question: i have a pain in my lower left side of stomach from time to time. Thought it was hernia but ct scan did not show anything. every so often I will have a protrusion come out of my side (thus hernia thinking). Multiple Dr s have all stated they could only verify when this is actually happening and it doesn t last that long thankfully but it is extremely painful. Another Dr stated it could be a floating rib that is protruding out. i would like to start exercising but when i do i am always afraid this thing is going to pop back out. First time it happened was over 20 yrs ago and i was slimmer back then so i actually could see the protrusion. it was about the size of a golf ball. Now i have more wait so i can only feel it for the most part. i would like to know what exactly this is and how i can prevent it from occurring any more.