>First of all, I began noticing a small, squishy,
> roundish mass just above my belly-button about six months ago. It
> seems to go away if I push in on it. Sometimes when I'm singing I
> become 'aware' of it, although I wouldn't quite say it hurts...It seems to
have gotten slightly larger over a
> period of time.
>
> Then these past couple weeks I have begun noticing something a bit
> lower down, just above my pubic region (being clinical here) on the
> right side. At first I noticed the odd twinge as I was singing, then
> once or twice I felt something when not singing. Just today as I was
> practicing I began to feel some real pain in this lower area, went to
> the bathroom to check it out, and now have what appears to be a small
> protrusion.
>
Almost certainly the first one is an umbilical hernia and the second one an
inguinal hernia. During singing, the increased abdominal wall pressure
causes each to protrude.
A hernia is a defect in the abdominal wall due to stretching or tearing of
the fascia - the tissue that holds you together. It can be uncomfortable
and can be an interference with singing, movement and so on. Rarely the
bulge gets stuck and the circulation gets cut off. This can be dangerous
since it can mean emergency surgery.
Go back and get rechecked. Sometimes it is not palpable on the first exam.
It would be reasonable to get these repaired.
John
John J. Messmer, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Family & Community Medicine
Penn State College of Medicine
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