Last post should read "I also had a question..."
Last post should read "I also had a question..."
ARenko,
Dr. UM will estimate the size of your tear in the Ultrasound. Anything over 2.2cm and she will recommend surgical repair. If it is less she will let you decide if you want to try and get back to full activity without pain or not. If it gets down to 1.5 and less size, then I think less of the bowel can push through the hole and cause a lot of nerve damage so the risk is limited. One of two things will happen when you try and rehab, it will get worse or better. There is nothing she will not be able to fix if the tear has not been there for a long period of time. Those are her protocols. Ask her when you see her if you decide to go down that route. I'm 6 days post op and have gotten in two brisk walks today with core workout and about 5 minutes of light jogging. No pain. Incision soreness and swelling continue to decrease. The bruising in the incision area is pretty big and will take 3-6 weeks to subside.
As far as the MRI, it will not detect an abdominal tear because you are in a plane position and not flexing your muscles when the MRI is taken. No tear of the lower abdominal wall will be revealed. Dr. UM will not even look at it if you bring it with you, so leave it at home. Meyers MRI works differently. Those that have seen him can answer that question. See a lot of doctors and ask a lot of questions while getting a diagnosis. I of course recommend seeing Dr. UM. I too did 2 MRI's and a CAT scan to rule out all other causes before flying to New York to see Dr. UM and finally getting a firm diagnosis with her Ultrasound.
Mike in Va
Renko.....My MRI from Dr Meyers noted an aponeurosis tear of my rectus and adductor tendons...I have been diagnosed with a Sports Hernia so Take it for what its worth
As far as MRI's all are not created the same...I had 2 Prior MRIs that didnt show anything.....Dr Meyers MRI is specifically set up for the Athletic Pubalgia Protocol...Dr UM's office is misinformed if they said an MRI cannot help Diagnose a Sports Hernia......MY personal opinion is if you havent had the injury too long then DR Um may be the way to go....but if you have had the injury for a long time then Dr Meyer may be the better choice....Good luck
Thanks guys.
JCsportsman, my MRI suggested tear of the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis/ adductor longus - same as you I guess. I understand the aponeurosis is similar in function to a tendon. In other words, the apponeurosis is the "tendon" of those muscles - at least that's how I understand it.
Mike in VA - does she give recommendations for rehab?
AR,
I had my MRI's at a local hospital and they showed to be negative. But as some other folks alluded to, Meyers has a more specialized MRI. I'm not sure if that would have revealed anything for me or not. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen something before having surgery. But I met with Dr. Hoadley and decided to have surgery based on inability to recover in a reasonable amount of time. He sutured the conjoined tendon which he said was "splayed" or widened -- a condition he sees with people having sports hernias.
Guys-
I know i said i would not post again but i feel i have to and you will know why.
I went to Meyers today for my 6 weeks checkup. He is on the 8th floor and i decided to run the stairs...Did it no problem...
However, this is where I think the negativity on this site can be destructive.
While i was checking in the lady asked me if i was here for the first time ....i said no...i am post-op. Well when i went to sit down a very nice young lady looked at me and came over. She asked if i had surgery yet and i said yes. She introduced herself as a pilates and college dance teacher from DC. She commented that it looked like i was walking well and she was asking me about the surgery and so on. She said she was petrified. I asked her why and guess what she said???? She said she was on a website called letsrun and it scared the hell out of her. I told her that the healed do not go on the site and she said her husband said the same thing. This is exactly why I was pissed at Surf not being fair and balanced. She had her MRI today and was not scheduled next day for surgery. She told me her symptoms and said that it was now moving to her back and her chiro said her sacrum was moved 12 cm on 1 side and her pain was moving. I told her that my whole compartment was shot and look how well i was doing. I think this reassured her...or at least i hope it did. I called JC and told him of her.
LIke i said I do not mind people sharing experiences but for goodness sakes when someone is new here fear should not be their first impression and reading about FAILURES.
I hope she comes on here. T (short for her first name) please e-mail me
(paul aka Albert) Let me know how you made out.
Also Meyers has a 4 plane MRI (i think that is the term) and it is THE MOST ADVANCED machine for this condition. The technology is only 2 years old. Most MRI's will not show anything....However, if you read his last paper it refers to this machine and how now he can be very certain on candidates for surgery. Prior to this it was based only on clinical presentation.
During my visit today with Meyers he answered many questions. Why is my scar so big? He laughed and said on a scale of 1-10 mine was a 10 in severity. Also he said I should feel great at week 12 and to step it up. He also explained my leg symptoms in greater detail in terms of how compartment syndrome works. He also injected me with numbing agent and worked on my scar which was inflamed due to a reaction to the sutures (says it is uncommon...but not too rare)....He cleaned it out and removed some of the sutures....Funny.....the swelling went down asap. I asked him about a vertical cable like thing i could feel from my incision to around my belly button. He said it was a vein and it would reabsorb into my body as the swelling subsides. Nothing to worry about. REALLY REALLY emphasized massaging the adductors and really hammering it with workouts. I mentioned the Core X system and he told me that was a great idea.
I am enthused so far as was he. He was smiling and joking and told me soon it would be a distant memory. I told him i was stiff from the 6 hr ride...but funny thing is that when i got out of the car i loosened right up where before i would be wrecked for a week.
I have to say I cant believe how well Albert is doing...we talked many times on the phone even months before his operation and compared all our pains.....For him to be where he is at is amazing...This is a guy that couldnt do much as far as working out and keeping in shape for a good 2 years...he goes into the surgery out of shape, over weight and battles thru rehab which for most is just rehabing the surgical repaired areas....on top of that hes battling to take weight of and working on all the dysfunctions his body incurred from 5+ years with this injury....THis should give hope to all.....
Interesting you mention how the girls sacrum moved 12mm...........mine rose up about 9mm on the injured side and tourqed to the opposite side
As far as MRI's go...they give a good idea but really dont show the whole picture......Ive had many frineds with various surgeries and have read on many athletes who druing surgery, either open or Scope to whatever part of the body....The Surgeon will usually find more then the MRI showed or other times will find things werent as bad as teh MRI showed...you just really dont know till there actually operating on you
JC,
I think that is the toughest part for all of us who aren't professionals... we have been sidelined for months and years in many cases, to the point where we have lost muscle tone and mobility. A lot of pros get hurt, get diagnosed, and have surgery pretty quickly. They are still in shape and back out on the field in a few weeks. So, it's just a reminder that it's going to take more time for most of us. It sounds pretty phenomenal that some pros are able to play after only a few weeks, but that's not going to happen for everyone. I'm doing pretty well at day 26 despite some ongoing inflammation. I wish I could push it as hard as Albert, but I'm still being pretty cautious... hoping to start jogging next week if I can. Until then, still working on core, stationary bike,and treadmill...
Albert,
Is there any specific exercise you are doing to work the adductors?
my apologies if this has already been posted... I think my massage therapist forwarded this article to me. He doesn't appear to support surgery, but that's easy to say for anyone who hasn't actually had the injury. It is very interesting reading and makes a lot of sense concerning adduction.
Den-
I do not really push it too much in terms of explosiveness but in terms of time i do.
As far as adduction i do swings...left to right....then i do laying down on my side and raises.
Pool work seems to feel the best.
Going to see Gray Cook therapist as referred to in Mike Boyles article to get FMS (functional motion screen)
Day after Meyers did work on my scar it is 100% flatter than it was. Yesterday it was thick, purple and raised....Today it is thin, still purple but thinner and flat.
It's 7 Days post op from Dr. Muschaweck in Munich and I ran a 9min 30sec mile up at the local track after my 45 min walk. Truly amazing. All of the SH pain is completely gone. It's like a damn miracle. Swelling has gone down considerably from the incision. I'm really just down to incision soreness at this point. I'm continuing my core work from the Boyle routine that I focused on for 7 weeks pre-op. I really didn't know if this day would come when I was in pain, but it did. I'm very thankful.
Mike in Va
I'm about 15 weeks out from surgery with Dr. Um - still pain in the lower abdomen and groin/adductor pain triggered by activity, sometimes just random onset. I'm not sure if I'm still swollen or literally grossly disfigured after the surgery. I'm still holding out hope that things will get better, but it's not easy.
ARenko wrote:
Mike in VA - does she give recommendations for rehab?
No she doesn't. She advises walks beginning the day of surgery, light activity through day three, and full exertion at day 6-10 depending on how well you are healing.
I'm three plus weeks post op and I still have some lower abdominal soreness, but no testicle pain. My advice for those post op is to perform light exercise, but give the surgery time to heal. I've been playing soccer pretty much daily starting 6 days post op and I believe the heavy toll its placed on my body hasn't allowed my lower abs to fully heal. I'm going to take the next two weeks off and let my body heal... That is after my military PT test tomorrow ;)
Mike-
I just got back from getting my FMS (functional movement screening)....It is the one designed by Gray Cook and is recommended by Mike Boyle and many as the starting point for any rehab program. It is very hip/adductor oriented since they believe a lack of motion in the hip overloads the adductors and starts the whole evil process. Some awkward movements but i will get my assessment and program in a few days. The guy did say after reading my injury history that i surprised the hell out of him on how well i moved.
Mike-
I just got back from getting my FMS (functional movement screening)....It is the one designed by Gray Cook and is recommended by Mike Boyle and many as the starting point for any rehab program. It is very hip/adductor oriented since they believe a lack of motion in the hip overloads the adductors and starts the whole evil process. Some awkward movements but i will get my assessment and program in a few days. The guy did say after reading my injury history that i surprised the hell out of him on how well i moved.
Mike-
I just got back from getting my FMS (functional movement screening)....It is the one designed by Gray Cook and is recommended by Mike Boyle and many as the starting point for any rehab program. It is very hip/adductor oriented since they believe a lack of motion in the hip overloads the adductors and starts the whole evil process. Some awkward movements but i will get my assessment and program in a few days. The guy did say after reading my injury history that i surprised the hell out of him on how well i moved.
Albert,
That's fantastic news. You definitely are not the normal patient coming back as far as you have in such a short period of time. You know from my previous post I have stuck to Boyle's Phase 1 and 2 program for most of my rehab on a daily basis. I'd lover to hear more about it once you receive your program based on the screening results. Keep at it man.
Mike in Va
I went to a chiropractor today who specializes in Active Release Technique for sports-related injuries. He worked on my psoas mainly, but also pointed out deficiencies in glutes and hip flexor, and gave me a couple of exercises to improve these areas gently. I did a series of stretching exercises and he was able to detect immediately the modified mechanics on the injury side.
I think it's great that a lot of folks are able to get out and jog, run or play soccer a few days after surgery with UM, but don't forget that you have to correct what was wrong in the first place so that it doesn't happen again.
Hamilton throws from 70 feet: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Rangers OF Josh Hamilton (abdominal surgery) threw from about 70 feet Tuesday.
(Updated 06/17/2009).
This guy had surgery by Meyers last Monday. 9 days ago....WOW