Pain often constant or fluctuating; less often, episodic

Pain intensity possibly related to posture (e.g., lying, sitting, standing)

Pain not related to meals or bowel function

No findings of an intra-abdominal process (see Table 1)

Abdominal tenderness unchanged or increased when abdominal wall is tensed (positive Carnett's sign)

Discrete, tender pain trigger point no more than a few centimeters in diameter

Trigger points often found along lateral margins of the rectus abdominis muscles or at attachments of muscle or fascia

With stimulation of trigger point, referral of pain or spreading of pain over a Large area