See I have this friend who is convinced he has a sports hernia (not the run of the mill inguinal type) that has been a major irritant when running for a few weeks. Does anyone have experience with this type of ailment and what was the remedy so I can assist my friend.
Thanks!
I think I have/had this also.
Do a ST search, there is a link to letsrun which has a huge thread on this.
Dave
I currently have one (sports variety), as diagnosed by a surgeon I ride with and a sports med dr. who lives up the street. It really started flaring in January and sucked during run training for CdA. After a hard run it feels like my groin is pulled and extends all the way down to the knee. That caused me to subconsciously change up my stride just a bit, which then lead to hip issues.
Surgery is supposed to be pretty easy and you’re out of commission for about a week. I think you can get back to easy riding after that. I’m planning to get cut in a couple weeks and then take end-of-season rest during recovery
What both guys said that it’s pretty much a matter of how much discomfort you want to deal with. I got really tired of constantly being sore and ended my tri season after a late July race. Since then I’ve been just riding and have virtually no problems at all. However there’s no way I’d start another season without getting it fixed.
How did you get diagnosed? I went throught the surgeon, and MRI. He found nothing, and actually never
had heard of a sports hernia. So, I just did not run for months, other than races, and it seems to have gotten better,
but not 100% yet.
Dave
I had a lot of discomfort and went in to see a surgeon who works with the San Jose Sharks. He said they see this same thing fairly often with hockey players and it seems that stuff just wears out. He had me see a PT to do some therapy, who was also pretty sure it was a sports hernia (btw, therapy didn’t help).
After I talked to a laproscopic surgeon I ride with and he said all the symptoms indicate the same thing. Then I asked my neighbor about it, who heads a sports medicine group, and he concurred.
Basically they all said the same: the symptoms point to a sports hernia but you can’t be 100% certain without going in to look and see.
Yep, that is basically what I read on the long thread on letsrun.com
But, how do you get your insurance to pay for something that no tests can show?
Do you know what they will do to “fix” it?
When are you going in to be repaired?
Thanks.
Dave
Dave and Carl - Thanks for the information. My research shows this is not easy to detect and “hernia” is a bit of a misnomer as there is no bulge per se but I clearly have the symptoms to a tee. This is tied to hip flexor issues and as was stated sports such as hockey, soccer, and I would guess cycling, where you are bent over or opening your hips up is believed to be a contributor.
Here’s a good write-up of the specifics and treatment.
http://www.medicalmoment.org/_content/treatment/apr05/313602.asp
I’ll be finding a surgeon soon as the pain, albeit not debilitating, is certainly aggravating/annoying to the point it has reduced the quality of my training.
Thanks for the article. Again, consistant with what I have read. And I guess also supports my thoughts
that my leg lifts, by over doing them I guess, is what caused mine.
Will keep a copy since if it acts up again, I need to show this to the docs since so few know about it.
In my case I was lucky I could still swim and bike, but could not do any run training. How I was able to run
at races, and do well, is something I still do not understand. Just glad it has settled mostly down for now.
Dave
Being hard to detect is similar to what everyone told me but they also said that based on the symptoms they can be reasonably certain. All the people I saw are sports specialists so they’re familiar with the sports-variety hernia.
Running with it has caused hip flexor issues, which I’ve never had before. But I’ve been riding 15+ hours per week with no disomfort whatsoever, so for me it’s limited to running.
I’m pretty much at the same point as you with regard to how irratating it is. Quite honestly, I’m not sure how I managed to put up with it so long. I’ve been trying to do 2-3 short, easy runs per week and it’s become increasingly difficult because I feel so lousy after.
Carl, I had to stop doing any run training for a few months. I just swam, biked, and PC’s. Was able to gut it out for races, but that
was it for a long time.
Dave
I think i have one too. It hurts on my right side when I burp or take a deep breath and hold it. Also if i let out all the air in my lungs it hurts and feels a bit like a soar muscle would. I just did IMOO so im thinking that had something to do with it. What do you think, sounds like what your feelin?
I had a lot of discomfort and went in to see a surgeon who works with the San Jose Sharks. He said they see this same thing fairly often with hockey players and it seems that stuff just wears out. He had me see a PT to do some therapy, who was also pretty sure it was a sports hernia (btw, therapy didn’t help).
After I talked to a laproscopic surgeon I ride with and he said all the symptoms indicate the same thing. Then I asked my neighbor about it, who heads a sports medicine group, and he concurred.
Basically they all said the same: the symptoms point to a sports hernia but you can’t be 100% certain without going in to look and see.
Was that Dr Ting?
I’ve had a hip problem that has similar symptoms, and the MRI turned up osteitis.
Here is the Letsrun.com thread
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=1749381&thread=559820
I’ve been suffering from this since last May - diagnosed by a physiatrist and sports medicine doc. Tried to run on it through December (bad mistake). I’ve switched to cycling and swimming, and I’ve been able to keep in shape, but I sorely miss running. After I stopped running, the condition calmed down allowing me to do my activities of daily living without pain.
Ultimately, though, I’m not sure if I’ll have the surgery.
Curious about your present condition - I’ve had AP for the past few months now & will be going in for surgery in the next week or two. Care to give us an update?
Sure. Had surgery 2.5 weeks ago and the surgeon found that the two abdominal muscles had ~2 inch tears in them. The first three post days were brutal. Expect the days following to be rough. After surgery for an achilles rupture a few years ago, and broken rib this summer, I only took Advil. After this one I was wolfing down prescription painkillers as fast as possible. Also get a bunch of ice packs and keep it chilled out.
Right now I’m around 95%. The incision is still raised and a little swolen but no discomfort. Surgery was on a Monday and I ignored Drs orders and started going for slow, mellow walks that Friday. This week I started walking at a normal pace and going up and down some hills. Also started riding and hit the road for 20-30 flat miles each day Sunday - Wednesday. Spoke to the surgeon this week and he said I can start running at 3 weeks and will be at 100% by 6.
No question that it solved a problem. I used to have discomfort even walking up and down hills, and now I don’t feel it at all. There’s some little tweak going on in my hip that I suspect is a muscle imbalance, which I can take care of in the gym. Very happy I had it done, other than the bill showing up today.
Glad to hear it went well, sounds like a best-case scenario thus far. One major concern I have is in finding a surgeon who has performed this procedure specifically. Was your physician a specialist with experience in this area? My surgery is scheduled for next week, but no definitive diagnosis was given in the pre-op phase due to the nature of the injury; I mostly told her what I thought the problem was & she scheduled the surgery. I don’t think I asked enough questions about her expertise in this area, and our consult left me with a few questions about her experience. I’m thinking I need to make a few more phone calls before I go through with this, maybe look for a specialist in my area.
How long would you expect to be out of work if your job involved occasional strenuous activity?
I’d 100% agree with your concern about going to a specialist. I first went to see a general surgeon who couldn’t find his ass with a map. Then I got a referral to the specialist and he practically knew what I was going say prior to saying it. Not sure I’d have it done by somebody who didn’t have a good idea about the injury & a gameplan to fix. I’m in Northern Cal, where are you?
I work from home and was back at it the next day. But strenuous, I’d guess two weeks if you’re a fast healer, but more likely 3 before you’re feeling close to good. As an example, I started out pretty mellow on the bike this week but had a pretty good ride yesterday. That was about 2.5 weeks ago.
Crap crap crap crap crap crap.
Talk to me about this. I was playing soccer with my team two weeks ago and I pulled what I thought was my groin. Had associated lower left abdominal pain. Next day, I could barely walk. It has been two weeks and I still can’t run without some “stress” but not clear pain, more like an ache like a cramp. Hurts to do leg lifts, but I can do them. I am good when I cough, but when I sneeze it tightens up with a sharp pain. Please tell me I don’t have a future date with a scalpel?
Read the letsrun thread and see if you can relate.
Dave
I had the same pains with a sneeze. I actually used to double over before to lessen the pain. Not so much with a cough though.