Studies show that around 4 percent of lower abdominal pain are related to different types of daily exercises. It could be side planks, boat pose, burpees and even lunging. 

If you are an athlete or gym enthusiast, you might sometimes feel lower abdominal pain. And sometimes the pain could get worse. 

So, you might be asking why I feel lower abdominal pain when lunging?

There are many reasons for you to feel lower abdominal pain when lunging. One of the main causes of the pain while lunging is osteitis pubis. Sports hernia and psoas syndrome can also cause severe abdominal pain while lunging. Proper rest and treatment can make this abdominal pain go away. 

We will try to elaborate on all the reasons and treatment in this article. 

So, let’s jump right in!

What is Lower Abdominal Pain?

When you feel discomfort or pain around the chest and groin area, that’s a lower abdominal pain. You might feel the pain for some time and the next moment it is gone. In some cases, you only feel this when you do a certain type of exercise.

Sometimes you might feel this pain even on hanging the leg raises. When you lunge all the way down, you might feel sharp pain right over pubic bone. Also, you may have chosen between different types of squats.

With all the combinations intact, pain is back when you come up from the lunge. 

While you are doing ballistic type movements, you might feel this pain too. Ballistic type movements such as sprinting, and even high knee drills. 

What Causes Lower Abdominal Pain When Lunging?

There might be many reasons why you are feeling lower abdominal pain when lunging. The most common reasons could be osteitis pubis, sports hernia, psoas syndrome etc. 

Some of these are quite serious. All of the causes of abdominal pain while lunging is given below: 

Osteitis Pubis/Osteo Pubis

Osteo Pubis is one of the most common reasons of abdominal pain while lunging. Usually, when you feel pain around the pelvis area, it could be an osteitis pubis. It is a painful inflammation, In the pelvic area, where the bone connects.

Usually, the motion of this particular area has little motion. But osteitis can occur when you do a particular type of exercise. Exercises which can be very stressful for that joint area. 

This is why taking breaks from lower body exercises is good. 

People who are physically active such as athletes might get affected by this.

Let’s talk about some specific syndromes. 

Symptoms

You might feel constant pain for a long time around the joint area of the pelvis. Or the pain could only stay during some work or exercises. 

• You feel pain when walking faster than usual.
• Your leg and hip area feels weak.
• When you sneeze or cough, the pain is back. 
• You can not lie down sideways because of pain. 
• Constant pain at the center of the pelvis.

These are the things that you might feel. 

Sports Hernia

This could be another major cause. You do not want to mess with sports hernia. And it might take more than a couple of months to heal. 

Sports hernia occurs when there is tissue injury in the groin area. But, one thing to understand, it is not an actual hernia. It’s also called “Athletic Pubalgia”. 

You might feel pain around the lower abdominal area because of sudden movement. Athletic persons usually suffer from this. As they need to make sudden movements a lot, the tissue gets affected during exercises.

It should be extra care because groin injuries are possibly the most persistent of all injuries. And you should not take it lightly. 

Symptoms

You will not feel the pain that much at the start. But with time, it will feel a constant pain around the groin area. It will get more painful if you continue your daily exercises. 

To be more specific:

• Sensation of tearing pain.
• Sudden movements like turning or twisting feels like a massive pain. 
• Pain disappears while resting and comes back during exercise. 
• Pain can be felt while coughing. 

Besides these, you might feel constant burning at the groin area. 

Tendonosis Of Abdominal Tendons

You will feel pain in the abdominal and adductors area. These two areas are connected to each other. If your adductors are injured, it means they will cause abdominals to strain. 

At first, you might feel little to no pain at one side of the abdomen area. But with time it will grow and affect the other side. And both sides become more painful.

The problem is, you can not actually pinpoint the pain area. It can come from the abdominal wall, or any side and adductor area. As all these are connected, it will give you a hard time. 

If you are doing excessive sit ups, you might have this problem. 

Symptoms

You feel constant pain around the pubic bone and pubic symphysis area. Sometimes it might affect the pain just above the genitals area. 

• Pain around the pubic bone.
• Pain gets worse when you apply pressure.
• During sit-ups the pain starts to affect both sides of the lower abdomen area.
• You feel stiffness and weakness around your hip and abdomen area.
• Sudden movement makes the pain worse.

These are the common symptoms of Tendonitis Of Abdominal Tendons.

Psoas Syndrome

Are you feeling pain right in the middle of the symphysis? Then, there is a possibility that it is Psoas Syndrome. 

You might have psoas syndrome if your psoas muscles are damaged. Psoas syndrome  occurs usually  when your rheumatoid arthritis in the hip area is affected. 

During a growth spurt, it can cause groin pain in athletes. It is a rare kind of injury and often people are misdiagnosed. So, be careful when taking medication or treatment. 

Symptoms

Most of the time lower back pain is considered as the main symptom. But there are other symptoms as well. 

• Regular pain from hip area to your knee. 
• Pain in the pelvis area.
• Pain during a walk and it gets worse when walking for a long time.
• Pain gets worse when trying to stand fully upright.
• Unable to spread legs because of the pain. 

These are the most common symptoms and you need to be careful. But you can always get treatment. These can cause long term damage in your body. 

Treatment of Lower Abdominal Pain

In the previous section, we discussed the symptoms and causes. These causes have a long and short term effect on your body. 

Whatever the reason is that is causing you lower abdominal pain, you need to be careful. 

Now the question is, how do you treat lower abdominal pain? Let’s find out! 

Rest

The best thing you can do is rest in case of abdominal pain. Unless you want to get the pain worse, you need to rest for a minimum of 4 weeks. 

If you do not allow inflammation to go away, it will become a permanent pain. Back off for a while from exercising. You need to lay off anything that aggravates the pain.

One of the main reasons people get sports hernia is due to shortening adductors. Let it rest and work on the adductors area. This will make a world of difference to you. 

Soft Tissue Work

In most cases, tissue injury is common. So it is better to practice doing soft tissue work around the groin area. 

It will help your body to stretch and lengthen soft tissues and promote relaxation as well. Other than these, relaxing tense muscles and reducing scar area is another benefit. 

If the muscle is stiff, try massaging the area with your hands and foam roller. 

Dynamic Warm Ups

Always do a dynamic warm up before any kind of exercise. It will help you prevent extra strain. 

These dynamic warm includes arm circles, arm swings, high stepping but nothing heavy. Aware of doing any kind of exercises that can put pressure in the groin area. Regular stretching of hips could also be helpful during the process. 

Shock Wave

You can always get a shock wave. It is a very painful process. A hammer will be smashing on your pubic symphysis to cause inflammation. It will make it heal more quickly.

The main benefit is, it will shorten the healing time. The healing time will be down to 3 months. 

Prolotherapy

Another option is prolotherapy. This method is used for reducing pain in the joint area. 

You need to take basically glucose injections into the area to cause inflammation again.

But do not forget one thing. None of this will work, unless you stop doing the things that are causing the pain.

FAQs

What Does A Lower Abdominal Strain Feel Like?

You will feel a sharp pain around the lower abdomen area. Also, you will feel pain in the adductor area. These two areas are connected to each other and they also affect each other. 

How Do I Relieve Lower Abdominal Pain?

Go to a doctor first. That’s the best course of action you need to take at that hour of time. Other than that, drink a lot of water and rest until you are sure what is causing the pain. 

Can Pain In The Lower Abdomen Be Serious?

Yes, it can be an extremely serious issue. It can be a symptom of sports hernia, Osteitis Pubis or anything related to abdomen area. So, do not take this issue lightly. 

Conclusion

Hopefully it is now clear why you might be feeling lower abdominal pain when lunging. And what are necessary steps you should take just after feeling the pain. 

Go see a doctor ASAP, follow the procedure, take rest. 

Best of luck to you!