Normal: Abdomen is soft, rectus muscle is relaxed and no discomfort is elicited during palpation.
Soft belly fat
The soft one is located just under our skin and keeps us warm and provide a source of energy. They are not as harmful as the hard one. One can easily melt this type of fat by exercising and following a healthy diet.
Normal findings might be documented as: “Abdomen soft to touch with no masses, swelling, pain, and rigidity.” Abnormal findings might be documented as: “Client noted generalized pain all over abdomen upon palpation, rating it 5/10. Abdomen firm to touch in all quadrants.
If a patient has a tender abdomen, it can mean they need surgery (appendix, gallbladder), need antibiotics (diverticulitis), or just need to poop.
When your stomach swells and feels hard, the explanation might be as simple as overeating or drinking carbonated drinks, which is easy to remedy. Other causes may be more serious, such as an inflammatory bowel disease. Sometimes the accumulated gas from drinking a soda too quickly can result in a hard stomach.
If your stomach feels hard and swollen for more than a few days, you should visit your doctor or seek medical attention. You should also consult with your doctor if you have other symptoms such as: bloody stools.
Functional reasons for a distended abdomen tend to involve digestive problems that cause gas and/or digestive contents to accumulate. Causes might include: Gas from functional indigestion, food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Constipation causing a build-up of feces and back-up of digestive contents.
The hard belly is caused by the build-up of visceral fat, a soft belly is caused by subcutaneous fat, which is located near to your skin. Subcutaneous fat makes your belly jiggly, unlike the visceral fat. One cause behind the build-up of visceral fat could be your genetics.
Typically, when people gain weight from regular fat, they gain fat that is soft and doughy and sits just under the skin. This is called subcutaneous adipose tissue (or SAT). A Hard Belly is a sign of a different kind of fat known as deep, or visceral abdominal fat.
Tenderness in any of the nine regions of the abdomen may indicate an inflammation of the organs underneath. Examination of the different areas of the abdomen may indicate separate disease processes. Tenderness of the epigastrium may be due to gastritis or early acute cholecystitis from visceral nerve irritation.
Pressing on your stomach is a way to find out if the size of your internal organs is normal, to check if anything hurts, and to feel if anything unusual is going on. Looking, listening, and feeling are all part of a physical exam.
When an infant has a birth defect that involves an opening in the abdomen, this is known as an abdominal wall abnormality or abdominal wall defect. Often, certain organs (stomach, intestines, liver or other organs) can protrude through this unusual opening, which can lead to major complications immediately after birth.
A small amount of soft, subcutaneous fat is harmless. However, people with large amounts of soft fat also tend to have hard fat deeper in their abdomen too. Hard fat has been linked to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes – the most common form of diabetes that results in high blood sugar.
Even if a man has skinny legs, a flat butt, or thin arms, he can still have a belly hanging over his belt buckle that is not only large, but also hard. That hardness is due to an abundance of fat deep in the abdominal cavity around the internal organs, otherwise known as visceral fat.
In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall.
Here are some key differences between excess visceral abdominal fat and regular fat which sits just beneath the skin (subcutaneous adipose tissue). Excess visceral abdominal fat: feels firmer than regular fat (which is soft and doughy) lies deeper in the abdominal area (not simply under the skin like regular fat)
You'll most likely see or feel a lump in your lower abdomen near your groin and feel pain when coughing, bending, or lifting. In some cases, there are no symptoms until the condition gets worse.
An abdominal mass is most often found during a routine physical exam. Most of the time, the mass develops slowly. You may not be able to feel the mass. Locating the pain helps your health care provider make a diagnosis.
Anyone who notices a lump on their abdomen should see their doctor as soon as possible. A doctor will ask about any additional symptoms and perform a physical exam. If a doctor believes that the lump is a hernia, they may wish to take a closer look using an ultrasound or a CT scan.
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (also called EGD or upper endoscopy). An EGD (upper endoscopy) is a procedure that allows the healthcare provider to examine the inside of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum with an endoscope. This is guided into the mouth and throat, then into the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.
Normally, the abdominal cavity contains only a small amount of fluid. In certain conditions, large amounts of fluid can build up in this space. An abdominal tap can help diagnose the cause of fluid buildup or the presence of an infection. It may also be done to remove a large amount of fluid to reduce belly pain.
Abdominal tenderness is generally a sign of inflammation or other acute processes in one or more organs. The organs are located around the tender area. Acute processes mean sudden pressure caused by something. For example, twisted or blocked organs can cause point tenderness.
When the doctor presses on your abdomen, he or she is feeling to see if any of these are enlarged or tender, making them painful to touch, which could indicate disease. Doctors use two different techniques to examine your abdomen: palpation and percussion.
Call your doctor if you have abdominal pain that lasts 1 week or longer, if your pain doesn't improve in 24 to 48 hours, if bloating lasts more than 2 days, or if you have diarrhea for more than 5 days. There are three body views (front, back, and side) that can help you to identify a specific body area.