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

i just had old fashioned hernia surgery on the right side 3 weeks ago, and it the tightness and constant straining feeling is gone on the right, but remains on the left. my balls are still sensitive to the touch as they were before, but hopefully that will go away over time. anyone ever had sensitive balls because of a sports hernia?

I am not a doctor but an avid runner who avoids injury at all costs. I've had this injury twice in the last 2 years. Went to 5 docs; most of them suggested surgery. However, one of the docs was adamant about NOT having surgery unless there is a protrusion. I do NOT have any protrusion coming out from the skin. You cannot see any difference in the area of pain. For me, that area of pain is very, very low on the left side; almost under my crotch.

I had this injury come up the first time when I was doing speedwork 3X week on the track. It was really bad the day after the workout and then would get a bit better the next day. The next workout would irritate it more and eventually, there were no good days. Coughing made me double over.

So I tried this:

Rest – didn’t work

Ice – no real relief

Ibuprofen – fair but nothing special

No running at all – didn’t change anything

Read LetsRun stories – helped but also confused me with options

So, I tried to lifting weights very hard directly on the area. Basically treating this like an overuse issue that needed strengthening. And it started to work. Then, the ‘anti-surgery’ doctor gave me a shot of Novocain right in the pain area. He said if the Novacain made the pain go away, I did NOT have a hernia. Well, I don’t know which of the two things worked but I was pain free for almost one year.

Now, I’ve got another one. Same issue. So, I started lifting immediately on it and it seems to be working again. My pain is about 1/10th what it was two weeks ago. However, it took me a week to find the ‘right’ lift to directly get at this small area. I have now been lifting on this for about one week. I have not changed my workout routine at all due to this injury. I am still on the track 3 X week.

I am racing this weekend so I’ll check back and let you all know if the lifting is actually working. The pain AFTER a race seems to be much greater than the pain I get after workouts. So far, I am very happy with the results from lifting. No pain when I sit up first thing in the morning and no pain when I do strides before a workout. Still have a bit of irritation after the workout. I am obviously still doing track work to prepare for this race Sat. I will also see if I can find a picture of this weight apparatus that I’m using. It is not a normal machine you would easily find in a gym but my gym has one. I have tried other weight machines but they did not work nearly as well. I believe the machine was developed for golfers and tennis players – at least that is who I see using it???

testicle pain is common in both inguinal hernias and AP.

ilioinguinal nerve is affected in the injury. that nerve feeds the testicle. should feel like the dull ache that happens when you take a shot in the groin with a ball or foot or whatever, just as the initial sharp pain subsides.

do get a second opinion if the doc says nothing is wrong. my biggest regret with this injury is trusting the docs who had various (all wrong) diagnoses when i knew i had an injury that was causing the pain.

its normal to have a weird sensitvity type pain, feels numb yet like frostbite or something, on the scrotum and hemiscrotal area. it is from the nerves involved in the injury and surgery.

after my surgeries, i had those tingling pains to the point where it hurt to have even boxer shorts touch my skin.

it took several months but now all is normal again.

not to worry about it.

Hi Paul.

If you go way back through this thread (and I can't believe the size of this thing now!)you will see several postings from me that relate to my 15 year old son's adventure with athletic pubalgia. We ended up with Dr. Cattey in Milwaukee and he had surgery in May 2005. After a longer than expected rehab I am glad to report he is now 100%. Hardest part was finding a doc that knew anything at all about the condition and taking a 15 year old's desire to get better seriously. Let me know if you need more information.

Does this machine you are referring. Do you strap your inner knees inward back and forth. I also heard that squeezing a ball tightly is good for the tendon as well?

hey soccer dad

glad to hear your son has recovered, must be a huge relief for you both.

exactly how long is "longer than expected"?

Yes, I'm have this exact symptom. My (self-diagnosed but definite) sports hernia is on the R side, and if I lie in bed, do a slight curl, lift my outstretched R leg slightly, and then apply lateral force with it, moving from R to L--i.e, pushing my R foot laterally to the L, against my stiffened L foot/leg, there's often a slight but noticeable, and weird (!) little popping. Doesn't hurt; just unnerves me.

I'm doing somewhat better than most here, I think. I can train normally. Have averaged 50 mpw since June; set a half M PR and just ran St. Jude marathon.

My sports hernia shows up in three characteristic ways:

1) When I'm lying in bed, legs outstretched, and want to get up. A definite stabbing pain as I curl my torso skyward.

2) The first half-mile of every training run, where there's a low-level version of this same stabbing pain. It invariably recedes after less than a mile

3) When I've finished a longer (10-20 mile) training run. If, at that point, I cough: Whoa, Nelly!! A stabbing, shooting pain in the L pubis/groin area.

Since the hernia has been stable and tolerable, as long as I'm willing to put up with these symptoms, I've done nothing.

I did notice that when I added hill repeats (3-4 x 4:00 up a steep mountain) to the mix, the pain gradually seemed to lessen. So I wouldn't automatically discount the idea that the right kind of weight training might actually help. This seems counterintuitive, since crunches--for example--are the last thing in the world that would seem to make sense. It certainly feels as though they would directly aggravate what I've got. But perhaps there's some sort of knee lift, w/ or w/o weights, that one might do in the gym to strengthen the surrounding musculature.

BTW, did you folks see the current issue of RT? Carrie Tolefson suffered from a sports hernia, if I'm not wrong. The cover story described a complex of medical problems in that area, actually. She had surgery and is now fine.

Cheers.

Nope, I tried that machine first; the adductor/abductor I believe you are referring to. If I am thinking of the same machine, you sit down and the pads go on the inside at your knees and you push together? If this is it, yes, I tried it first and no, it did not help.

I'll get the URL and post it.

Here it is. It basically looks like a tree when the arms are in the upright position. When I use it, I rotate the arms all the way to the gound. The main pulley is then about 6 inches from the ground. I put my leg through the hand grip and place the strap about 2 inches above my knee. From there, I drive my knee up, like a sprinter would doing drills. The first session, I could only manage 20# of resistence. Earlier today - I've been doing this about 6 days now, I am up to 60 #. My abs are doing very well thus far.

I'm flying out to a race tomorrow morning and will check back when I return on Monday.

If the link below does not work, the machine is called:

Free Motion Cable Cross

However, the Company used to be called 'Ground Zero' so that is the name printed on the machine at my gym.

http://www.freemotionfitness.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/product/freeMotion/v3/product.d2w/report?prmenbr=115837&prrfnbr=116763&cgrfnbr=116031

Recover time in my son's case: after 6 months 80-90%. After 10-12 months close to 100%.

well, i didnt get an appointment to get my son to a doctor untill next thursday, and he didnt seem to mind because his symtoms were'nt that bad, but all of the sudden, his groin pain became so bad that he can barely walk with out have absolute agonizing pain. Should i take him to the hospital right away? I would love a quick respons.

hey paul

i'm nothing close to a medical expert, but if it were me, yeah, i would take him to the hospital. it seems unlikely that a sports hernia would degenerate so dramatically without any strenuous activity - it could be that it's something else that needs immediate attention. best of luck.

Does anyone know any doctors in Oregon that know or do surgery for a sports hernia.Been to 4 or 5 doc that do not even know what I am talking about.Had CT,MIR,XRAY all of the things that every one else seems to get when they don't know what we are talking about.I have read thru this site and it is very helpfull Thankyou

DoubleJ,

If you can't find anyone in your area and have to go out of state, look into setting up an appointment with Dr. Craig Smith in Los Angeles. I haven't seen his name anywhere on this thread but I emailed back and forth with one of his former patients who said his surgery was a comlete success.

Here is his contact information. I believe he is at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center.

Craig Smith, M.D.

Address:

501 E Hardy Avenue

#210

Inglewood, CA 90301

Phone:

(310) 673-4900

I raced over the weekend in San Francisco (10K). The pain after was nothing compared to the pain I had 2 weeks ago after the Thanksgiving race I ran in St Louis. Racing is the hardest thing I do on this injury so the event over the weekend was a true test of the lifting I have been doing. On a scale of 1-10, the St Louis pain was 7-8; SF pain was 2-3. I could even run the following day which was much different that last race.

I'm going to continue to lift on this and see if it continues to heal. A Dr. told me, no matter what, don't have surgery unless it's the last resort. I'm going by that theory now. If this lifting thing works, I'm going to patent it and sell it to everyone reading this thread because if your pain is anything like mine, it's a total pain in the a** (abs I guess).

Thankyou jhonathin If I can't find help around here I will look there and give a call to them.If there is any others that know of anyone in the Oregon area please let me know

I'm in the process of going through the process of getting diagnosed. Right now, I've seen my family physician/doctor, an orthepedic surgeon, and have spoken to a couple of general surgeons. None were really familiar with "SPORTS HERNIAS". One of the general surgeons thought I was on the right track with my research but none could properly diagnose me and tell me what's wrong. Through research I believe I have a "sports hernia". I'm trying to get properly diagnosed with someone reputable and looking at my options. It has been over 4 months since I initially recieved the injury. I did it playing soccer. Its my left groin and lower abs that I'm having the trouble with. No cutting, running, sports, or physical activity!!! I can walk normal, but that's about it. The worst used to be getting up out of bed. ANy sort of sit up or laying and getting up bothers me. I can tell my left side is weak and I'm afraid of making it worse. I think surery is my only option of getting past this but the only option I've found that looks appealing to me is in GERMANY. Dr. Muschaweck, has seen alot professional atheletes and ESPN even did an episode on her fixing a MLS player for DC United. Here surgery takes a few hours, but recovery is short compared to anything I've found so far in the U.S.

I live in SOuth Carolina. The only advice I've gotten from Doctors so far is to take pain medicine and rest. It's not working. My body is telling me something is wrong, and I'm tired of not being able to do active things such as sports/exercise.

I'm still in the process of looking for a few answers to my questions pertianing to "Sports Hernias".

Where can I get properly diagnosed without someone looking like I have a mystical injury?

Has anybody heard of Dr. Muschaweck from Germany?

And what are some names of doctors other people have seen that are familiar with this type of injury?

What were their techniques in repairing the injury? What kind of surgery and recovery?

Any help would greatly be appreciated!!!

ANDY

Andy,

You should start from page 1 of this thread and read it all - all of the answers to your questions (and then some) are here.

One of the top sports hernia surgeons is in Philadelphia.

Good Luck