast, MRI pelvis, MRI of thoracic and lumbar spine. PSA test, ANA, ESR, CRP, CBC, CMP.  Only real abnormality was some bulging discs in L2-3,  L3-L4, and L4-L5 but these do not correlate with the symptoms.  I have seen 2 general surgeons--both feel I do not have an inguinal hernia. Also saw a neurologist and a urologist. I then saw Dr.Meyers (sports hernia specialist) in Philadelphia.  I had a different MRI of the pelvis at his facility which uses a special protocol to isolate the muscles.  Had some degeneration in the muscles around the groin but no detachment.  Also had some labral tears of the hips (I do have pain in my hips but it is not the same pain in the groin or right upper abdomen/back).  I had steroid injections that day to the right hip and right groin (specifically in the distal rectus and some of the adductor muscles).  The groin pain is much better (although he assures me it will be back and need surgery).  The hip pain isn't that much better.  The right upper abdominal pain with radiation is no better either.  Since then I have found some trigger points on my abdomen which are rather sore often when I am having the pain.  These are located in the area where the rectus meets the obliques on the right side which is under the level of the umbilicus (belly button).  I am now thinking in that area possible nerve entrapment or Spigellian hernia.  Getting an ultrasound of the abdomen in a couple days to look for gallstones and have my kidneys checked again.  I also have found I have a slipping rib on the right side (I can pop one of the ribs in and out a bit) but this does not reproduce the pain.  In fact, when I bring it out a bit it actually decreases the pain.  Perhaps that means there is a mass underneath it is pressing on. I suppose the ultrasound will help determine that.  Perhaps it is pressing on the intercostal nerve of the rib above it. At this point my best guess is it is muscle related to the sports hernia---perhaps getting microtears up the division where the rectus meets the obliques causing an uneven pull on the ribs on that side.  I have a follow up appointment with Dr. Meyers in May and will show him my new findings to get his point of view.

I am confident if I do enough internet searches and explore my own body a bit more I will figure this out.  Just hoping it doesn't lead me to something incredibly serious.

It's hard to remember what it was like to not feel the pain and to have all the extra time in my life that I now unfortunately use to look for an answer on the internet.

[martsworldblue]

Hi all i am a 43y old female and I have had the same pain and symptoms that you all describe and have been suffering and getting worse over the past 6 years.
I have had intercostal nerve blocks several times and now i have permanent numbness in my hand, hip and its now so painful to walk i have given up with the treatment - i didn't realize the risks involved with this treatment.
I have now been diagnosed with slipping rib syndrome after fighting with UK doctors to perform the hooking test maneuver.and now i have hit a wall as it seems no Doctor in the UK wants to operate and remove the rib and cartilages.
Has anyone found a Doctor/Specialist in Europe that would help in my fight to be pain free
They want me to go onto morphine and then i will in a world of my own.
Can anyone help
Michelle

[datmeowcat]

This is exactly what I am experiencing right now. It has been about six months and the pain is in my lower right two ribs, like right underneath it. It came on and off and has been more severe this past month than ever. Mine only hurt when I walked around or if I jumped or anything like that and has now gotten to the point if i lay down or sit it hurts but then rests until i stand up again. I have gotten blood work and an ultrasound for my gallbladder and it came back negative and I have no idea what to do. I have now been referred to a gastroenterologist and my appt is tm... but I am so nervous they won't know. This was perfectly described. Has anyone found any answer?

[Nekochan17]

Vlad, my husband has had the same pain and experience for the last seven years or so. He too, is a black belt in Karate. Has anyone mentioned whether or not Karate or exercising past "normal" physical limits has caused this? My husband is from Central Asia and his exercise regime is intense when he does Karate. Is the diagnosis still chronic insertionitis? Thanks.

[majdi1975]

I'm 37yrs, 170cm and 83kg. I have exactly the same pain describe here for almost a year, but it radiates between left to right and build up with sitting or while driving.
I did bodybuilding in the past, before this problem I maintained a sport habit with a high protein input. I do office work for the last 5 years and suffered some pressures in life last 2 years..  

I did CT for the liver, lungs. Ultrasound for the abdomen, Endoscopy for the stomach, heart diagnosis .. . I was diagnosed with colon ulcer, after taking the treatment the symptoms still exist. The symptoms terribly intensity when getting emotionally angry and it feels like a belt tight around my lower ribs. There are more stomach gases since this problem started.

Recently I received injections for gallbladder inflammation/stones, but nothing changed.

I discovered that drinking more water and taking 1-2 Aspiring tablets per day reduce the tension by 60-90%.

Much thanks for vnenov for sharing this information, hope vnenov  
can come back to tell us the what happened next.

[majdi1975]

I'm 37yrs, 170cm and 83kg. I have exactly the same pain describe here for almost a year, but it radiates between left to right and build up with sitting or while driving.
I did bodybuilding in the past, before this problem I maintained a sport habit with a high protein input. I do office work for the last 5 years and suffered some pressures in life last 2 years..  

I did CT for the liver, lungs. Ultrasound for the abdomen, Endoscopy for the stomach, heart diagnosis .. . I was diagnosed with colon ulcer, after taking the treatment the symptoms still exist. The symptoms terribly intensity when getting emotionally angry and it feels like a belt tight around my lower ribs. There are more stomach gases since this problem started.

Recently I received injections for gallbladder inflammation/stones, but nothing changed.

I discovered that drinking more water and taking 1-2 Aspiring tables per day reduces the tension by 60-90%.

Much thanks for vnenov for sharing this information, hope vnenov  
can come back to tell us the what happened next.

[mfeist]

wow. I can't believe I am reading this. I too feel your exact pain.Thanks to you I have somewhere new to start in self diagnosing myself. I just left my doctors office (for the 4th time) in FUMES!! after he asked me, "I'm not exactly sure what it is you want me to do for you I've run out of ideas." I am waiting for my MRI now but am really frustrated. Thank you for sharing all of your findings. I very much appreciated it.

Michel

[vnenov]

Hello,

I have just returned to Canada from a vacation in the country I was born (in Eastern Europe). I have spend two days in one of the best hospitals there, meeting 6-7 specialists and undergoing many additional test, trying to confirm the diagnosis of costochondritis or finding something else. I will not go into details, but very few people have been tested so extensively. The only test I have opted out was the diagnostic laparoscopy. I have spend a small fortune, but in Canada this would cost me a downpayment for a condo and take about a year.

The end result was: chronic insertionitis, or inflamation at the insertion of the internal
oblique muscles into the lower ribs. Prescribed therapy: anti-inflamatory  physiotherapy - ultrasound, magneto therapy; cortico-steroid shots, anti-inflammatory medications, etc.

Again, my symptoms are burning pain and feeling for pressure, just below the right ribs, which starts building when sitting for a long time (at least 1 hour). I have started
special exercises complex and Tai Chi each morning with 1 min cold water shower afterwards. This builds my energy level and gives me some temporary releif. There is no pain when sleeping.

I am about to start the physiotherapy, but first wanted to check if somebody else out there has this condition or knows how to treat this chronic insertionitis of the abdominal muscles.

Thanks,

Vlad

[vnenov]

Hello,

My current diagnosis is costochondritis with reffered pain in the upper right abdomen and low back. I have some slight pain in the lower ribs 11/12. It does not make much sense to me, since costochondritis is self-limiting and should disappear in 2-3 months.
There are other conditions though, which could make it chronic like seronegative spondylopathies. My pain is traveling thru the T10/T11 nerves, like a band.
The pain is burning with tingling and muscle twitching when worse after prolonged sitting. My family doctor is doing the following blood tests to check for any of the seronegative spondylopathies:

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
Immunoglobulins (Ig)
C-reactive protein (CRP)
rheumatoid factor (RF)
antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
human leukocyte antigen HLA-B27
Sacroiliac Joint X-Ray: Looking for abnormalities of the SI

Something else to consider is a MRI of the brain for MS, but with the Canadian health care system this is not going to happen soon. Good thing is, next month I will be in vacation in Europe, where I can pay and have the test on the day and bring the CD back.

I will keep you posted,

Vlad

[vnenov]

Update: My costochondritis diagnosis was made by the doctors at the Sunnybrook Pain Management Clinic, after reviewing all diagnostic tests I have collected for the last 10 months - MRI (thoracic, abdomen), contrast CT scan (pelvis, abdomen), abdominal ultrasound, blood and urine, colonoscopy report. Every test came back negative and I was getting really frustrated. The doctors at the clinic performed the hooking maneuver, which caused a lot of pain on the right side, but almost none on the left side. My pain is just below the ribs, on the right side and it refers to the back. The pain is position based, more aggregated when sitting, almost pain free when in bed. There is a condition similar to costochondritis called slipping rib syndrome, which may be what I have. Currently, I am going for myofacial release massage and I would like to include the prolotherapy in my treatments. Some people have reported very good results in decreasing the pain. After 10 months of drug trials (meloxicam, neurontin, cipro), which did not help at all, 2 months of acupuncture and physio I am not very optimistic, that this will be fixed at all. And I used to be a competitive swimmer, also have a black belt in karate and used to run in marathons. Very sad!

Vlad

[vnenov]

Here are some new developments today. I have received the results from the scrotum ultrasound and they found "prominence and echogenicity involving the right epididymal head which measures about 7 mm. These findings are consistent with regional or focal epididymitis". My STD urine samples came back negative as expected. Could this be a scrotal hernia caused by my heavy lifting?
My family doctor has prescribed Cipro 500 mg bid for 10 days. He does not think the pain is related to the right side lower abdominal pain and tingling, but I think he is wrong. I had this sensation of swelling in the groin area and pain, approx. since my abdominal pain has started. But I do not think at this point there is a bacterial reason. If this is epididymitis, it is probably chronic. Interesting enough, on the CT scan I had 4 months ago, they mentioned enhanced 9 mm Meckel diverticulum and suggested possible Meckel diverticulitis, but the surgeon neglected it. Was there some infection going on related to the whole picture?!? I will ask for urological referral, but meanwhile how do you think I should proceed?

Thanks,

Vlad

[sweets444]

Hi--I can't believe I am reading this! I have had the exact same tests, except for the MRI!  I have had the same pain as you for the last 8 months. Finally, I am going to see a surgeon on April 17th.  They are thinking it is a ventral hernia.  I hope I finally have an answer! Keep us updated on your situation.
AV

[vnenov]

I have got the MRI results from Buffalo and everything is normal, thanks God! As my family doctor put it, now we know what it is not, but we still do not know why I have the pain. He probably thinks I am crazy :) I am going to see a very good orthopedic surgeon in Toronto, who has a lot of experience with sport injuries. I believe it is an abdominal muscle tear - sports hernia (athletic pubalgia). Here is a big source of information about this condition, which ultimately requires a surgery to be fixed:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=559820
BTW, I have stopped the neurontin, because it was making me tired and sleepy without any effect on the pain. Vlad