Inguinal hernia relief tips

walleyes

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Feb 8, 2017
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saskatchewan
Had a inguinal hernia for a few years that gets a little sore a couple times a year but have always been able to manage it. Had the Dr check it out 2 years ago and said to just see how it went. Well now I am pushing hard on training hikes for my trip to the NWT and it has flared up a few times and has me worried. What has people done to manage them while wearing a pack in the backcountry? Looking at some of the hernia belts but not sure how they will work with a pack and if they will work?
 
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I have a little pain or just notice one of my hernia sites from time to time, especially when I’ve lifted something heavy. The doctor who performed the surgery said it may be related to scar tissue. I’m not sure if a new hernia has formed. I don’t do anything to manage it besides try to keep my weights a little lower than I would otherwise carry. I don’t think a belt would work in the backcountry but I’m not real familiar with them.
 

Mike 338

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Surgery.

Not sure why your doctor didn't tell you they don't get better on their own. Then again, I'm no doctor. Eventually it'll feel like a rip in your groin and and someone shoving a hot soldering iron in the rip. Have fun.
 

Billinsd

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They get worse. You can put up with it as long as you like, however the worse they get the longer the recovery time.
 

Poser

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I had one repaired back in 2005. I’ve perceived that the screen was there a few times over the years after coming back from a gym layoff and was a bit concerned one time about it, but haven’t even thought about it in a few years now. IMO, the best thing you can do is strengthen that tissue up to the point that it’s a non factor. Your spinal erectors as well. Progressively loaded isometrics through proper bracing (valsalva technique) when strength training (start light and progressively increase weight over time) will address any weaknesses throughout the entire system. If you have a weak back, you’re abdominals will have to compensate, thus straining the hernia area so the goal is to Make the whole body stronger than it needs to be for day to day function. Doing that, the only real strain you will encounter is in the Controlled environment of the gym. If you have a 300 lbs deadlift, you won’t get a hernia picking up your kid’s bicycle, moving 50 pound sand bags, or manually loosening a lug but on a flat tire.

Avoiding training because you are concerned about injury will only make you more susceptible to injury if you’re out hauling heavy packs around the mountains. Ideally, your goal is not to avoid injury by avoiding physical stress, your goal is to avoid injury by being strong enough that real world physical stress only requires submaximal effort.
 
OP
walleyes

walleyes

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I will defiantly be looking for the surgery for repair when I get back but until then I will have to manage through it. Hopefully it will be nothing to worry about and just trying to be prepared. Thanks for any experience/advice.
 
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I had a double inginual hernia surgery in March. Was out shed hunting in knee deep and higher snow a week later. The risk of not getting it done ASAP is too great( blood flow getting cut off from your intestines and having a very bad situation on your hands). I would get the surgery done before it goes south when you’re out in the field and then it becomes a life threatening situation. Not sure why your dr didn’t tell you the same thing. Where it’s located it could go bad in a hurry. Maybe go see a different dr. And get it done before your hunt. That’s just my 2 cents. If you’re in shape odds are your recovery will be extremely quick.
 

Poser

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Yeah, I suppose I missed the part about not having the surgery yet. Like the poster above, I’d get a 2nd opinion. If any bit of the penetrating tissue becomes infected, you’re in a world of hurt. The recovery time is fairly quick.
 
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I've had something like that for several years now. Had a minor hydrocele kinda thing going on and a little soreness, so pretty minor. I notice when I'm working out often the discomfort goes away, but if I'm not exercising much it'll come back. I had an ultrasound when it first kinda popped up and the tech told me to go do a shit ton of heavy squats and rip it all the way through and then get surgery. I haven't done that yet.
 

Bryan B

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You should get surgery sooner than later for reasons stated above. After surgery they will tell you not to lift more than about 25 pounds for 6 weeks. Overall, recovery is easy. The first 1-2 days were the worst with swelling and a little pain.

I had one several years ago. I was lifting a WT doe off the ground and felt something tear in my groin but strangely it didn't hurt. I thought to myself I hope I didn't just get a hernia. At first it wasn't bad, didn't really feel anything for a couple of weeks. Then it progressively got worse over the next couple of months and started to hurt more. The best way I can describe the pain was when lifting something heavy from the ground in front of me, it felt like someone pulling on the cord behind my nut from within my body. Very painful.

I had it repaired laparoscopically with a 6"x 6"polypropylene mesh. I guess it went well, but I still feel it at times. I think it's scar tissue or the mesh is a little tight. It's not bad enough to do anything about.
 

go4thegusto

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I bought a quality elastic/Velcro truss on Amazon and took it elk hunting the year before surgery. Works fine and adds peace of mind. As above... get it fixed but SCOPE ONLY. There is another earlier thread about this. I was cut 3.5 inches long and recovery was a SOB. My friend was scoped by Robot and recovery was a breeze. Plus they cut through nerves conventionally which leads to numbness.
 
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The night before you get the repair done, tie a rope to the end of your bed that is long enough to reach the headboard! (Rope is for a purpose and not for shenanigans....) After the repair your abdominal muscles will be worthless for a day or two. I found myself trapped in my bed because I could not sit up to get out of bed the next morning and wife and kid had already gone to work/school. The rope will prove valuable is raising yourself up to a sitting position so you can gently swing legs off of bed and slide off the mattress to get to the bathroom.

Recovery is fairly quick, two days of no abdominal strength followed by 4 weeks of light duty lifting restrictions. I took the wildland firefighter pack test 6 weeks after surgery with no soreness or complications. As others mentioned, laproscopic/robot is the way to go, I've had it done twice (once each side) and it was definitely worth it.
 

go4thegusto

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The night before you get the repair done, tie a rope to the end of your bed that is long enough to reach the headboard! (Rope is for a purpose and not for shenanigans....) After the repair your abdominal muscles will be worthless for a day or two. I found myself trapped in my bed because I could not sit up to get out of bed the next morning and wife and kid had already gone to work/school. The rope will prove valuable is raising yourself up to a sitting position so you can gently swing legs off of bed and slide off the mattress to get to the bathroom.

Recovery is fairly quick, two days of no abdominal strength followed by 4 weeks of light duty lifting restrictions. I took the wildland firefighter pack test 6 weeks after surgery with no soreness or complications. As others mentioned, laproscopic/robot is the way to go, I've had it done twice (once each side) and it was definitely worth it.
Ha...bad memories here. I could roll on to floor on all floors and then stand up. Forget a sit up with conventional surgery. And that first sneeze....memorable. If you have a cough or cold cancel surgery!!
 
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I would definitely have surgery done. I put it off several years, and wished I would have done it right away now. My surgery was scheduled for a Thursday, went back to my office job Monday, and felt like I was healed 100%by the following Monday. They gave me two weeks of 10lb lifting restrictions. My surgery was an open incision with a mesh. Healed up real well for me, and no other complications. There are people that feel strongly about using a scope, but then you are going into your abdomen as well and could cause other issues during the surgery. I went with the method my surgeon recommended and was comfortable with.

Wish I would have thought of the rope idea. I would also recommend that.
 

Poser

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The only thing I specifically recall about the recovery was that they prescribed me lorotabs, which I only took for 2 or 3 days, but of course I still didn’t shit for a week
 
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I bought a quality elastic/Velcro truss on Amazon and took it elk hunting the year before surgery. Works fine and adds peace of mind. As above... get it fixed but SCOPE ONLY. There is another earlier thread about this. I was cut 3.5 inches long and recovery was a SOB. My friend was scoped by Robot and recovery was a breeze. Plus they cut through nerves conventionally which leads to numbness.
That thread was started by me asking if anybody else has had one done. I had mine done in March with a robot controlled by the dr. where they blow up your stomach with gas. The gas causes pain the day of and the day after. I was sore for a few days but only took one ibuprofen for pain overall. You have no ab strength for awhile but overall my surgery went very well. Based on the risks of not getting it done, there is no way I would go on a out of country or back country hunt without having it fixed. Way too risky from the research I did in addition to what 2 drs. told me. And long term it has no ill effects for me, I’m physically stronger now then I have ever been.
 

Doc Holliday

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...
Avoiding training because you are concerned about injury will only make you more susceptible to injury if you’re out hauling heavy packs around the mountains. Ideally, your goal is not to avoid injury by avoiding physical stress, your goal is to avoid injury by being strong enough that real world physical stress only requires submaximal effort.

I have had both sides done twice. First when I was about 11 years old one side went, then the other side went 2 years later....those were fixed by simply sewing the hole together. Then at 35 I had a double and got mesh.

I agree with Poser.....the times when I got the hernias were times when I was not exercising/lifting regularly. My Dr on this last round told me to live my life, lift weights, do whatever I wanted.....he said if I ever got sore it is nothing to worry about.

To the OP, if I had a trip to the NWT planned for this year I would get the surgery, postpone the hunt, and really spend the next year strengthening my core and getting in the best shape of my life. I wouldn't want to show up for a trip like that with an injury that could be fixed, for many reasons. It would be completely different if you were permanently disabled or had some incurable disease.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

260madman

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Get it fixed. Recovery isn’t bad. I had 2 weeks off of work and 2 weeks of light duty. Then I was turned loose and told to just use my head when lifting. That was 12 years ago.
 

thinhorn_AK

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I got a double inguinal hernia repaired, the guy who repaired mine does so for lots of athletes so he was considered to be good at it. He told me my choices were to get laproscopic (scope) or open surgery, he said the scope would heal faster but had a higher chance of re injury while the open procedure is a bitch to recover from but is stronger once healed.

I went with the open surgery, I was back in the gym a month later and haven’t had any problems since. When I’d found out I had a hernia I decided to get the surgery done ASAP which ended up being about a week later because I wanted to get it done and recover.

There are pretty serious risks to not getting them repaired, being in the NWT with a complication would be really shitty.

Recovery wasn’t bad, my scrotum turned black like a bruise from all the blood draining down due to gravity.

Also, do some serious fiber loading in the days before your surgery, you won’t be able to push when your on the toilet.
 
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