Hernias occur when a part of the body (usually an organ or part of) protrudes through a weakness in the surrounding wall of muscle. The most common type of hernia is an inguinal (groin) hernia. This is when a portion of the small intestine ‘pokes’ through a weakness in the abdominal wall. 98% of hernias occur in men, with 70,000 surgical operations a year required to fix them. The older you get, the more likely you are to experience a hernia.

Symptoms

The tell-tale sign of an inguinal hernia is a lump or swelling in the groin area which is often painless. This can sometimes be pushed back into place (reducible hernia). However ones that cannot be pushed back into place (irreducible hernia) often required further treatment as they can lead to bowel problems. Many other problems can cause groin pain and full assessment by a Chartered Physiotherapist is certainly recommended.

Playing sports, bending, lifting, coughing and having sexual intercourse can all exacerbate the symptoms of a hernia. In men, the hernia can often descend into the testicles, causing more intense pain.

Treatment

Depending on the severity of the hernia, physiotherapy can be beneficial with no surgery. Our physiotherapists can prescribe a set of exercises to strengthen the surrounding abdominal, hip and groin muscles to reduce the symptoms, and work with you to adjust your lifestyle so as not to aggravate symptoms.

Surgery is usually needed to repair a hernia. During surgery, the surgeon will place the protruding intestine or tissue back into the abdominal wall. The muscles of the abdominal wall will then be strengthened by fixing a synthetic mesh to the muscles.

There are two ways that a hernia repair can be carried out:

• open surgery – where the surgeon will make a large incision in your abdomen, and
• laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery – where the surgeon will only make a very small incision in your abdomen, before using a specially designed camera and instruments to perform the surgery. This approach is now mostly used.

Specific post-op rehabilitation is required to ensure best recovery in the safest time possible, we slant recovery towards your specific sport/lifestyle and work in conjunction with your surgeon to get optimal results.