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

SUCCESSFUL SPORTS HERNIA RECOVERY WITHOUT SURGERY

EXAMPLES 7 - 10

7. Posted by BoulderBill

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8. Posted by DomuzAvci

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9. Posted by EricR

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10. Posted by ITBitman

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helpersssz,

The docs on Goodyear's board believe in mesh. Funny thing is so many posters are on there looking for pure tissue repair or complaining about their mesh surgery. It was completely unhelpful to dismiss the posters valid question about Dr. M in that way, which makes me agree with your assessment.

helpersssz,

The docs on Goodyear's board believe in mesh. Funny thing is so many posters are on there looking for pure tissue repair or complaining about their mesh surgery. It was completely unhelpful to dismiss the posters valid question about Dr. M in that way, which makes me agree with your assessment.

Rick,

My suggestion...Go to Dr. M, get surgery, and move on with your life.

I agree it's frustrating to keep reading mesh/ non mesh, surgery/ non-surgery, this doc/ that doc. I'm just waiting until we switch insurance providers in September. Can't wait to be done with it and move on.

I guess I'm about the only current participant in this LetsRun thread who is trying to recover from sports hernia without surgery. But from reading this long thread it's very clear that ALL OF US (surgical faction and non-surgical faction) share a common need: We ALL are challenged and somewhat befuddled by the task of rehabilitation.

It's my understanding that the doctors pretty much each have their own rehab protocol, but seem to use their same protocol for every patient even though two different patients may have different injuries showing on MRI's etc. And even though one patient may have had sports hernia for 6 months and another patient has had it for 5 years, do they get the same rehab protocal from, e.g., Dr. Meyers?

I think if we all joined our minds in an atmosphere of scientific, critical thinking and discussion (rather than protocol and dogma) we would all have a better chance of successful recovery.

Tiff has already mentioned she has some questions and suggestions about the rehab protocol she was given. Tiff, I'm very interested in any suggestions or insights that might help the rest of us.

Rick, you ask some good questions that need answering. That is most un-lemming-like of you. Be prepared for a possible deluge of criticism, but please continue asking questions. As the saying goes, a good question well stated is often more important than many answers.

ARenko,

I've been watching this thread for a few months now. Of the people who have undergone surgery, who has recovered?

Here is how I rank them from what I've read here:

#1 - Mike in Va

#2 - MelloDraMa

#3 - Nobody else.

All the other people on this thread who have had surgery have not recovered yet, not even close, as far as I know. But I may be missing something.

Do you know of anybody in this thread other than Mike in Va or MelloDrama who have resumed sports? And even those two success stories were not issue-free. Mike in Va decided not to play soccer anymore (very sensible). And Mello has mentioned some tough, trying times in recovery, and still isn't over it all, but probably will be with more time, thankfully.

ARenko, do you know of any other successful recoveries among all the surgical patients posting here? If so, who?

Thanks.

Josh Hamilton went to Meyers

TO ANYBODY

If you are someone who has had sports hernia surgery and have successfully recovered, could you please share your story with us? It would help many people here.

Thanks.

Surf all bad examples.....Of the few I read none were diagnosed with Athletic Pubalgia with confirmed torn tendons and actually healed after a diagnosis.....all were guessing and self diagnosing .......Most probably had a common groin pull or strain....or an abdominal pull or strain..........I pulled my groin once it it felt just as bad and the same symptoms as athletic pubalgia.....couldnt walk and was very limited........Iced it for 48 hours....started heat and stretching with strengthening and was 50% in 1 week and 100% in 3 weeks....muscle tears will heal sicne they have an abundant amount of blood supply....Tendons may partially heal if not torn too badly but will never heal 100 % and will be in a forever weakened state with added scar tissue causing the tendon to be less flexabale and suseptable to future tearing and putting stress on supporting tendons...A torn Ligamnet will never heal on its own...hardly any blood supply

Surf-

I am 10.5 weeks out. I would say my AP is 90-95% healed.

I walk 5 miles per day. If i did not have this damn plantar fasciatis I would be running. The only time i even have a twinge of a symptom on my surgical side is in the morning if i slept on my stomach. My adductors are very loose and flexible all the time.

My injury was severe. I was also out of shape.My bigger challenge was the opposite side which i now have under control since FMS and stretching. I would say if I did not tear my MCL (non related to AP if you are making the connection) I would be back to doing a full boxing workout.

I would say that is pretty successful.

I am back lifting weights, I do agility drills, play basketball and do my FMS workout.

What more do you want from people. I am going to spell this out for you because you are slow....

if you have a tear and AP....YOU OR ANYBODY ELSE IS NOT GETTING BETTER unless it is REATTACHED

I think the rehab protocol is the way it is because i believe meyers thinks time is the best healer.

So being 10.5 weeks out my AP surgery feels great.

IF i were in shape and did not

#1 Tear my MCL by stepping in a hole at week 4

#2 Develop PF from all this walking

I would be 100%...

My MCL is a grade 3 tear so it probably has another 4 weeks until it is 100% and my PF is getting better also.

Also Meyers is a surgeon. It is his job to get you in the position to heal. Same with any doc. They cut you....give you some guidelines and rest is up to you and PT.

Surf....you are one shot dude and persistent.

Rick-

Do not listen to Surf. These are all poor examples. Most of these are self-diagnosed SH injuries so who knows if it were a pull or a tear.

Surf still has some residual damage from partying too hard at Woodstock.

Here is sound advice:

1) Get a diagnosis

2) Try rehab first to see if it works but most times it does not

3) CHoose a surgeon you are comfortable with and have the surgery.

4) Be dedicated in your rehab and go live your life

**I was severely injured...COmplete RA tear....and 2 addcutors calcified causing compartment syndrome..

My AP is 90/95% healed at 10.5 weeks. I will be 100% shortly but if i am not I could play sports (once i drop the last 20 pounds) at this condition.

Meyers did Josh Hamiltons surgery....not Dr. Um...

His was a rectus abdomis tear (athletic pubalgia) not sports hernia.

Well Surf..

I think Hockey Player is waaaaay ahead of schedule and is running again.

Also Tiff despite having a monster RA tear is walking 5 miles a day fast.

JC had a 2 RA's, 2 adductors and a hernia and is walking steep hills 2x per day and is 10 days out.

also go to

www.sports-hernia.net

. This gentleman is pre-med and had a mesh re-do as well as bilateral addcutor release and bilataeral AP repair. His name is Dan and he was putting in serious mileage at 9 weeks. He also snowboarded 25 days in a row and is back playing soccer. He was kind enough to e-mail me before surgery.

All of these people were injured. Each of them got the facts and made educated decisions and are back on the path of health. Is it pleasant. NOPE.....This rehab was worse than my knee surgery. Worse than my ankle surgery. Worse than my hand surgery. But all those parts can be rested. This is the center of our bodies.

It is exciting to rehab as well, because muscles i had given up on were coming back to life after 5 years and others that were in distress were now relaxed.

My glutes immediately turned back on and alot of my rehab is centered around my minimus/medius as to not overload my adductors. Maximus is firing but the others still get tired.

All though this injury was hell (5 years...18 months in bed mostly) the rehab has taught me more about my body and self than anything else in my life. I was always in shape as a boxer and wrestler. However, i was imbalanced. I was freakishly strong in the chest and legs but even though i had a flatter stomach my core was weak...I mean real weak.

So now i am taking this OPPORTUNITY to balance my body and be healthy in the future. I do not fear this happening again because I was an accident waiting to happen. I fought way too long (to age 41). Not from trauma but because of the training was so severe and is designed for younger men.

However, I intend on playing softball again or just working out hard. These are thoughts i gave up on. So to me Meyers was a godsend sent to me by JC.

Albert not sure what more could convince this guy Surf....maybe we get some killer weed, A big Bong and a bunch of candy bars and go down and have a heart to heart with him ...but seriously....SURF.......Ill wrap this up with a few facts on myself and take it for what its worth cause its jsut a matter of time before you will unravel into further pain, possible bilateral AP and more damage and dysfunctions if you do in fact have true Athletic Pubalgia

7/2004...original injury after collision with outfielder.

11/2008....finally a diagnosis from Dr Meyer after years of chronic pain ....MRI showed torn left RA and Adductor Tendons.....Right side was perfectly fineI would of had surgery that month if it were not for Dr Meyer wanting me to see a Hip Specialist first to make sure his won surgery was proper for me...by the time I had that Appt I decided I would wait till Spring/Summmer of 2009

2/2009....Now started noticing my other side feeling lousy with the same symptoms...In my head I knew this side developed AP too...all the pains were all too similar....

7/14/2009.....Another Dr Meyer confirmed both sides now had torn RA's and Adductors....

7/15/2009...Bilateral surgery and adductor release along with a belly button hernia repair

MORAL OF THE STORY....Right now my left side..the original side of the injury...feels really good.....the right side is very painful from surgery still and very tight and achy on that side in the low back, glute and hip...this side had a larger incision and has more swelling & brusiing

If I had this surgery earlier and jsut needed my original side repaired...even with an adductor release.....Id be doing sprints right now at Day 10 no problem and feel I would easily be back on the field in 4-6 weeks.... BUT since all the time that went by and it becoming a Bilateral issue you get more pain and longer more difficult rehab......It only took a matter of 3 months from the NOV 08 MRI to FEB 09 for this to trun from onesided to Bilateral..and during that period I played no sports and just did basic easy core stuff

Also the older you are the more difficult it will be..especailly if its bilateral.....my 67 year old roommate (who Im wiating to hear from on here...you out there buddy??) only felt pain on one side but ended up having bilateral .... for pain control that day and night after the surgery he needed an IV drip instead of the percocets...so much harder the older you are

Surf by the way how is your Rehab going.....yove been at it since around February right...going on 6 months .....You heal your self yet?...any improvment????.....Well I wont waste anymore time with any more advice for this guy Surf.......It is kind of comical though fighting back and forth trying to help someone ha ha....I think he may see the light one day...but hes going to wish he took care of it sooner if he really does have AP.....I sure wish I did...but I didnt have the information at the time that this site now provides.....Good luck to all of you...Even you Surf..........

I just wanted to give you guys my 6 1/2 week post op report with Dr. Muschaweck. I couldn't be doing any better. 100% of all of my pain and discomfort from the SH and the surgery is completely gone. Here are the activities that I am back to doing over the course of each week.

Running 3-6 miles (2-3 days)

Biking 15-20 miles on non-run days (2 days)

Swimming - 15-20 laps of various strokes (on bike days)

Playing in a 6 man beach volleyball league 2 nights a week on sand

Playing Tennis (on weekends)

I continue to do my core program for 30-45 minutes every morning that I was doing pre-surgery and probably will for a long time to come.

After the surgery I take B12, a daily men's vitamin and whey protein after all my workouts. I have not needed any NSAIDS since coming off of Dr. UM's prescription that lasted 7 days after the procedure.

Just as a reminder to those of you new to the board, I had a 3cm x 3cm tear on my left side (a pretty major tear) and a completely damaged genital branch nerve (which was removed). I tried rehab for 7 weeks, no help at all. Surgery is only way you will ever fix a tear like this to your RA at the bone.

Dr. Muschaweck is a hero to me. I can't recommend her highly enough. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have an active pain free lifestyle back. This SH is so far out of my mind that I really haven't even been checking this thread the past couple weeks. Good luck to all of you here. This is my final post. Email me if you are going to see Dr. Muschaweck for repair and you have any questions. I'll be glad to help.

Mike in Va (100% pain free and repaired by Dr. Muschaweck)

Surf,

I think JC already alluded to this, but I think what you are failing to realize is the toll that is taken on other muscle groups once this injury has rooted... hamstrings, psoas, glutes, adductors, abs etc. I spent almost 18 months trying to rehab. Furthermore, I spent thousands of dollars on alternative therapies like massage, rolfing, supplements, witchcraft, spells and potions, pixie dust, you name it... As far as trying recovery without surgery, you and I are on the same page 100%. But you and I disagree on the fact that you should be giving any advice when 1) you're not diagnosed 2) you don't have a legitimate rehab program and 3) you haven't healed without surgery to lend credibility in opining about it. As I've mentioned before, I think there is a short window for rehab. If it doesn't happen within the first 3-6 months, I think it is unlikely.

Following surgery, I can lightly jog -- this is fact. And I could not do that before without immediate pain the next day. I've done very little of it because my other muscles are not ready yet. I am going to have to spend a lot of time correcting my hamstring and adductor problems. My left side adductors have taken a beating due to this.

In closing, I think a lot of people who never had the injury, including Mike Boyle, might have a different opinion. I'm not trying to convince you to have surgery, only to do something about it. Trust me when I say this, no amount of rest is going to correct your problem. Some kind of defined rehab program is the only way to go -- whether it is before or after surgery. And just as a side note, my surgeon, Jeff Hoadley, states on his website that most will recover without surgery.

"The majority of athletes with sports hernia respond well to Physical Therapy. The duration of treatment may vary from athlete to athlete, but most return to full athletic activity without sports hernia surgery."

So maybe you should give his office a call and talk to him...

Den-

All excellent points.

I want to touch on the fact that when the injury is longstanding rehab is longer due to getting the other muscles ready. The funny thing is that my surgery side does not anteriorly tilt nore do i get any tightness. however, my opposite side does when i walk more than 4 miles at a time...must be when i fatigue.

The glute tightens...then the hammy...then the QL...My FMS guy attributed this to the whole compensatory issue and now the pelvis is back where it should be and these supporting muscles have to be retaught.

I can say that once I foam roll and stretch I feel great. But how i hate to foam roll everyday on my quad...

I also can jog.....if i so choose...But I have the MCL thing and Plantar Fasciatis and a flare up at this time is not what i need. Maybe the divine plan was to give me those 2 injuries to prevent me from going full throttle and allowing the AP to heal.

Funny thing is now that i am doing core work I realize how weak i was. My abs ache from very minor movements....especially my non-surgical side. It is nice to have that sore feeling.

Albert,

Have you tried this move yet? I just started doing it the other day and got pretty good results with it. I've tried a lot of other things, but can't seem to get as goof of results with my adductors. I learned this exercise by accident through experimenting, but I found a video this morning and thought I would pass it along if you haven't seen it already. I happen to have a massage table which works perfectly for the adductors.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7902250362833428934

Den-

That move looks very focused. I do not have a table.

I have a routine that hits the adductors too, but ever since week 8 i have no tightness there at all.

In fact my surgery side is great except the occasional soreness upon waking.

My only problem now is the opposite side tightness i get after a long walk in my QL, gluteus minimus, hammy, quad and calf....Just seize up. IF i foam roll it is okay but when i hit mile 3/4 it tightens....I think it is overuse and favoring my torn MCL.

JC suggested i use the stair master and i think i am going to.

If i did not have these 2 nagging post surgery injuries...

MCL tear and platar fasciatis I would be back in the boxing gym doing my real workout.

Well...time is the best healer.