The member who replied first told that the pain described in the first post could be caused by either ovulation or pregnancy. However, not everyone agreed with this statement. The participant who answered next told that the pain bothered her for years and that she was not ovulating and she was definitely not pregnant.
It only happens when I hyper-extend my torso or bend the wrong way. Anyone else has any suggestions as to what this could be?
Several other participants confirmed that the movement caused the pain for them as well.
I was getting up from the chair, as I was getting up this tearing feeling, kind of like a tear-stretch, painful thing....just in the belly button though.
If I bend backwards or stand up straight it is like I am getting stabbed.
One member said that she has scar tissue from minor surgery (laparoscopy) in her belly button, suspecting that it could be causing the pain. She also mentioned appendicitis, but there was no right sided pain. This participant was among those who mentioned hernia as a possible culprit. Most participants who reported this pain were females, describing the problem just like the discussion starter, i.e. referring to it as a "string" that pulls extremely sharp from the belly button to the clitoris.
Many of them told that the pain occurs right before they get their period. Several pointed out endometriosis as a possible cause.
I'm wondering if it does, in fact, have to deal with my period or if its something completely different?
While the abdominal pain could be a period-related, the type of pain described in the discussion most likely isn't related to the menstrual cycle. One participant told she had the pain before her oophorectomy and even after this surgical procedure to remove ovaries. She added that she's getting the pain even though she has NO female organs.
I use to think it was some how related to my cycle, but not anymore. This probably wasn't much help, but wanted to let you know it's unlikely that it's related to your period.
That this type of pain isn't period-related became even more obvious when several male participants reported having the pain that stretches from the belly button and down to the penis.
It happens to me after I bench press much more than I should, so I'm guessing it must be some sort of abdominal strain.
He added that he did nothing about the pain after he had felt it, which turned out to be a hernia and required surgery. This member told that after the surgery he doesn't bench more than he should and stretches his abdominal muscles before bench workout.
Another male participant also told he experienced the pain after working out/benching, describing it as a feeling of his belly button becoming the most sensitive part of his body, reminding him of an open wound. Stretching back slowly helps the pain go away.
Besides hernia and endometriosis, other possible causes mentioned in the discussion include:
- bacterial infection
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- urinary tract infection (UTI)
- constipation
One participant recommended that women with this problem should douche with vinegar and water once a month. However, most clinical studies and doctors recommend that women don’t douche because douching can change the necessary balance of vaginal flora (bacteria that live in the vagina) and natural acidity in a healthy vagina. Douching especially should not be used to try to get rid of vaginal problems like discharge, pain, itching, or burning. Douching can also lead to many health problems including bacterial vaginosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and even STIs, including HIV.
What do experts say?
Many conditions can cause a sharp pulling pain in the belly button, including those affecting the urinary system, gastrointestinal organs, and reproductive organs. It is hard to tell which condition may cause this type of pain without detailed medical examination and tests.
Abdominal muscle strain
Abdominal muscle strain can refer to any tear, stretch, or rupture of the abdominal muscles, and is sometimes referred to as a pulled muscle. Abdominal strain can be caused by anything from a sudden movement, intense and excessive exercise (especially not properly warmed up or rested), lifting heavy objects to laughing, coughing, or sneezing.
Symptoms may include:
- sudden sharp or pulling pain, especially when stretching or flexing the muscle
- tenderness
- stiffness
- swelling or bruising
Treatment involves rest, heat/cold therapy, compressions, OTC painkillers, or visit to the doctor if the symptoms don't improve.
HerniaThe abdominal hernia usually presents with similar symptoms as the abdominal muscle strain, but you may also notice lump or bulge in the abdomen, as well as the symptoms such as:
- nausea
- vomiting
- constipation
A hernia is caused by increased pressure near the belly button, and part of the intestine or fatty tissue then bulges out. Hernias should be treated surgically.
AppendicitisAppendicitis occurs when the appendix becomes infected and then inflamed. The appendix is part of the large intestine, which is why the pain may occur near the belly button. The pain usually moves from the belly button to the lower right side of your abdomen. However, appendicitis includes other symptoms as well, such as:
- fever
- an upset stomach
- back pain
- bloating
- nausea or vomiting
- constipation or diarrhea
- loss of appetite
Appendicitis is a medical emergency. If it's not treated urgently, your appendix can rupture and can cause potentially life-threatening complications. Surgical removal of the appendix is the only treatment for appendicitis.
Urinary tract infection (UTI) or Interstitial cystitisUrinary tract infection (UTI) and Interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome) are two conditions that may cause pain in the belly button.
Interstitial cystitis (IC), often called painful bladder syndrome, is a tricky condition that is tough to diagnose because it shares a lot of common symptoms with UTI. The difference between the two is that the UTI is usually an infection caused by bacteria, while the origin of Interstitial cystitis is not well known, and it is often suspected that it might be several diseases. Also, UTI is an infection that can occur in any part of the urinary tract, including kidneys, bladder, and the urethra, while IC only affects the bladder. IC affects people in their 30s and 40s and is much more common in women than men.
Common symptoms of both conditions include:
- pelvic pain (felt below your belly button)
- sudden strong urges to pee
- needing to pee more often than normal
- pain in the lower back or urethra
- for women, pain in the vulva, vagina, or the area behind the vagina
- for men, pain in the scrotum, testicles, penis, or the area behind the scrotum
- pain after sex, or in males, pain during an orgasm
When to call a doctor?
Determining the cause of the belly button pain can help find the appropriate treatment. This is why it is important to visit your doctor. Also, you should seek immediate medical attention if you have any of the following symptoms:
- abdominal pains that are severe or won't go away
- fever
- nausea and vomiting that doesn’t go away
- blood in your stool
- swelling or tenderness of your abdomen
- unexplained weight loss
- jaundice (yellowing of the skin)
Discussion highlights
What symptoms have been reported?
- its pulling below the the belly button.am in serious pain.
- I get this exact same horrible pain (including the pain with urination) when I eat too much sugar.
- I have had this problem on and off for years too.
- It is not just the stretching but the difficulty wearing clothes that touch it.
- It's not red or swollen, nothing coming out of it or anything gross like that it just hurts.
- Same thing, Like someone is pulling on a cord connected to my belly button.
- Also have pain in my prostate accompanying this.
- Hey guys, I have that exact same thing, it was waaaay worse when I was younger, it would happen every few months and the pain would be so intense I could move or use the bathroom, and that was before I got my period or anything so I dout its related.
- "Pulling the string" perfectly describes the pain, I always thought I was the only one who had this pain!
- am actually in pain rite now.Doctor please prescribe some drug to kill this pain.
- I've never known why it happens, but it freaks me out every time, because I almost feel like I won't be able to walk ever again or something, and I won't be able to get up from a seated position.
- I too have gotten it for as long as I can remember - maybe 3-4 times a year.
- The string pulling comparison is exactly right!
- Right now I am 6 months pregnant and getting it so I was freaking out but knowing I have had it before leads me to believe it doesn't have to do with the pregnancy.
- Now that I'm older it doesn't happen as often but I have other belly button pains that can feel similar.
- Oh and I noticed for me, the pain would happen more if I was hot, like in summer time.
- Every few months I get this intense pain in my stomach.
- If I lean up or stand straight extending my torso, it feels like there is a string directly hooked from my belly button to my clitoris.
- The pain is very sharp and very sudden.
- It feels like someons is yanking on the "string".
- Once I lean back down doubled over it does not hurt at all, only when fully extending the body.
- It only happens when I hyper-extend my torso, or bend the wrong way.
- Sorry I know this is an old post, but I just got the same exact pain racergurlapril had tonight.
- I've had these every few months for years.
- It happened to me last night, after 5 AM.
- I was getting up from the chair, as I was getting up this tearing feeling, kind of like a tear-stretch, painful thing.
- just in the belly button though.
- Never had this feeling before, just when they did the initial surgery,approx 9 years ago.
- After getting up last night, I could not stand straight, or turn myself, or sit, without kind of sliding myself into position, verrrry slow.
- or the tearing would take place.
- Like a phantom, it's now gone.
- This happens to me one day a month and I have been wondering what it is.
- You hit the nail on the head referring to it as a "String".
- It pulls extremely sharp from my belly button to my clitoris.
- I'm a guy and this exact feeling happens to me.
- It stretches from my belly button and down to my penis.
- It happens to me after I bench press much more than I should, so I'm guessing it must be some sort of abdominal strain.
- I had this happen a lot when I was about 10 years old.
- I am 28 now and it is happening again.
- This is so funny b/c I told the drs that I feel like someone is yanking on a string in my belly button and it is a sharp pain, but if I dont stand up it dont hurt and they act like I am crazy.
- It really hurts
- what in the world is causing this pain that truly does feel like a sharp pain behind the belly button which travels down a "string" to my clitoris.
- It's scary, painful and I wonder if it is affecting my ability to get pregnant.
- I first noticed the pain after doing difficult crunches (on a slanted bench bringing my knees up to my chest at the urging of the personal trainer) three years ago.
- I haven't revisited abdominal crunches in over two years, have no bulging through my belly button (sign of an umbilical hernia) yet I continue to get this pain at least once a month (at different times in my cycle) with no explainable preceding cause.
- Before having children I suffered from this, even passing out from the pain on one ocassion.
- I'm a guy too and i was working out/benching today.
- It happened as I sat here in the chair was gonna stretch back and it was there.
- Happens once in a while, i always feel like my belly button becomes the most sensitive part of my body when this happens, reminds me of an open wound.
- When i slowly stretch back though it hurts a little but then goes away.
- I have had this pain several times too, but once it got really bad and sent me to the hospital.
- I could barely walk.
- I have only had a mild rare flare up since that time.
- It happened before I ever got my period.
- If I bend backwards or stand up straight it is like I am getting stabbed.
- She said it may have something to do with the endometriosis that runs in my family, but I had pains since childhood!
- I never did because it happens so randomly and it has happened since childhood.
- Hi, im a 23 yr old male and ive had this problem before and i woke up with it this morning, its very painfull i think it is due to some sort of strain.
- Im a 35 year old maleproblem for over 15 years!
- I always said it felt how a elastic band would feel like when being stetched,right behing the belly button.
- I cant laugh cough bend over,nothen.
- It takes 4 hrs for it to go away.
- I have to lay down on my side on the bed for 4 hrs and not move.
- If I do alot of bending over I can cause it hurt.
- If I were to reach into my car through the window and rest my stomach on the door and reach in pushing my stomach downward it will instintly cause the pain.
- It's a sharp searing pain behind my belly button, and it's like a string's attached to it.
- It's not fun, and my parents think I'm being silly, but it really hurts.
- I went to the bathroom and it started pulling and hurting really bad while I was peeing.
- It feels exactly like a string from my belly button to my clitoris.
- It has to be the worse pain I've ever felt, and it stays for days.
- I always have to be careful not to move, stretch, or reach, because the "string" will start to hurt.
- I always have to hunch over so I don't have to feel that sharp pain from my belly button to my clitoris.
- It also hurts when I urinate - sometimes ungodly other times bearable.
- Well I'm almost 21 now, and ever since I can remember I've had these sharp pulling pains from my belly button down just like everyone else on here.
- These have happened for more than a couple times every month and every year that I've been alive.
- Can't stand up straight, have to slowly stretch it out, almost crying the whole time.
- ugh, it's painfull and I wanted to come online to see why it does it.
- ID unno whyy although it's in my lower stomach, like around my bladder.
- it hurts!
- it's like a sharp pain!
- I'm 27, and this has been happening my whole life.
- It's definitely like a "string" that's being pulled.
- Particularly when I urinate.
- It's like someone is pulling harder and harder until I have to stop mid-stream until the pain subsides, and then I'm almost afraid to finish.
- It feels like my belly button is a plug and someone is trying to pull it out from the inside.
- The pain is excrutiating when i wee.
- This seemed to have started during my first and only pregnancy and happens a couple times per year.
- Everyone perfectly describes this feeling of a string pulling from the navel to the clitoris and I have the same problem while peeing.
- The problem always seems to go away after a couple of days on it's own.
- I get this too, but it doesnt seem to happen to me on a monthy basis, it just randomly pops up sometimes!
- It doesnt last more than a day, and i either wake up with it or (like today) it just happened in the middle of the day.
- As you said, it feels like a string is being yanked if i sit up straight, and if i do it too much by accident my whole vagina gets sore.
- My daughter is 11 yrs old and started complaining a few hours ago about feeling pain from her belly button "straight down".
- When she moves it seems to get worse and she cries.
- I have been going through this pain on and off for years.
- I am a 47 year old male and have had the same sudden sharp pain in my belly button that has been described in these posts.
- I have had it off and on for about 8 years.
- After this happens I feel a need to pee much more often and have like a "full" feeling around my belly button.
- For me it also brings on the sharp pain in my belly button if I pee during that time.
- I've had similar pains off and on for a few weeks (getting it a little more often now) and I had no clue what could be causing it.
- I've never noticed it extending to the genital area but it feels like a stabbing pain right around my belly button.
- It usually hurts when I turn or bend wrong and its just a sudden sharp stab.
- i am having the same problem i dunno about the rest of you guys but last night i was drinking beer, ate carls jr.
- a soda and a shake then it started so i read somewhere else it could be gas and to just move around more because i normally dont indulge like this but it helped to move around let me know if this works for you guys
- I am feeling a "stop in your tracks" pain from inside my belly button also.
- It does feel as if a string is being pulled inside and down.
- Except last night I stretched too hard and it felt like my string broke and my belly button has been sore ever since.
- I dont feel the string but by belly hurts to touch :-( Going to the doctors tomorrow to try and figure this out
- I'm a guy (31) and this has been happening to me since I was a teenager.
- Only happens 3 or 4 times a year, but is exactly as described in other posts.
- Seems to be more "strain" related--usually if I pick up something too heavy in a akward manner.
- The pain can be excrutiating requiring me to sit down and bend over to even pee.
- It usually goes away within a day.
- Endometriosis is when tissue grows on the uterus when it shouldn't basically and this causes a great deal of pain for some women, and for me it caused terrible cramps when I was on my period.
- where gas is this obvious kind of pocket in pain, this is definitely what everyone else discribes, a "string" of pain going down to the pelvic floor.
- I've had this all my life - never actually hurting me if I don't do anything to provoke it, but cleaning out my navel is a really delicate operation, because if I put any pressure on it I'm liable to get a severe stabbing pain right down to my groin.
- I get it randomly;
- it seems to hit whenever it feels like.
- I always thought it was like dehydration, but drinking water makes me have to go to the bathroom more, which hurts so much worse--I have to stretch and sit upright and hold my abdomen because it hurts SO BAD.
- I don't think I experience it to the same extent as some of the others though, as I wouldn't describe it as excruiciating, just sharp and uncomfortable.
- I find that it often happens after I've been sitting down for a while and I stand up, stretching my stomach muscles, and I get a shooting pain down from my belly button.
- I find that if I 'pull' my belly button upwards, it increases the pain/sensation, as does arching my back.
- it hurts me most when i pee or straighten up like you guys have been saying.
- I am a 31 year old male and I have occasionally felt this for years, so it is definitely not pregnancy.
- i am 19 and have been getting these exact pains for about 2 years now and its really freaking me out.
- whenever i extend my torso it feels like a string is connected to my belly button and clitoris and someone is tugging at the sting from inside my body.
- its like a sharp pain behind the belly button and it goes downwards.
- i know wut u are talking about, i am a guy, and it happens to mee for like 10-30 min at a time and idk wut it is i wen around to forums and there is no answer really people said it as gas but i also got people saying it isnt gas (coming from there doctor)
- I've had this same "string" symptom for about a decade now.
- completely random and not tying in with my period, food intake, exercise, etc.
- It's quite quick-lasts for perhaps a minute or two, and only when I'm upright.
- When I hunch over (because of the pain), it completely disappears.
- I actually was just getting up from the toilet.
- It was exactly as you all have been describing it.
- Now it is completely gone since I have sat down and relaxed.
- It happens almoast as it is a sharp pulling burning pain almost on the surface, starting underneath a belly button and continues down to the bladder.
- It hurts/burns like crazy, im gonna be driven to hospital today if it doesn't stop.Peace.
- I get the same sharp pain behind my navel.
- I get this a couple of times a year.
- I get it after I stretch weird or sometimes I get it at night while i'm sleeping on my back and my bladder is full.
- The pain leaves me hunched over and I have to sit down to urinate.
- I have only just started having these pains in the last couple of hours, its very strange and when people describe it as a pain in the belly button like a string being pulled it is exactly right, and it also happens when i straighten up, i am pleased however to hear that mostly it doesnt cause any harm and is obviously not very rare.
- it's so uncomfortable and weird and painful that I could punch him.
- started feeling it last night and ive had it before probably every other month or so.
- im a 17 year old female and have been feeling these pains maybe since i was 13 or 14.
- i am not sexually active.
- BUT i have experienced pelvic pain also.
- this does not feel the same as what you and i are feeling right now.
- when i get pelvic pains, i feel a sharp sensation in my vagina area, like i have to urinate.
- then when i do sit on the toilet, the pain weakens put i cant urinate, unless i force myself to do and only a few hot stingy drops come out.
- the pain lasts for maybe 2-4 hours.
- the pain that you guys are describing and what i am feeling now does not move or anything.
- it stays in one spot.
- I'm a 21 year old male who seems to get this pain every so often.
- It is, as people have described, the feeling of a string attaching the genitals to the belly button that elicits a strong pain sensation whenever you try and stretch it out.
- It really freaked me out the first time it happened because I thought I was going to rip a muscle or something because the "string" also seems very thin and fragile.
- I have realized that whenever push myself hard to do extra sets and do not adequately stretch the abdominal muscles after the exercises, i sometimes develop the pain the next day.
- I'm a 21 yr old female and I've also had the same pain you're all describing for as long as I can remember.
- It happens randomly a few times a year, but for me the real pain only lasts for a few minutes then I just have to be careful not to stretch back too far for 20 minutes or so.
- It feels like the muscle or whatever it is, is contracting.
- I have to hunch over until it slowly loosens and goes away then I can sit up straight.
- I'm experiencing this pain right now and notice it occasionally after vigorous physical activity (playing sports or going to the gym).
- It's like a "string" attached from behind the the navel to my groin.
- I have to stay hunched over and can't stretch out.
- If I do, I get unimaginable pain.
- Usually I've just waited out my pain until it takes care of itself.
- I also get this same pain, the string from the belly button and down, but it is a very quick and very sharp pain.
- It lasts only some seconds, but can occur a few times during the day, also at night while lying down.
- its really painful but i am glad to hear i am not the only one who gets it!
- I was laying down and as I started to move it started to hurt as if "the string" was being pulled with that sharp belly button pain.
- I cant stand up straight because of the sharp pains.
- i get this same pain and i am a guy and i haven't had any surgeries or anything of the sort i would like to know what this is though because it is extremely painful but also it hurts worse after i urinate
- My gf gets it as well, calls it the ripping belly button lol
- i get this sharp pain in my belly button.
- i can barley move and i end up on the ground.
- cant stand up straight or anything.
- it is painful.
- me and my brother get this.
- While it has always happened to me here and there for the past few years, it happened last night while i was urinating and i almost had to double over in pain.
- Yesterday, prior to my painful urination, I had just got back from the gym where I had bench pressed a lot more than normal.
- I am hesitant to go see the doc because it does not hurt right now and it never lasts more than a couple minutes.
- Because that was the exact sensation I felt in my stomach.
- I had sharp pains, and it felt like my belly button was like attached to something and would have "ripped" if I stood too straight or stretched.
- It can't be gallbladder, I don't have one and I get this pain too
- I get this when I sit too long and my bladed films up or when I have gas.
What helped relieve the symptoms?
- Once I use the one-day Monistat, I'm fine.
- I had same thing and went to doctor, she said it was a urinary tract infection and gave me some antibiotics.
- There is also no cure, but childbirth eases the symptoms a great deal, and birth control pills can help somewhat.
- Sometimes I take a couple aleve and drink water.
- One might want to try drinking a lot of water and some pepto.
- am actually in pain rite now.Doctor please prescribe some drug to kill this pain.
- The drugs they gave me just teased the condition and only knocked it down briefly.
- I doubt that TUMS would work at all.
- Well, I asked my mom about it once and she said that my belly button wouldn't heal correctly when I was born, so the doctors put some nickel nitrate or something to help it heal.
Verification Claims & Medical Studies
-
Douche with vinegar and water once a month.
https://www.womenshealth.gov/files/documents/fact-sheet-douching.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567125/
In conclusion
It's hard to tell what causes the sharp, pulling pain in the belly button that radiates toward pelvic area and genitals without detailed medical examination. If you experience this type of pain, you should visit your doctor to receive the proper diagnosis.