Anyone who ever had a hernia knows it hurts a lot, making even the most natural task a painful one. We all know that a hernia can re recognized by the impairing pain and a bulge in the groin area. While these are indeed the symptoms of hernia, called inguinal hernia, you can also suffer from severe pain, without the presence of a bulge. This is called a sports hernia and might require surgery to fix it.
What is a sports hernia
A sports hernia is not technically a hernia, despite its name. They are hard to diagnose, because there is no bulge. What happens in the case of a sports hernia is the result of a strain on the public bone, where the abdominal muscles and the lower extremity muscles insert. This is caused by an excessive strain on the pubic bone, from the core muscles and the upper thigh muscles. It leads to an inflammation and pain.
Who can suffer a sports hernia
Most of the times, a sport hernia occurs in athletes, who engage in tough exercises which put a strain on the core muscles. The athletes who are most at risk of suffering from this type of ailment are soccer players, football players, hickey players and sprinters. Men who train their core muscles more than their lower body part muscles can also require sports pain treatment for this type of hernia.
As there are no external signs of a sports hernia, diagnosing it is based on the severe pain felt by the patient in the groin area. This pain gets worse when you try to exercise.
What to do when you have a sports hernia
When you think you might have a sports hernia you should allow your body to rest for about a week and see if the pain is still there. Also, make sure you don’t have a bulge in the groin area, as this is a sign of a regular, inguinal hernia.
If the pain is persistent, see your doctor or a sports medicine physician, who is going to examine you by asking you to perform a sit-up exercise. In the case of a sports hernia, this exercise is very painful.
This initial test is usually followed by a MRI or an ultrasound, as the doctor is checking for tears in the muscles.
The treatment for sports hernia includes a mix of physical rest and pain management therapy, depending on the severity of the injury and the amount of pain you feel.
To prevent a sports hernia, you should aim to develop your core muscles and your lower extremities muscles equally. Stretching exercises can also help you prevent this injury and relieve the pressure from the groin muscles. You should also keep in mind that not every pain in the groin area is a sports hernia; most of them are minor strains which can get better with physical rest.
All in one make sure your exercising plan is aimed at developing your muscles equally. In other words, don’t skip leg day!
