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This morning I discovered what I believe to be a hernia. Not sure how/when it occurred; I can't recall any recent pain nor am I in pain currently. I understand hernias usually require surgery to fix. My questions:

- how urgent is it to get it looked at/fixed (am leaving today for week+ trip)?

- How long would post-op recovery take (ie how long would it limit my climbing/training)?

Thanks for any input!

I believe it's really only urgent to get it fixed if it's causing pain. For what it's worth, I ran an entire collegiate cross country season with one before having it repaired surgically.

I would say post-op you are not gonna want to do much for about a month. Once you get it fixed, you'll see what I mean when you have the sensation your guts are gonna fall out.


I'd get it looked at asap to see what other options, if any, you may have.

blazin wrote:This morning I discovered what I believe to be a hernia. Not sure how/when it occurred; I can't recall any recent pain nor am I in pain currently. I understand hernias usually require surgery to fix. My questions:

- how urgent is it to get it looked at/fixed (am leaving today for week+ trip)?

- How long would post-op recovery take (ie how long would it limit my climbing/training)?

Thanks for any input!

I would second what smoove said. Get it looked at sooner rather than later. I worked out and ran for a couple of or maybe 3 years with mine (30-40 miles per week) and never experience any pain. But my doc. noticed it (it was getting larger, basically as my guts were trying to escape ) when I went in for something else. My doc. also noticed an umbilical hernia. I was told that there was a remote possibility that the intestine could squeeze out quickly and cause severe pain (as well as be life threatening.)

Surgery was quick. I was in in the morning and home that afternoon. Recovery took time. My surgeon was an old climber and pushed me to get active asap even though I didn't feel like it. He had me walking right away (with lots of meds) and jogging after a month. I had a minor complication that slowed my recovery. One of the screws they used to attach the mesh support to the lower stomach muscles rubbed against a nerve in my right side/leg. No meds could touch that pain whenever the nerve got rubbed, hah. Oh, well. Took awhile to sort it out and resume training at a higher intensity. Good luck.

I agree with the above posts in that you should get it looked at sooner than later. However they usually not very urgent unless your experiencing pain. I went a few years with mine but then last summer i noticed it increaseing in size so i gave in and had it taken care of surgically. The one thing my doctor warned me of is that when it gets larger like that you risk the chance of your intestines twisting which would be very bad.

After surgery, I was on my feet at work the next day, however i wasnt running or climbing much for about another 3 weeks. The recovery time is really quick as it is such a standard operation now.

One peice of advice --- after you have surgery... try to avoid sneezing hah.

`matt

General rule of thumb on a hernia is that if you can push it back into your abdomen (even if It pops right back out) it is considered to be a "soft hernia" . That is not as urgent as one that will not go back in and is in danger of strangulating and rupturing. Either way you should at least have looked at. ( I've had a hernia for a few years now, I just moniter it till I get some down time to get it fixed.......again.)

A note on prevention. When Homosapiens evolved and walked upright, our gut bag didn't quite follow. Hence it is more prone to herniantion than quadrupeds, especially from inguinal hernias.

Internal pressure, and hence increased risk, occurs through several ways: constriction of the waist with tight belts or jeans and then heavy lifting or digging will cause the abdomen to bulge or pop. Bad diet where you are straining your guts on the john. If what goes in doesn't come out next day, you are bunged up. Cutting the processed foods (white flour, breads, sugars, fats) will reduce internal pressure and swelling.

Get it checked. Some are dangerous, others are not. Let a doctor make the call.

I had one left untouched for years because it didn't cause any trouble. Eventually it became a nagging minor bother and I decided that surgery was the smaller bother. Now I have GoreTex on the inside!

I am not a Doctor. But 20 years ago I was planning a three week backpack trip in the Sierra when I noticed the lump. I tried to ignore it but thought I probably should get it looked at before trudging up mountains with a 50 pound pack. The doctor said that if it should rupure out in the backcountry I would be dead. So we ended up modifying the trip and doing day trips.

I had it fixed later (it took about a week to get walking normally). I proceeded to have two more in the years that follow, all in different spots. There are 3 on each side possible, I am told.

So get it looked at now, I would say. Get the facts and go on your trip knowing the deal.

I've had two of the things and on the second I let it get bigger than it would've been had I acted on it when I should have. It became a more difficult procedure and required much more recovery time so I would strongly recommend that you deal with it ASAP and keep it simpler.

I had inguinal hernia surgery four weeks ago. Today for the first time I tentatively "bouldered" easy holds in my local climbing gym. I'm planning on top roping at the end of the week.

Two weeks out I was walking an hour a day, but felt fatigued at the end of the week. Last week I started on one of those endless staircases and lifted weights that didn't involve the abdomen. Planning on resuming running later this week.

In all, the change has been profound over four weeks - from immobile and in pain to almost doing what I want.

BTW the surgeon noticed my hernia three years on an MRI when I had an emergency appendectomy. Over that time it grew to about golf ball size, only bothersome after I ran about 25 minutes or biked for an hour. I finally decided to get it done one day when I had to stop pedaling a bike and walk it was so painful.

I'm not sure, but I think eating a good diet, being in reasonable shape and desiring to get back in shape has helped. I do know, however, if you push too fast the consequences are no fun.

I'm a medical student. In one study of inguinal hernias, the probability of strangulation was 2.8% over three months. It'd be bad if it strangulated while you were out in the wilderness. According to those odds, it probably wouldn't strangulate, but whether you'd want to chance it, it's up to you.

Of course you should see a doctor so that he can evaluate your individual risk.

It has now been eight weeks since my inguinal hernia operation. Things seem back to normal. I run, lift weights, climb. At about week 5 I started lifting weights that didn't involve use of abdominals. I was running at week 4. Walked from a couple days after surgery.

At week 6 I could still feel a tick down in the mesh area if I stretched a certain way; therefore I avoided pull-ups and push-ups. I'm back to doing them, however.

At this point, doubts I harbored about the necessity of the operation and its possibly lengthy and unresolved after-effects have been erased. FYI I'm 61. Off to J-T the week after next!