I am currently experiencing a mild discomfort on my left side slightly below my ribs that feels like a "knot" for lack of a better term. There usually isn't any pain, except for the times when I have exerted myself using the muscles on my left side (the first time this happened was when I golfed for the first time in two years and this "knot" became painful).
My bowel habits seem to be normal. The only event that I think could be related to this would be when I lifted a couch all by myself and perhaps ripped something internally that hasn't healed (beginning of June).
I am 34 years old and normally in excellent health. Which health professional should I see concerning this problem?
REPLY:
I would definitely start with your family doctor.
The problem sounds like a musculo-skeletal problem since the symptom is related to movement.
It seems unlikely that the June couch episode is the villain but you may have strained those muscles after June thus preventing the process from healing (and not be recalling those episodes). While left upper abdominal symptoms (the so-called "splenic flexure syndrome") are associated with the irritable bowel syndrome I am not hearing anything in your brief note which suggests a primary intestinal problem. These symptoms are not those of colitis (inflammatory bowel disease) or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome; "spastic colon").
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Bruce Sckolnick, M.D.
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