ExRx.net

Went to the doc for my physical and the doc said I had a small inguinal hernia. I asked him if I could keep lifting and he said sure as long as I don't lift a piano, well as it is I do like to lift heavy on squats and deads and bench and press... He said I could also go ahead and get the surgery if I want, they put a mesh in there to keep things in place.

Do any of you have any experience with this? Would you recommend just going ahead and getting the surgery or just go lighter?
If you had surgery, how long were you out?

I guess I could always lower the intensity and raise the volume, say bye bye to the 5/3/1 I have been doing, do you think this is a viable option?

This sucks!
I might have to change my handle from GTO to Vega.

Did you have any clue before the doctor told you that you have it? Did you have pain there when lifting or anything else? Maybe it's been there all along. The assumption is that lifting caused it, but it isn't necessarily so. If there are no symptoms, I think I'd probably keep lifting, and see if it changes. If it's growing, then I'd cut back until after a repair.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

I have had the mesh installed. Proceed with this surgery. Fix the problem early. Following the operation I was on my back more or less for two weeks, and I didn't train with any intensity for 2-3 months. I am however soft and cautious. I'm sure someone with more enthusiasm could return earlier.

I ignored the hernia for a considerable amount of time. I decided to act after I went to a music festival and had to leave before the main act due to the pain of the hernia being trapped outside the tear. In the months preceding the surgery I was running between 20 and 60kms a week, with only minor discomfort. Think having to push the hernia back in while I was on the move. I wasn't lifting too much.

Once I decided to act I visited my GP who referred me to a surgeon the following week. When I met the surgeon, following the examination he looked at me and asked: Are you free next week? Yes. Good - you're going on the table.

This was several years ago and I now have no problems running, lifting or attending music festivals. My wife can't identify which side the mesh was installed.

Hey Doc, No I didn't know it was there, and I haven't had any pain. I had a physical last year and he didn't find it then. I was just kind of thrown back when he said not to go lifting any piano's, and I'm thinking dead lifts are harder than lifting a piano.

I'm going to take your advice and keep lifting then if I start having pain or I feel it popping out further, ( I guess that I can do some kind of self exam), I'll go get the surgery done.

He told me I could get it taken care right away if I want, but he wasn't too worried about it at all, but it worries me.


robt-aus. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm getting old and not as enthusiastic as I used to be. 2 weeks on my back doesn't sound too awful bad, but the 2 -3 months would turn me to jelly. Glad to here you recovered and can lift again, If I have to get it done, I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks both of you for your reply, both of your comments have helped ease my mind.

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Thanks TimD.

But if it isn't bad enough to even notice without your doctor telling you it's there, I think it's OK to keep going until you start noticing it. Sure if it becomes incarcerated, you'll go in right away. But if it really is asymptomatic, you can give it a little time.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

I had an inguinal hernia for many years before finally getting it fixed a month ago. I lifted heavy all the time. It was pretty big, and hadn't gotten any worse in a good 5 years. I think I got in 1998, and it was small. Then it got bigger when I was lifting, but I was too overweight to notice. So I didn't know until I lost weight. Even then I thought it was just something weird about my abs. Then I noticed it would go in when I laid down, and pop out after I had been standing for a minute.

I had the very most extreme version of the surgery. I had the full 3 inch incision with mesh stitched onto both sides of the muscle, with a connecting piece in between, plus I think some of the opening was stitched together too. They had to use the largest size mesh on it.

Due to previous good doctor recommendations, I was able to get this done by a particularly good vascular surgeon, so results may vary. But I have been testing out light weights already, and I was deadlifting a pair of 40lbs dumbbells, and it felt just like before the surgery. I am going to work my way back slowly but another 3 weeks and I should be lifting heavy again.

If you can't see it, I would say wait. I think most doctors would say you don't need to worry about it yet also.

Funny, but I saw a man this afternoon for vague lower abdominal pain. He had been treated by several others with antibiotics and antiparasitic meds. On a hunch I asked to check for hernias, and he had big ole honkin right sided one. He hadn't made any connection between his symptoms and the big mass in his groin. That's strange in the local culture, which usually thinks everything is connected to everything else.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan