Sports hernias are painful injuries that affect athletes in every sport. A sports hernia differs from all other types of hernias because the abdominal wall doesn't actually open at the point of the injury, thus no bulges appear on the skin. Sometimes sports hernias require surgery for repair, while other times a combination of ice and rest alone will heal the injury. Once the injury is healed, the long and winding rehabilitation road begins.
Rest
According to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, sports hernias first require a specific amount of rest to properly heal. The amount of time will vary depending on the severity of the hernia and whether you needed surgery. Generally, this rest period can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
Time Frame
If your sports hernia required surgery, your rehabilitation time will range from six to nine weeks, according to San Jose Sharks sports hernia surgeon Dr. William H. Brown III. In the case of athletes, most will be able to return to the playing field to see limited action within seven to nine weeks, assuming that you follow a stringent rest and rehabilitation plan. It can take nine to 12 weeks to completely recover to the extent that you have zero physical limitations.
Features
Dr. Jeffrey S. Hoadley, the sports hernia specialist for the Atlanta Falcons, recommends that the first two weeks of post-op are spent resting, taking pain medication and walking 20 minutes a day on the treadmill. The three to four weeks following are spent doing gentle stretches, light sit-ups with knees bent, swimming and aerobic exercises. Weeks seven through nine allow for short sprints and light amounts of weightlifting.
Warning
When working core muscles, sprinting, or lifting weights, go slowly to start and gradually work your way back into the same movements you used to do in your respective sport. For example, if you were an athlete who played baseball, your sport demands an extreme amount of torque in the abdomen area to generate power when swinging a bat. Jumping right into this movement without properly rehabilitating and restrengthening your abdominal muscles can not only cause re-injury, it can cause more damage than there was originally because of the post-op muscle weakness.
Considerations
Brown states that rehabilitation during the initial six weeks can be moderately painful in and around the operation site. This is normal and expected, even if you are taking pain medications. If you experience pain that extends beyond moderate, stop immediately. Listen to your body and don't push yourself harder than is necessary. You'll also have swelling, stiffness and discomfort around the operation site after intense exercise through the first nine weeks of rehab.
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