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Pain below the navel: causes

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

The navel is the region in the center of the abdomen that represents the vestige of the union with our mother before birth. Through the umbilical cord, the fetus receives nourishment and everything it needs to develop and grow until the moment of birth.

From the medical point of view, it serves as a reference to establish a series of planes in the abdomen that allows us to divide it for better study and evaluation. One of those areas is the infraumbilical region, which is the entire area below the navel and above the pubis, the central bone of your pelvis. Pain of varying intensity and character may occur in this area. In the following FastlyHealarticle, we explain what the causes of pain below the navel may be so that its knowledge helps you to calm your anxiety when it may arise.

Pain below the navel: general causes

Painful umbilical or infraumbilical hernia

Hernias of the umbilicus or the region immediately below it can cause pain when pinched. This pain appears suddenly, generally associated with some effort , and can be accompanied by nausea and / or vomiting and even explosive diarrhea.

In the following article, you can learn more about the symptoms, causes and treatment of umbilical hernia .

Constipation

Constipation is generally due to inadequate water intake during the day and low fiber diets. The normal bowel habit is one to two times a day. Less than that is considered constipation.

Severe constipation of several days of evolution that can even be accompanied by impaction of the stool (they become hard, like stones, because they lose all the water at that level) can cause pain below the navel, colic type of strong intensity that can be associated or not to nausea and / or vomiting.

In children, it can even be accompanied by a fever.

Urinary infection

Urinary tract infections (cystitis included) can present with pain of varying intensity and that can be colicky, oppressive (a feeling of weight in the lower abdomen) or burning (like something is burning internally).

The pain may be accentuated at the beginning of urination and appear along with burning. Nausea, vomiting, fever and / or diarrhea may be associated.

In children, fevers of unknown origin are another symptom that may reflect a urinary infection.

Nephrolithiasis

Stone or grit-shaped kidney stones may present with pain below the navel. This pain is crampy in nature , generally, and ranges from mild to severe intensity. Associated manifestations would be nausea, vomiting and fever may appear in children.

Acute appendicitis

The characteristic pain of appendicitis begins in the so-called “pit of the stomach” and after a few hours it is located in the lower right region of the abdomen.

It is a continuous pain that increases with ambulation and is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting and fever.

Abnormal locations of the appendix can cause pain to occur below the navel, and it is not its usual location.

Diverticula

Diverticula are species of sachets that form in the wall of the small intestine. Meckel’s diverticulum is located in the last 90 centimeters of it, before it enters the cecum, so it can simulate the pain of acute appendicitis and present the same symptoms, but located below the navel.

Intestinal obstruction

Stopping normal bowel movements is known as a bowel obstruction . Its causes are multiple, from metabolic to mechanical (tumors, etc.).

The characteristic pain is dull or can be oppressive or cramping. The intensity will be moderate to severe, depending on the length of the affected segment.

In children, intussusception (the intestine wraps itself within itself, as when you roll up socks) can manifest as a picture of intestinal obstruction.

Usually there is an absence of bowel movements and flatulence (gas) and associated nausea and / or vomiting.

Pain below the navel in women: causes

Dysmenorrhea

Dysmenorrhea is the characteristic pain in the lower abdomen of women that occurs with menstruation. In the following article, we explain in detail the causes and treatment of dysmenorrhea .

Pelvic inflammatory disease

Infections of the genital tract in women (cervicitis, salpingitis, etc.) manifest with pain below the navel, which may or may not be associated with fever and nausea, and pain when having sexual intercourse.

Miomatosis uterina (fibromatosis)

Uterine fibromatosis is the formation of muscle tumors on the walls of the uterus. In addition to the crampy pain that they produce below the navel, they are accompanied by menstruation with very heavy bleeding and bleeding on different dates than the usual menstruation.

Ectopic pregnancy

Implantation of the fertilized egg anywhere outside the uterus is known as an ectopic pregnancy . Fetal growth will cause pain and bleeding, and depending on the time of evolution it can even break the uterine tube and cause significant internal bleeding.

Ovarian cyst

Ovarian cysts and unripened and prematurely ruptured ovarian follicles can cause pain (and the latter, bleeding) in the infraumbilical region of variable intensity and sudden onset.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is the growth of tissue inside the uterus (called the endometrium) in any region outside of the uterus.

By receiving the same hormonal stimulation as the rest of the endometrium in its usual location, it can cause bleeding and will be accompanied by pain that will be accentuated with menstruation.

Spontaneous abortion

Spontaneous abortion, due to the presence of ovular and / or fetal remains inside the uterus, will cause intense pain, simulating cramps below the navel. There may be associated genital bleeding.

Ovarian cancer

Although rare, one way ovarian cancer manifests is through pain below the navel.

The pain is characterized by being more similar to a persistent and long-lasting discomfort, which occasionally increases, but disappears spontaneously.

Pain below the navel in men: causes

Prostatitis

The inflammation of the tissues of the prostate in men may be accompanied by pain below the navel.

Usually this pain (dull and of variable intensity) manifests itself in the perineal region (the area between the anus and the testicles), but it can appear as infraumbilical pain and cause confusion with conditions such as appendicitis, etc.

In this article you can see what are the symptoms, causes and treatment of acute prostatitis .

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Pain below the navel: causes , we recommend that you enter our Digestive System category .

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