So I have an inguinal hernia, no real pain accept some dull aches in my groin from time to time. I just noticed a bulge that was coming and going so went to the dr.
Can I continue to train with this? I realize surgery is the most likely answer but I am halfway into my IM build and would like to hold off until fall if possible.
I’ll start with the standard, I’m not a doctor and you should get a medical opinion, but my n=1 is that I had one for 8 years before I had it taken care of. I didn’t even really get it looked at for a couple of years and then the surgeon told me that if it isn’t bothering you and you can push it back in, fix it when you want but it will keep getting bigger over time. He also told me that I could continue to train as hard as I wanted and had no restrictions. It did get bigger over time, but it was more annoying than painful.
I waited another 4 years and finally got it done during COVID downtime. Had robotic surgery and was back on the bike in 2.5 weeks doing super easy endurance and by week 5, I was back at full speed.
I wonder what people in 1950s would visualize if you told them about a robotic surgery?
I have had a small inguinal hernia for 8-9 years. It doesn’t bulge out. I can feel it under the skin. It bothers me more if I swim with a pull buoy. Twisting and I’m pretty sure that’s how I got it. Also bothers me after working in the yard shoveling or carrying heavy things. Does not slow down my training. Just need to be careful with lifting and bending over while straining that sort of thing.
Not a problem. I’ve had two. A person can often go years leaving them be. But they don’t get better on their own. Have it fixed when it’s convenient.
Like others I had one for many years, still trained and race. Didn’t like the noticeable bulge when wearing a wetsuit! I had laparoscopic surgery last January, probably 4 to 6 weeks to get back to hard training. While I thought it didn’t interfere with anything, after surgery there was a noticeable difference in my training, particularly on the bike and lifting. Didn’t realize how much I actually compensated for it. (Side note: total procedure was about $7500, my out of pocket was $2500. Hospital billed insurance company $75000. Health care in the US)!
Thanks for the answers, Just wanted to make sure it wasn’t gonna suddenly just get huge mid race and end up in er
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So I have an inguinal hernia, no real pain accept some dull aches in my groin from time to time. I just noticed a bulge that was coming and going so went to the dr.
Can I continue to train with this? I realize surgery is the most likely answer but I am halfway into my IM build and would like to hold off until fall if possible.
What did your Dr say? (again, not a doctor…just a former hernia patient)…When I had mine, it was explained that the risk with any hernia is the potential for a strangulation of the tissue protruding through. If/when that occurs it goes from being a “do it when you get around to it” thing, to a “do it right now” thing. I was referred to a surgeon and we had this specific conversation, along with my activities (and impacts of the surgery/recovery), and balanced the risks/impacts to determine proper timing for having it repaired. I would think you should do the same with a doctor who has examined YOUR hernia.
Learn about the signs of complications of hernias. Many people live with hernias for long periods without issue. If you see any of them, act right away. …But getting surgery would cost you your race.
I had laparoscopic inguinal repair at 35. The post surgery pain was intense (worse than a kidney stone I had recently). Couldn’t do more than walking for weeks. I tried a short/slow bike ride 2+ weeks post surgery and immediately regretted it. Took many more weeks for me to return to workouts. Felt like a baby the whole time.
My son, just had his second inguinal repair (shouldice method, 12 and 18 months old). Both times, he was active same day and bouncing around the next day. …I now realize that I only wish I felt like a baby in my own experience.
I report tomorrow morning at 5:00am for a left-side lapro inguinal hernia repair. Got to the point where I could only bike for 45 minutes and run for maybe 30. I do not feel mine popping in and out, just pain and swelling. The plan is to be ready for a 70.3 in early October. The doctor specializes in hernia repair and has worked on numerous high-level athletes. He seemed to understand the training I would need to do between now and October as an average age-grouper. He was confident I would be good to go.
In 1989 I had the right side done using the open procedure and it was brutal recovery. Took me several months to get back to full speed.
Well, I had a robotic right sided one done 6-23-2021. Just point tenderness and no need for pain medication now. However, I reacted to the oral sedation and am struggling to return to “normal”. Had four previous IV induced sedation procedures (colon cancer screening and surgery) without issue but now, I’m a bit wobbly. Had onset of symptoms about 26 hours post-surgery completion with sudden onset of chills, fever, headaches, night sweats, sudden weakness, 72 hour constipation, general weakness and the need for several resting naps in the day. Gradual overall improvement. Doctor follow-up is next week. Been told not to return to work for at least 4 weeks.
I did not have exercise limitations or pain. Only found out about the hernia in late May and quickly got myself to the doctor.
Good luck. Ask about sedation again prior to surgery and what is your history with sedation?
In 1989 I had the right side done using the open procedure and it was brutal recovery. Took me several months to get back to full speed.
I had the open procedure on the right side in 2014 and it also took me several months to recover.
I had a double back when I was in college. I wasn’t training aerobically but it only kept me out of the gym for a week.
It’s obviously going to depend on the swelling and what the procedure is.
I had a small incision under my belly button and had mesh installed installed where they’re was a hole.
I know that depending on the surgeon and procedure they use a synthetic skin now which will probably cause less issues down the road. Unfortunately my surgeon didn’t want to use it because it was kind of breaking edge at the time…okay going down a rabbit hole here.
Moral of the story is it can be a quick turn around.
Surgery this morning. Came home and took a nap. This afternoon we took the dogs for a 2 mile walk. No real pain. Tender where i have the small incisions. No need for pain meds yet. Plan on riding the bike Friday. Dr. said no exercise restrictions. Just can not take a bath or swim (going to try swimming on the vasa this weekend.
Lucky you. I’m still slowly getting rid of the sedation symptoms including a nagging headache as I type.
Had very slight, intermittent bulge in spring 2018 at age 60. Primary doc said potential hernia and I could continue training as I felt capable but referred me to a specialist. July visit confirmed hernia. Specialist said ok to continue training towards IMFL but wanted follow up visit. At Sep visit he cleared me to race but we scheduled the surgery for 5 days after IMFL. By then I was wearing compression underwear or a support belt for the hernia. It ached late in the run, especially on the downhills (IMFL was at Haines City that year). I took a conservative approach post surgery with full volume back in about 3 months post-op. No problems since.
I had a double inguinal hernia. There was a large bulge on my left side and a smaller bulge on my right. I sometimes had a dull ache in the area of the hernia, but no serious pain.
The doctor asked me whether I wanted to fix it. He thought I could defer surgery indefinitely unless I started having pain.
I had surgery on April 29. A mesh was inserted. It was orthoscopic and out-patient. I was advised to avoid any stress on my core for three weeks.
I had no significant pain from the surgery. The only pain killer I took was Motrin.
My only exercise for the first two weeks was walking. I gradually added swimming, running, and biking.
I competed in the Jamestown Triathlon (Olympic) on June 19.
I had been having lower quarter abdominal pain for 6 months which only occurred with running hard. Fast forward to December when I was diagnosed with inguinal hernia. The physician said I could repair or not depending on my goals and lifestyle. I opted for repair with mesh. I’m a PT which helped in guiding my rehab and training. However I was up walking the next day and riding indoors the same week. Definitely had on/off pain for a bit as I gradually resumed volume and intensity over a month. My first race was 70.3 Texas in April and performed well. Now… 6 months later from surgery , no pain, full volume, full intensity. If rehabbed well this is definitely not a season killer. Good luck.
My recovery was both quick and relatively pain free. The doctors sent me in for 2 inguinal hernias and when I went under they discovered 2 more and fixed them as well. It was my off season but I did not have to take much time off (a week everything and 2 weeks running). My friend needed more than a month off so it does seem to vary a lot.
Running felt much better, the hernia had impacted my running more than I expected and I was glad I got it fixed.
Thanks for all the replies, I am def getting some pain on my long runs.
I had taken 2 days off and it barely was noticeable but after long run today it stared aching around mile 6 and has been aching since i got home.
Have a consult with U of Penn this week so hopefully they will give me the go ahead to keep training but it def hampers it for sure