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

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I am visting with Dr. Muschaweck right now. I arrived on Friday and she diagnosed me as having a sports hernia on both sides. From the moment you walk into her office you get the feeling that these people are the best in the world. Her office is plastered with pictures of professional atheltes that she has treated (soccer, hockey, track and field.....).

In addition, I was only scheduled to have my left side done. Since I am from Canada she has agreed to cut her vacation short and come back tomorrow just to do my right side - unbelievable! Her office is jammed with people lining up to get this done - her guest house/hotel which is attached to the clinic is also full of people that she is doing.

Couple of points I would make on the last few postings:

1) I clearly do not understand the biology as well as Johnny or some other guys on this site. However, if you take the time to read through this thread you will know by the end of it whether you have a sports hernia - if you are convinced you do - do not let a doctor talk you out of it. Take actions. I was luck enough that my doctor diagnised it right away. However, he had me rest. 3+ months and 15 pounds later he decided to requisition me to a surgeon. Unfortunately the wait time are ridiculous in Canada. I am able to have the surgery done in Germany before I can even get an intial consultation in Canada.

2) Rest is not an option. The doctor told me yesterday that if you have a sports hernia, the pain will not go away unless you have surgery. You could say that it may be a little self-serving for her to say that. However, she told me that after the surgery. In addition, when you talk to her you will get the impression that she is a genuine person. Also, she has no shortage of business - she is packed and it is a private clinic.

3) Many doctors say you cannot diagnose it. Both her and her assistant diagnosed it within 1 minute. They use their finger and push the scrotum up the hole where the testi's go when it is cold. You can instantly tell what she is basing her diagnoses on (Sorry for the lack of medical temrinology but that is the best way I can describe it).

4) Yesterday when I had my right side done I went for a 15 minute walk 45 minutes after I got back to my room. I then had a snack and went to sleep. I woke up maybe an hour later and then went for a 30 minute walk (slow walk). I am absolutely shocked at how well I felt. Today I am stiff around the wound and coughing hurts (tight) - the pain in my testi's is no longer. I believe the discomfort I am feeling is simply a function of the incesion. They say that will take 4 - 6 weeks to heal into a smooth scar.

5) She believes that the condition is genetic.

6) She says the frequency of occurrence is 0.2% - almost non-existent

7) I told her I was nervous yesterday. In a heavy German accent she laughed and told me to relax - she had done it 14,000 times. If that does not bring credibility I don't know what would.

8) The actual surgery took about 30 minutes - I left my room at 10 and was back in it before 11:45 - the other time is spent waiting/getting prepped.

9) The clinic is top notch. All of the medical staff and facilities are fantastic.

10) She tries to avoid the use of mesh. I asked her in an earlier e-mail why she does it this way. She believes that it reduces the risk of permanent injury on surrounding tissue that is damaged as a result of using mesh. In addition, she says that it assists in the recovery time. If the tear is large she may have no choice but to use mesh. She said my hernia was not big - 3cm. From my reaseach of other North American doctors it appears as though they all use mesh. In talking to a colleague of mine they described defaulting to the use of mesh as a lazy approach. Again I will reiterate that I do not have a medical background and some of the comments I just made may not be factually correct - however, it is what I was told and based my decision to come over here on.

11) She said that if the non-mesh procedure did not work that it could be redone using mesh. However, she said she has never had to do this.

12) The cost is 4,100 Euro's per side. I think I am paying 100 Euro's per night for my hotel room. I had to buy drugs (don't remember exact cost - less than 100 Euro).

13) There is a doctor brown in Montreal who will do it for $2,700 (not sure if that includes a kick in by the Canadian goernmen i.e. whether non-CDN residents would have to pay more because they are not covered by Canada's health care system). I elected not to use him because he uses mesh.

Some of this info is just my recount/expereince and adds very little in helping people determine if they have a sports hernia. However, I just wanted to pass on some general observations that I have nocticed/experiecned to assist you in reasearch on what to do.

Certainly the proof is in the pudding....being how fast I recover and whether I recover to 100%. It is way too early to tell and I still have my left side to be done. However, so far she gets top marks.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this site (particularily the guys who had it done in Germany). It was incredibly helpful in assisting me with my decisions as well as helping me identify the right person to do it.

If you want more info let me know. Either post a question on this site or I can be reached at scott @sandvine.com (no space between scott and @ - just trying to cut down on spam). Please put HERNIA as the subject line. Otherwise best of luck to everyone. I will post my recovery experience at some point in the future.

Well, I've been lifting about two weeks now and my pain is completely gone during the day. Also, I ran pain free yesterday and had little, if any, discomfort afterwards. This is a significant change from a few weeks ago. I am lifting every single day. I am now up to 100#; 20 reps or so on each leg.

I don't want to talk anyone out of surgery but you may want to take 4 weeks and give this lifting thing a try. Remember, I'm on my SECOND 'sports hernia' in the last 2 years.

Also, I stopped doing strides after my last race (one week ago today). I am taking a break from competition until the Spring so I stopped doing my typical 8 fast strides, 3 days per week before track sessions.

Again I am not a doctor. But I question whether you have a sports hernia if the treatment is lifing weights.

I think an individual could run the risk of aggrevating a sports hernia by lifting wieghts. I did try it when I was told to rest. However, it only seemed to make things worse.

Regardless, congrats with your treatment - sounds like you have found a treatment that works for you.

how long is the recover period after surgury? I am back running after my operation, but still have some pain. How long until you have been able to run pain free?

i am about 6 months post op and still have pains. i am about 50-70% better. i saw drs muschaweck in nyc about 2 weeks ago. the pain is due to nerve irritation from the injury since i had it for waaaay too long before diagnosis. the body/nerves are used to the pain signals, and left a footprint of pain signals that is not going away. this apparently can happen when one has AP for so long. i am being prescribed injections in the nerves to calm them down so i can continue to gain strength.

oz, did you lose 15 pounds before the surgery? i lost 27 during my time of agony and searching for a diagnosis. i think that the resulting atrophy has made it more difficult to recouperate they way i wish i could.

btw, if you are running and lifting weights, i doubt that you have a sports hernia. from what i understand (i am not a doc but have been through the ap myself and have been studying it on my own time for about 2 years now), the AP gets worse over time once it begins. activity will make it worse. i went from immediate pain upon my sports accident to constant agony within 3 months. lifting one pound was not an option as the pain was severe when trying to do so.

as oz said, i agree that the muschawecks are genuine people. she is top notch. she really knows her stuff. anyone who meets with her would agree. and the care over there is far beyond anything i have recieved over here, and i have had 7 surgeries along with countless other procedures, casts, etc...

johnny

lol

- no i did not lose 15lbs I put 15lbs on! I am not a body builder - triathlete. After my last ironman I completely stopped exercising because I had been prescribed "rest".

on #6 above I said " She says the frequency of occurrence is 0.2% - almost non-existent" I meant to say re-occurrence.

Does anyone know a doctor in the Washington DC area who can do what Meyers does?

Thanks.

Glad to find this thread, try my best reading(it is been really long now). Bless the internet:)

Groin, inner thigh, sometimes testicle pain. Began many years ago in a running, give up running for a while now, but the pain haunt me everyday. Learned swimming later on, thought it would put smaller strain on the groin. Esp annoying go to and get up from bed, take a long time for the pain to soothe so that I can fall in sleep or pull myself up. Anyone has this part?

Was thinking saving up money go to Mayo, looks like not worth it. 2 years ago, a surgeon suspect I had a left inguinal though my pain is bilateral. I freak out before the surgery. If the surgeon is not sure what you are getting, can he help you? The pain get worse and is with me each every day. Went back to the surgeon and asked for the regular hernia surgery for my last desperate attempt. Well, the surgeon didn't find a thing after the cough, etc. and think he is fooled last time so he was not willing to do the surgery. What should I do? I never felt a lump or bulge anywhere. Went back and beg him to do some explortary surgery and fix it as regular hernia and see what happens after? Or who I can turn to? Feel a little different from AP, a lot guys here are just fine resting, pick up the pain after resume sports, the pain is with me no matter what, exercise doen't hurt right away, it will hit me later when I try to get a rest. Anybody with me?

Saw score of doctors, surgeon, sport md. Hate doctors say to me "You are fine" while I am in pain. Even cancer patient get better treatment, at least they know what they are fighting at. Feeling like fight a phantom, so powerless...

sounds like a sports hernia.
you should go see meyers, it would be worth it. out of plan i think is like 250 a visit, worth every penny.

otherwise email muschaweck in germany and see what you can do. that is what i did and i am 6 months post op and getting better. the longer you go with this, the longer the recovery due to the compensatory changes your body makes so you can walk, sit, etc...

your symptoms sound a lot like mine and others who have sh full-blown. i *think* that those who run and get the pains (aka exercise=pain) only have the beginning of the injury or at least something similar. a sports hernia that is full-blown will yeild constant pain and can even be totally debilitating.

get it looked at, don't mess around with docs who are telling you the wrong thing. you need to go to an expert on this injury, and there are only a few around. meyers is the closest. muschaweck is farthest but the most experienced.

good luck

Thanks Jonny.

I am halfway through the reading of this thread.

I am in Iowa, may try Dr. Joesting in MN or Cattey in WI.

A couple days ago, tried to jog for the weather is so nice and see how am I now. Felt my right groin kinda numb and freezed after a while, running very slowly.

Had typical inguinal hernia and fixed long before, this time there is no touchable bulge or anything, but feel like having one. Why? Because every time it is too painful in the groin and thigh, lying down help me soothe the pain. Walking is no problem for me, but sitting there more than half an hour the pain and discomfort just begin to accumulate. This puzzle me a little, the local doctor I saw two weeks ago say that if you have hernia, you should feel the pain when you are standing not sitting. This thing is the biggest mystery for me, someday it is more painful in left side, someday right, sometime groin, sometimes go to ball. Now my family doctor kind of tire of my complaint, he once said to me:"See how many trouble you can get in those areas." Made me very mad.

I think the next step is too get an MRI and rule out other possibilities, like oste pubic, etc, just due dilegence before you go surgery.

Bless the internet and guys on this thread.

i have been diagnosed with a sports hernia, but my doc says surgery should be the last option and has recommended a rehab course. most of what i have read on the web, however, asserts that sports hernia cannot be healed naturally or with rehabilitation.

so, my question is, has anyone here been diagnosed and opted for rehab AND succeeded with it? or heard of someone who has? in other words, is surgery really the only option, or is there at least a possibility that rehab will do the trick?

I was told surgery is the only treatment. ThHe injury will not repair without it. Maybe meet with one of the surgeons on this blog and ask them.

Update:

It was three weeks ago tomorrow I had my right side done and three weeks yesterday that my other side was done. I can report that I have had a full recovery. I was back riding my bike about 10 days after the surgery and aggressively riding it about two weeks after the procudre. I still have a little bit of swelling around the incisions but very little discomfort or pain. I started swimming last week and will start running tomorrow. I would say that I am now at complete recovery.

The short recovery time is remarkable - the trip to Germany was worth it!!

My pre operation symptoms are gone.

Good luck everyone!

I tried rehab for 2-3 months with zero improvement. Mine required surgery.

Yes, I've had groin pain for over 2 years and its getting slowly worse. The first assumption is always that physio will sort it out - but the stretches just aggravate it. High doseage Ibruprofen can sort out inflammation to promote healing in muscle damage but it may affect digestion - it did with me! Sometimes the pains were like an electric shock whilst running but always on the morning after running or playing badminton I'd have groin stiffness probs. Geeting in and out of the car is one of the worts probs.

I had x-rays and an MRI scan - neither showed up the prob. I had to stop running 9 months ago and I can now only manage a little badminton. I've started walking with a limp because the action of straightening the groin hurts. Pushing a finger into the groin doesn't really hurt. There's no lump when I cough.

Eventually I got to see an excellent ultrasound specialist and he said that the prob was not quite a full hernia but that something was bulging in the groin when I made a downwards pushing motion with my internal muscles - but this didn't feel too bad to me!

Now I've been referred to a consultant who said I probably have Gilmores Groin (sportsman's hernia). He's going to do a microsurgery investigation in the groin. If necessary, he will make further incisions near the navel, pump in carbon dioxide, and look for any places inside the groin where there are leaks (standard procedure, I understand!). Repairs can be affected using dacron? gauze if necessary pushed in thru the microsurgery holes. He referred me to Gilmore's website. PhysioRoom also has a good description. The consultant said that if there was muscle damage, I may have to live with it - but it seems that Gilmore is able to repair the muscles.

Unfortunately the waiting list in our area for this type of National Health Service surgery is 18 weeks - but saying that you can be available at short notice may mean an earlier operation. More news later!

Rockitlk, I'm up here in MN. Dr Joesting performed my SH surgery last March. If you'd like some details on his process please email me at [email protected].

Has anyone had the mesh/parts of the mesh/or tacks removed after their initial surgery due to an incredible amount of pain?