Not that its a giant loss to anyone but me, but I have this nagging injury that just will not get better.
About 6 weeks ago while scrubbing the back deck with a long handled scrub brush I injured something in my lower abdominal wall. It is on the left side, 4 inches down and 3 inches over from my navel.
I know many of you are thinking “hernia”. I’ve had TWO inguinal hernias in the same location in my life but the last time (1995) the doc put in an index card sized piece of goretex and said I could never have another hernia in that area. So I don’t think its a hernia.
It hurts like a strained muscle, and running is the chief cause of pain. I believe it is the rotation of the body back and forth while running that makes it hurt as opposed to cycling where the upper bod remains in one position mostly.
It refuses to get better on its own. I stopped running for almost 2 weeks and the pain subsided, but has quickly returned upon running again. It hurts to sit in a chair and lift the leg but does not on the bike (weird). A full body stretch makes it hurt, too. Hernia pain isn’t typically affected like that. Stretching out a swim stroke fully also irritates it.
On the following linked image, the area where the internal oblique joins the groin is where it hurts. Also the same area as the bottom of the rectus abdominus and the pectineal ligament.
I can’t see any way out of this other than resting, since running definitely irritates the thing. But I do wonder if somehow the old surgical repair, which is directly underneath this area (done laporoscopically), is somehow involved.
Not sure, but this sounds like the area I have been dealing with the last few months, just on the right side. MRI negative, but still hurts.
This area still sounds like the sports hernia I keep reading about. I was not able to run, except in a race, for months. It has SLOWLY gotten
a little better such that I can run now w/o too much pain. But, it is still far from 100% fixed. Will give it more time and see what happens.
It has taken me months to get back to this point.
I am pretty sure I have the same thing as you. It is in the exact area you described (except on the right) and I feel pain with all the same movements you mentioned as well. Thankfully, I guess mine isnt as bad as yours as I have been able to continue with my training as usual. It hurts a good amount of the time, especially when I begin running, but many times it loosens up after a while and I am OK. On a few runs it hasn’t hurt at all. I think it was getting better, but I did an all-out brick on Monday in prep for my race this weekend and that seemed to irritate it. Like I said though, it hasnt gotten so bad that it has affected my training, its getting close though.
Have you been icing or taking anti-inflammatories? I have taken some advil and that seems to help some.
Please keep us update on this thread and I will do the same if I come across anything that has helped. I hope you are able to come up with something that lets you get through the rest of your season.
Yeah, I believe so or at least a medical version of it. I read a little about it, supposedly the way it is designed allows for muscle/other types of tissue to grow in and through it, making it a permanent part of the body and a very strong repair. I’m no doctor, but that is the gist of what I’ve read.