Belt Issue, Abdominal Lump

So the other day I happened to feel a small hard lump underneath my skin. It isn’t visible while I’m relaxed or pull the skin tight. A friend said it could be a hernia so I went to see a doctor about it. I told him I was training for a powerlifting meet in January so it could have something to do with lifting.

I also mentioned that my diet has been disgusting for the past few weeks so it could be build up of fat. He pretty much ignored all of that…he felt it, laughed, and told me to forget about it and immediately started to leave. This bothered me because I had no answer what so ever. I asked what it could be, he said it could be tissue or fat and just to put it out of my mind.

Then I went to the gym, squat and deadlifted, and as I was doing so the belt would occasionally pinch the lump and hurt a bit. I ignored it, but then today got to wondering if a lump like this can be caused by wearing a belt, through bruising or something, as there is some bruising where the lump is and nothing in the same spot on my opposite side.

I just wanted to know because I’m seeing another doctor to see what he says and wanted to know if ruling out the belt is a good idea.

Where is it?
Consistency? (compare to lips/nose/forehead)
Can you pinch the skin above it?
Is it mobile? Is it mobile after tensing the abs?
Can you “grab” it? Or does it slip out of your fingers when trying.

It could be tissue, it could be fat, but if its a lump (and not a swelling), think lipoma if it is some"thing" in the first place, another would be a sebaceous cyst. Which doesn’t need removal unless if it’s (especially) really distressing. If it really is one of those two, just get them excised and continue wearing a belt, since for the most part, getting either is mostly a matter of chance.

But an Internet diagnosis is as accurate as guessing why the guy across the road fell to the ground.

To answer your questions:
On left side of the abdominal muscles that form the V shape at the bottom of your stomach, near the front and top of my left hip bone.
I would describe it as having a more “forehead” like feel.
I can pinch the skin above it.
In terms of mobility, it feels like it is attached to the muscle, as it moves when that muscle moves.
Slips out of my fingers when I try to grab it.

Thanks for your input!

Hm, now it sounds more like a hematoma, as it seems to be from within the abs muscles. In terms of mobility, it would not move when you tense your abs (tense your abs, then try moving it). It might be more prominent when you tense your abs. When it initially appeared, was it painful? When you noticed it, how big was it? Did it increase in size? A sudden (usually firm like the lips) lump associated with pain, attached to the muscle, followed by bruising at a site of possible trauma is most probably a hematoma.

At the moment, I don’t think it’s a hernia (it’s never hard), not a lipoma (even though you can’t grab it, it shouldn’t be hard), or a sebaceous cyst (you could pinch the skin above). But it’s really hard to confirm without seeing it, so I’ll give you that disclaimer. Even a history taking is hard, because you can’t point to where it is and me seeing it LOL. But if it is a hematoma, there’s nothing to worry about, unless if the pain increases after a period where pain has reduced, along with onset of fever (infection). Wearing a belt is more important than getting a hematoma.

But we can usually exclude intestinal hernia based on simple criteria.
Whenever you think it’s a hernia, do the following: 1) is it a swelling (ie not a mass)? 2) does it increase in size after standing? 3) does it have a cough impulse (when you cough, it becomes more prominent)? 4) location: feel down your abs to your pubic bone, then feel to the side until you feel the most prominent part (tubercle) of the (pubic) bone. Then feel diagonally to the side and upwards along the hip crease (your inguinal ligament). A hernia above and medial to the pubic tubercle, and above the inguinal ligament is an inguinal hernia (common). Below and lateral, below the inguinal ligament is a femoral ligament (rare). Around the umbilicus is umbilical (uncommon). At the umbilicus is umbilical (rare in adults). And hernias are always soft (like your lips). 5) can you push it back (through the defect in the abdominal wall)?

Do get it confirmed though, as it always eases up the mind.