Weight training strengthens your bones, increases your metabolism, improves endurance, sculpts your body and strengthens you so you are more resistant to injuries. When you have lean muscle, you burn more calories during your activities and even when you are sedentary. However, lifting heavy weight can contribute to the tears that cause a hernia; after hernia-repair surgery, you are vulnerable to further injury. If you suffer from a hernia and are having corrective surgery, put your weight training on hold.
Description
A hernia occurs when you have a tear or a weakness in your abdominal muscle. A small, balloon-like sac or bubble forms as fat, muscle tissue or even organs, such as your bowels bulging out through the tear. They don't heal on their own and they can get worse, so your doctor will probably recommend that you have surgery.
Types of Hernias
There are several common types of hernias. Ventral -- also called incisional -- hernias occur around the site of prior surgical operations or injury. Inguinal hernias occur near the groin, umbilical hernias around the belly button. An epigastric hernia develops above your bellybutton, while a spigelian hernia develops on the side of your abdomen.
Causes
Hernias can happen to anybody at any age. Prior surgeries weaken the muscle tissues and make you more vulnerable to hernias. You also become more vulnerable as you age, if you are obese or if you lift heavy weights. Excess pressure on abdominal muscles from chronic coughing, emptying the bowels or forcing urination can also heighten risk of a hernia.
Surgery
Two types of surgery are used for hernia repair. In laparoscopic surgery, the doctor makes a small incision under your bellybutton to insert a tiny camera attached to a cable. The surgeon makes two additional, small incisions, about the size of a pencil eraser, on your lower abdomen. The standard procedure is open repair, in which the surgeon makes a single, larger incision.
Open repair tends to cause slightly greater pain and a longer recovery time. Experts disagree on the advantages of the two types of surgery. Open repair may reduce the risks of reoccurrence of hernia and has a smaller risk of serious complications, reports a 2004 study published in "The Journal of Family Practice," but a 2003 study in the "Annals of Surgery" suggests that laparoscopic surgery may decrease complications and recurrence of hernias.
Post-Surgery
Recovery from surgery varies significantly from person to person, depending on the severity of the hernia, the type of surgery, complications during surgery, your age and the amount of fat the surgeon had to cut through. You should be able to return to routine activities after several days and should reach feel like normal within three to four weeks. Still, you will need to avoid lifting weight and applying excess pressure to your abdominal muscles for two to three months following surgery. Your surgeon will schedule a two-week follow-up after surgery to evaluate your progress. You can discuss exercise and activity plans at that time.
Alternative Workouts
While you are awaiting the okay to get back to weight training, you can maintain your fitness by walking, swimming, biking, yoga and low-intensity aerobics. Ask your caregiver about appropriate exercise programs and exercises to specifically strengthen your abdominal muscles.
Caution
Do not exceed exercise recommendations of your provider. You developed the hernia at a site that had already been weakened by prior surgery or injury. Now you've gone through an additional surgery and repair. The recurrence rate of ventral hernias following open repair may be as high as 12 to 52 percent, reports Todd B. Heniford, M.D., et al. in a September 2003 study published in "Annals of Surgery." You will not help your overall health and conditioning by jumping back too soon into weight training. Laparoscopic surgery may trim some time off your weight-training wait period, but that is a matter you should discuss with your surgeon.
References
- Annals of Surgery: Laparoscopic Repair of Ventral Hernias
- Drugs.com: Ventral Hernia
- LapSurg.org: Laparoscopic Hernia Repair
- Surgery Encyclopedia: Incisional Hernia Repair
- New York University Langone Medical Center: Bilateral Hernia
- "The Journal of Family Practice"; Open Hernia Repair Better Than Laparoscopic
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