Injuries - Part I - Hernias

**Jacked_J** · 08-01-2006, 01:38 PM

WARNING: I am NOT a doctor or a medical professional in any way and I can NOT diagnose anyone, especially online!

It has come to the conclusion that I must definitely write about this ever so famous injury. If you haven't heard of it yet, you will now and let's hope you take the wise advice.

For the following little "article", I will be discussing mainly Indirect Inguinal Hernias. Hernias are very serious injuries and should certainly NOT be ignored. There are many men/boys who ignore these injuries for many reasons. The most common are...

- Thinking it may go away after time.
- It's not hurting much or not at all.
- Don't want the doctor to touch his sack.
- Afraid of doctors.

I'm sure you get the idea now. I've had a hernia myself and what kept me from going to the doctor was because it was not hurting at the moment and I thought it was just a birth defect because it wasn't very large. After time, it did get larger, and it started causing some discomfort, but suffered pain like two to three times. That is when I went to the doctor.

So, what does the doctor check for? Well, first he will check your general health like breathing to see if your lungs and heart sound fine. Then, of course, you pull your pants off.

You might ask "can he tell without touching it"? Certainly not. He will ask you where you think it is (but with experience he probably already knows) and then he will play with it a bit. To see if you experience any pain and so on. If you do not experience any pain he may attempt to push it back in. (I'll explain that later.) After that, he will ask you to cough and/or flex your lower abs to see if it pops back out. If it does, that's an almost guarantee it is a hernia. If not, it can be something else like a pulled groin but that's not our discussion.

So, what if you do feel pain? Will he try to push it back in? He will most likely not try to push it back in because that can be dangerous. He will ask you to cough and/or flex your lower abs to see how it reacts. He may not even be able to diagnosis yet, but he will send you to a surgeon who will probably be much better at making a diagnosis of what it is.

Will he touch my "you know what"? He most certainly will. The reason is probably because doctors know that men don't go to the doctor to get check-ups, so when they get the chance to, they check. If he doesn't say anything, that's a good sign because then you know your "thing" shows know visible signs of problems.

Let's go back to what is a Indirect Inguinal Hernia.

I got references to websites for answers...

Indirect inguinal hernia: This affects men only. A loop of intestine passes down the canal from where a testis descends early in childhood into the scrotum. If neglected, this type of hernia tends to increase progressively in size (a "sliding hernia") causing the scrotum to expand grossly.

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/305/main.html

Remember the part about the testis descending during early childhood.

Here is an image of a hernia:

http://health.allrefer.com/health/he...al-hernia.html

Note: That is not a "real" human picture. Just a drawing of the organs.

Therefore, a Indirect Inguinal Hernia is an organ protruding through the cavity wall of the abdominals. This cavity can NOT repair itself over time, especially since the organ is obstructing this possibility. Also, even if you manage to keep it in for months and months, it will still not repair itself. When I was talking about pushing it back in, this is what I meant.

Believe it or not, some of you may already have Indirect Inguinal Hernia. The tear in the cavity wall may already be there, but no organ is protruding out yet. Remember, the testis that descend during childhood. This is why it is so common, but I wouldn't worry about it right now. It'll happen when it happens.

Treatment of a Hernia:

However, the best treatment is herniorrhaphy (surgical closure or repair of the muscle wall through which the hernia protrudes).

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/305/main.html

Also, for someone who gets an Indirect Inguinal Hernia on one side, will most likely get it on the other. I first noticed mine on the left side, but since I didn't go to the doctor, like I mentionned earlier, the right side eventually came out. Therefore, when I went to surgery, I got a Bilateral Indirect Inguinal Hernia repair (both sides).

Here are some symptoms:

Symptoms of hernias vary, depending on the cause and the structures involved. Most begin as small, hardly noticeable breakthroughs. At first, they may be soft lumps under the skin, a little larger than a marble; there usually is no pain. Gradually, the pressure of the internal contents against the weak wall increases, and the size of the lump increases.

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/305/main.html

See how I highlighted "no pain". A lot of people think if they suffer no pain, than the Indirect Inguinal Hernia is repairing itself or it has gone away. Sometimes people do deadlifts and/or squats and all of the sudden feel a sharp pain in their lower abdominal. Just because the pain is gone the next day, it does NOT mean you did not get a hernia. At this point, we just do not know. It might just be a simple muscle strain or it can be the tear of the abdominal cavity. As time goes by, this tear will slowly increase and eventually something will "pop" out. If this sudden pain continues for more than a few days, go see a doctor. So, if this happens to you, try being more preventive with the following instructions:

There really is no sure-fire way to prevent a hernia. Anybody can get one. The best thing you can do to prevent a hernia is to stay healthy by eating right, not smoking, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight and using proper lifting techniques.

http://www.herniasolutions.com/bgdis...sources_faq#18

What they mean by proper lifting techniques is using the right and safe weight and breathing properly throughout the exercise. The most common time to get a hernia is during the last repetition or two. A lot people seem to grunt and force as much as they can to lift it, and little do they know they are trying to achieve this with the same amount of oxygen as the previous repetition. When lifting slower near the end of a set, the oxygen might not be enough, you may have to breathe again on the way up. So, when near the end of the last repetitions, breathe really quickly like you would after a 100 metre dash. It really works, but don't abuse this by doing 3 more repetitions because now it becomes high risk.

Now, what happens if you don't get it fixed?

Is a hernia dangerous?

The danger of a hernia lies in the fact that it is possible for the abdominal contents entering the hernia to become stuck. Should this occur the hernia becomes increasingly painful and cannot be pushed back.

If the hernia contains bowel then it will become blocked (intestinal obstruction}. This produces colicky abdominal pain in addition to the constant pain experienced within the hernia, abdominal distension, vomiting and a variable degree of constipation. Patients may hear a lot of gurgling coming from their abdomen as the bowel contracts vigorously in an attempt to overcome the blockage. With time, the blood supply to the bowel may be cut off leading to it rupturing and the development of peritonitis. This is a serious complication requiring emergency surgery. It is to avoid the possibility of this serious complication occurring, that doctors recommend the repair of the majority of hernias as a matter of routine.

So the answer is yes hernias can be dangerous, on occasions leading to the need for an emergency admission to hospital and an emergency surgery.

http://www.thelondonherniaclinic.co.uk/faq.htm

That's it for this one. I hope you make the wise choice if you have a possible hernia and go see a doctor.

Note: Although I didn't mention it, not seeing the doctor and ignoring can lead to impetence and even worse, which we obviously don't want.

If you have any further questions, please ask.

WARNING: I am NOT a doctor or a medical professional in any way and I can NOT diagnose anyone, especially online!

**Hue Ghas** · 08-01-2006, 02:34 PM

Thanks for the infomation.

Loved the use of "Touching his sack" by the way. =/

**R0NNIE_C0LEMAN** · 08-01-2006, 03:45 PM

i dont lik tha sound of those

**Jacked_J** · 08-01-2006, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by Hue Ghas

Loved the use of "Touching his sack" by the way. =/

I knew you would.

**CinciBoy23** · 08-01-2006, 05:16 PM

I had a hernia when I was like 6. I don't remember it at all though. All I have to remember it is a scar from the surgery.

**-Live2Lift-** · 08-01-2006, 05:52 PM

Yeh hernias are things i most fear...

**justinbrown** · 08-01-2006, 06:01 PM

what can cause hernias? like how to yu PROVOKE them to happen?

that post made my balls cringe hhaaha

**Jacked_J** · 08-01-2006, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by justinbrown

what can cause hernias? like how to yu PROVOKE them to happen?

that post made my balls cringe hhaaha

Sometimes they will just happen because of what happens to a male during his childhood, like I explained.

For the most part though, hernias are caused by very heavy lifting using more weight than you can handle and/or improper technique and/or missing a breath on the last repetition. This is why I emphasized lifting weights with good form and breathing properly as well. That's key to avoiding hernias while lifting.

**justinbrown** · 08-01-2006, 06:32 PM

Originally Posted by Jacked_J

Sometimes they will just happen because of what happens to a male during his childhood, like I explained.

For the most part though, hernias are caused by very heavy lifting using more weight than you can handle and/or improper technique and/or missing a breath on the last repetition. This is why I emphasized lifting weights with good form and breathing properly as well. That's key to avoiding hernias while lifting.

thanks!

**Jacked_J** · 08-01-2006, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by justinbrown

thanks!

No problem.

**Jacked_J** · 08-03-2006, 01:57 PM

*bump*

**youngdiesel** · 08-03-2006, 02:23 PM

I'm not sure but I think I might have a hernia. Heres my post and what happened - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=862494

As the illustration of a hernia you posted shows, http://health.allrefer.com/health/he...al-hernia.html
the lump seems to be in the sack. The lump I have is in my inner/upper leg, and nothing seems to happen when I cough/flex my abdominal muscles. Should I still get it checked out a doctor or could it be something else like a pulled muscle?

**Jacked_J** · 08-03-2006, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by youngdiesel

I'm not sure but I think I might have a hernia. Heres my post and what happened - http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=862494

As the illustration of a hernia you posted shows, http://health.allrefer.com/health/he...al-hernia.html
the lump seems to be in the sack. The lump I have is in my inner/upper leg, and nothing seems to happen when I cough/flex my abdominal muscles. Should I still get it checked out a doctor or could it be something else like a pulled muscle?

Sounds like a hernia to me.

That's exactly how it is. It's like you have a third nut basically.

I would certainly go see the doctor about it. If your dad whines about it, show the links to the risks of not getting it fixed. Feeling no pain does NOT mean it is fine for now. I hope I explained that very clearly.

Good luck!

**Dionisos** · 08-03-2006, 06:16 PM

Great info, a bit too much for 3am tough

**Jacked_J** · 08-03-2006, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by Dionisos

Great info, a bit too much for 3am tough

It's three in the morning where you are?

**jacksobel** · 08-04-2006, 05:38 PM

Great post. I also owe you a rep

**Jacked_J** · 08-05-2006, 08:53 AM

Alright, this is the last bump.

It's a very important topic that no guy should ignore when symptoms are present.

Lift strong.

**juandelrio** · 08-05-2006, 12:32 PM

thanks now i have to go to the doctor

**Jacked_J** · 08-05-2006, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by juandelrio

thanks now i have to go to the doctor

Better safe than sorry.

You're 15 right now. The healing should go fairly quicker than mine did.

**phrozen** · 08-14-2006, 11:30 PM

i had a hernia last year.....i was 16...

got it from heavy ab exercises.....got surgery....healed....and now im back lifting the heavy weights again.....no big deal.

**Jacked_J** · 08-15-2006, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by phrozen

i had a hernia last year.....i was 16...

got it from heavy ab exercises.....got surgery....healed....and now im back lifting the heavy weights again.....no big deal.

It is if you don't get it fixed. A lot of guys don't.

Want pictures of what happens if you don't?

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