Hypochondrial pain

For a lay person:

Hypochondrial pain is pain or a feeling of tightness under the lower ribs, on one or both sides. It may be a dull ache, a stabbing pain or a sense of fullness, and is sometimes linked to stress or fatty food.

For a trained medical person:

Right upper quadrant pain points to hepatobiliary disease (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, hepatitis, hepatic congestion); left-sided pain to splenic, gastric or pancreatic causes. Musculoskeletal costochondral pain, herpes zoster and lower-lobe pneumonia are common mimics. Assessment usually includes liver function tests and ultrasound.

In Chinese medicine:

Classed as rib-side pain (脅痛), traditionally tied to the Liver and Gallbladder channels. Patterns: Liver Qi Stagnation, Liver Blood Stasis, Damp-Heat in the Liver and Gallbladder, and Liver Blood or Yin Deficiency.

When to get help: Get urgent care for pain with fever and yellowing of the skin or eyes, or severe pain that does not settle.