Anyone ever had a "Sports Hernia" aka: "Sportsman's hernia", "Gilmore's groin", or &quot

I'd look up Dr. Cattey from Milwaukee. He's a stud. The surgery hurt afterward, but you'll be running 2-3 weeks after, so it's worth it! Later.

Hey, there's hope!

I've had a sports hernia for the past year, one that made sit ups or crunches impossible and that hurt like a son of a b i t c h whenever I'd cough.

Well, I've recently been forced to take two very easy (18 mpw) weeks due to high hamstring tendinopathy (pain in the butt), and I haven't run a step in the past four days.

And guess what? My sports hernia has almost completely disappeared! I realized this last night as I was having a coughing fit--I'm getting over a chest cold--and suddenly realized that I hadn't felt any complaint at all from my groin. (This summer, after long runs--18-22 milers--if I coughed, it would feel as though an interrogator was drilling me down there.

So chalk up one for the law of unintended consequences. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't run. It's cleared up my sports hernia.

KudzuRunner,

I truly hope you're out of the woods with your groin pain. But the fact that the pain has gone away after 4 days of no running (and 2 weeks of light exercise) does not mean your sports hernia is healed (if that's even what is causing your pain). The real test will be if you can return to a high level of training without the return of pain.

My pain went away as well when I rested. The problem was that it would return rather rapidly when I began training again. After a week or so of rest I was able to cough, sneeze, do crunches and even some leg lifts without pain. But significant exertion brought the symptoms back. Meyers said it's very common for the symptoms to disappear with rest.

With AP, the symptoms and severity of symptoms vary patient to patient. Some athletes have nothing more than low grade pain that they can manage to compete with for months or even years. For others, the pain becomes debilitating.

Good luck and let us know how this goes for you as you return to training.

RD

hey that other johnny was not me, i never have met cattey so cannot answer any questions re cattey....

i am the johnny who did go to germany. dr muschaweck did two open surgeries for bilateral sports hernias.

i cannot help with all the technical mumbo jumbo re the pelvis. all i know is that i had massive, debilitating pains from this injury that radiated all over the pelvis. i got that book because i initially was being "treated" by a urologist. i always suspected that he was wrong and eventually bought the headache in the pelvis book since it discusses the condition the ur "diagnosed" me with. the book talks about the soft tissue in the pelvis and how it is suseptable to injury and thus musclular changes and imbalances. even more importantly, it discusses how the muscular problems can be treated, and when that happens, other dysfunctions and pains can resolve.

after reading that book, i took a new approach and eventually ended up getting surgery for the right thing.

as far as imbalances go- i hear that the sh is brought about by muscle imbalances; it can make one prone to the overloading of the wrong tissues which can cause AP to begin. i already had imbalances from long-standing knee problems. it took me 15 years to get my meniscus tear fixed since i was convinced that i was invincible and always ignored the pain since it didn't really interfere with my sports all that much. once it began to bother me, i noticed, but not carefully enough, how the pains had caused my knee to work differently (via compensatory patterns). and it works from there, spreading throughout.

i know some say the sh is caused by a collegen disorder that can be passed down genetically, but maybe those same collegen issues play a role in muscle imbalances...

either way, if you are going in for surgery, try to treat your tightened muscles (from pain/injury) and get them loose and relaxed before you go under, and of course, try to get the hip flexors strong if you have already seen lots of atrophy since the symptoms kicked in. it can only help you heal.

not too sure where to send you, i am no doctor, just going on my own experiences. i guess a good pt can help, as can a good do or a rolfer.

hope it helps.

john

Run daddy,

How are you feeling? I start the pool walking Friday. Still just walking. Swelling has gone down, but Haven't made any huge strides the last couple days unfortunately. Still real weak on my left side and sore.

Keep me posted

kozy wrote:

Run daddy,

How are you feeling? I start the pool walking Friday. Still just walking. Swelling has gone down, but Haven't made any huge strides the last couple days unfortunately. Still real weak on my left side and sore.

Keep me posted

Kozy,

I'm 11 days out and feeling a lot better in the last few days. I think I'll start the rehab program next week, a week early. It still bothers me to get up in the morning and to bend down to my left. But it is definitely getting better every day.

Hi John,

How successful was your surgery from dr Muschaweck? And how much did it cost you. I'm thinking of flying over there even though it would cost me in total I think ($5000 or ) to get my sports hernia done. Her procedure seems very good, although your condition did seem quite bad? I think I have the typical sports hernia from playing soccer.

Thanks for sharing any info that you can?

Cheers,

Peter

pvanvoor@aol.com

Good for you,

I started the rehab Thursday and woke up Friday very sore. When I was walking in the pool and doing the exercises...I thought what's the point I don't even feel it. I am still sore today. I followed it to a T and feel pretty beat up. Not sure why. I also rolled about 1000 ground ball to my team and that probably lent to it. Bending over sucks. I can't to either side...so I squat like a women in a skirt, but hopefully i will turn another corner. Keep me posted.

peter

i have no doubt that the operations were successful, she has done so many of these surgeries with great success.

i am feeling better, but slowly getting there.

what i have realized is that my numerous knee and foot injuries (amongst other) that i had before my sports hernia probably helped cause the sports hernia.

i had/still treating massive muscle imbalances that were due to compensation patterns that came about from the multitude of injuries in my resume. for example, i blew off medial mensicus surgery for over 15 years, and over that period i never noticed that my knee and ankle had changed and twisted.

so, for me, i not only needed to get the sh surgeries, but also need to tend to the muscle and connective tissue problems i have.

keep in mind that i was misdiagnosed for 18 months before i met dr muschaweck. during that time i was mostly unable to move around, and spent lots of time in a hunched over position due to the pain in my abdomen/groin. that yeiled lots of problems. the longer you have this injury, especially if it is symptomatic, the longer it will take to heal; just like most injuries. but soft tissue injuries can be harder to heal than bone.

that is my case but it doesn't seem to be common. most people at least see docs that might put torn muscles into the picture, and thus can get diagnosed to a sports med injury. i wasn't so lucky for way too long. the moral is, you alone may be ultimately responsible for your own health regarding this injury. if it wasn't for ths message board i would not have gone in the right direction.

so, in direct answer to your question- in my opinion, as well as many others, you would be under the best care in the world if you go see dr muschaweck.

she will hook you up real good.

good luck and don't forget the beer gartens while you are there.

kozy wrote:

Good for you,

I started the rehab Thursday and woke up Friday very sore. When I was walking in the pool and doing the exercises...I thought what's the point I don't even feel it. I am still sore today. I followed it to a T and feel pretty beat up. Not sure why. I also rolled about 1000 ground ball to my team and that probably lent to it. Bending over sucks. I can't to either side...so I squat like a women in a skirt, but hopefully i will turn another corner. Keep me posted.

kozy, I started the rehab Friday (2 weeks). I did the pool walking with the senior citizens and then I actually swam ten easy laps (500yds) with no flip turns. After that I water-jogged in the dive pool for 5 minutes. That went fine, but I was definitely sorer on Saturday. I think the soreness following exercise is par for the course and will be with me for a while.

I can no bend down to my left and tie my shoe, so that is progress. I think I'm a little better off than you right now because my case was not nearly as bad and I only had one side done.

Hi John,

Thanks for your response. I'm pretty much pain free now after 6 days, I did the elyptical for 25 mn yesterday at a fairly high rpm and i didn't wake up with any abdominal pain. I'm praying it's just tenderness that I felt as I think I over did it last weekend. Ran 2 miles on Friday, played basketball for 1 hour on Saturday, did crunch sit ups on a high incline and did free waits. So I'm hoping I simply over did it. I think I probably do have a sprots hernia that's what my orthopedist said 2 years ago but with some folks symptons come and go. 2 years ago i did drive up to Dr. Meyers in Philladelphia but by the time I saw him the pain pretty much was gone.

I think my abdominal wall muscles are tender so I need to be carefull as far as what excericeses I do and chose them appropriately. Well I'll see what happens in the weeks ahead, i'll play soccer again and i if I have these symptons again, F it i'll spend $5000 fly to Germany & have her do her surgery. The ONLY thing about seeing her is that let's say she examines me and does the surgery & once i fly back here to the States if I need to follow up with her one does one do? See another Dr who has no idea about this condition?

Thanks for your comments,

Peter

Hey everyone,

Very informative thread, I've been reading on and off since this morning and have just made my way through. I ran my first NYC marathon this year, and about a month after was having constant 'nagging pain' in my groin, left side mostly. What followed? A diagnosis of bi-lateral groin strain and 6 weeks of PT. The PT cleared up everything else (sore achilles, sore hamstring) and my groin was better, so this week got back on the treadmill. Oy. Just a few minutes of running and the symptoms from before were back, like no time or healing had passed. My Orthopod has scheduled an MRI for tuesday... but thanks to you guys and gals, now I know a whole lot more. I'm betting the MRI will come up negative. Then what? I'm in NYC, so getting down to Philly isn't so hard.... I'm so frustrated. All I want to do is run again without pain. And everyone who says "just take 6 months off" - I'll turn into a pool of jello! No way! Sigh. I'll report back after the MRI...

Jimmy,

I would try to see Meyers ASAP after the MRI. Not sure how your insurance works, but why mess around with other docs if you can get to Meyers? I believe he makes an honest call as to whether you have AP and whether you're a good surgery candidate. The thing about AP is that 6 months off probably won't even do the trick.

peter,

that is exactly the problem i had.

i saw 28 doctors over 130 some visits before i finally met dr muschaweck. i have had only one follow-up with dr m, and that was 3 months ago in nyc, i drove down to meet up with her for 15 minutes. groin/ab wall was all ok from her perspective, and she recommended an experienced physiotherapist and some injections. since the docs here have no clue about ap there was no way my new sports med doc would do any injections. dr m would have referred me to the right guy but he is out of plan and would only refer me to another out-of-plan anesthsiologist. so, i figured i'd spend my money locally on non-invasive methods first, since it would cost about the same anyhow, if not less.

hoping i don;t need the injections, but it looks like i will in a few weeks just to be safe. i can tell you that the injections following post-ap surgery are common after about 6 weeks of pt with pain still around. at least that is how it tends to work, from my understanding.

i have had no follow-up help let alone pre-op help and advise. that is why i have had to post so many times here; i am basically on my own aside from the tips from others on this here thread.

i'd say that if dr m does your surgery then you can bet that it was done right and is successful. any residual pain would not be from an unsuccesful surgery(ies) but rather lingering pain signals (hence injections afterwards) or other semi-related issues that need to be looked at. dr m knows her stuff and when she is inside she inspects the whole region to see about other tears and the like. you would be in good hands.

from what i understand, from a very good source here in the us, is that both dr cattey and the doc at ucla are both very good options as well. but dr m seems to be the most experienced and dedicated to this injury. the roughly 5k per side is worth it to get the best in my opinion.

john

I've been following this track for a bit and thought I would post my symptoms in hopes that someone can give some advice on physio (not keen on surgery)...basically pain in my lower left abdominal region, just "in and down" from the hip. Sometimes there's also pain in my inner thigh as well. While it's normally not excruciating (in fact non-existent once I get up and about), I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a stabbing pain in my lower ab that radiates into my penis (quite alarming actually, until I read this thread). I'm a recreational half-marathoner and I have recently tried to rekindle my former glory days of soccer. Running itself isn't too bad, but certain core exercises are painful.

hey everyone

i'm back from munich where i had surgery with Dr. Muschaweck. for my impressions, basically see the post by ozhammer a few pages back -- my sentiments exactly. dr. M and her whole staff are extremely professional not to mention nice and the whole experience was great (well, having surgery wassn't exactly pleasant, but relatively speaking...)

i ended up having the surgery on my left side only. dr. M said she could defect a very small sports hernia developing on the right side and there is a good chance i will need surgery on that side eventually, but i decided to take my chances for now. this is another sucky thing about this injury -- dr. M says that 70% of those who get SH on one side will get it on the other at same point.

i took a slow 40 minute walk on day 1 post-surgery. on day 5 i went for a very short and light jog, and was pleased to find that i only had a bit of discomfort. today is day six, and beyond typical post-surgery soreness and swelling i feel really good. it's way too early to tell yet, but my feeling is that i'm on my way back to 100%.

i got a lot of really good advice from people i found on this thread when i was thinking about going to see dr. M (obviously a pretty big decision). if you have any questions feel free to email me at yleeper at gmail and i will help you in any way i can.

best of luck to you all.

osaru wrote:

this is another sucky thing about this injury -- dr. M says that 70% of those who get SH on one side will get it on the other at same point.

That's very interesting. I asked Meyers about this. He said only 4 out of every 100 who had a SH on one side developed it on the other side, not nearly enough for him to do a preventive Pelvic Floor Repair on the unaffected side.

4% vs 70% - Quite a disparity. Somebody is wrong.

that is interesting. 4 out of 100 seems way too low to me. i bet if we were to poll just the people on this thread the percentage would be significantly higher than 4%. on the other hand, 70% does sound a bit high too.

I was wondering if you tried ART? (Active Release Technique for those who are not familiar) Actually, I was wondering if anyone has tried it and if it has fixed their groin problems. Thanks!