Frequent abdominal pain means you have belly pain that occurs at least 3 times over 3 months. Sometimes the pain is linked to eating certain foods or having a bowel movement. But most of the time the pain cannot be explained.

Your doctor may use the words “functional abdominal pain” or “recurrent abdominal pain” to describe the problem. It can be hard to deal with pain when your doctor cannot find a cause, even after tests are done.

When the pain is very bad, it can keep you from doing your normal activities. Sometimes stress can make your pain worse. Even if you cannot make the pain go away, there are things you can do to make it a little easier to manage.