There are many causes of chronic abdominal pain and abdominal protrusion. But, they are likely to be confused with diabetic thoracic polyradiculopathy. Differentiation between this self-limiting complication and abdominal herniation is important to avoid unnecessary procedure. We describe the case of 77-years-old man with 10 years history of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, who was suffering from postherpetic neuralgia for 10 months and presented with a abdominal segmental paresis and protrusion. The paraspinal electromyography showed bilateral lower thoracic radiculopathy. (Korean J Pain 2008; 21: 233-236)