Hernia

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

I’m quite sure I have an inguinal hernia. I noticed it towards the end of my last training session while resting but not quite sure when it occurred. Didn’t really experience pain during any lifts. Now I just have some mild swelling and tenderness to the touch with a lump in the inguinal area. I have not seen a physician yet but have an appointment scheduled for this coming Monday.

Currently pain is very minimal and the only real symptom is a feeling of weakness around my L hip. I have gotten a little nauseous when trying to push it back in a couple times but it doesn’t last. I usually feel better in the morning and worse as I sit and stand at work.

My question is related to training. I would be going into Week 6 of the Beginner Template making the best progress I’ve made in a long time and I have been feeling great. I want to keep progressing or maintain as much of my progress as possible. BUT I don’t want to have surgery this year. Call me cheap but we have a high deductible health plan and we are expecting to cover that cost due to other reasons. I’m 30, 175# at 5’8", with a 36" waist and otherwise healthy and have been lifting on and off for about 10 years.

Can you provide any suggestions regarding how to monitor response to training or modifications to make to my current program?
I thought about:
a.) raising reps to decrease overall weight (perhaps intra-abdominal pressure) but still hit the same RPE to achieve a sufficient training stimulus.
b.) raising reps and dropping RPE by 1 or 2
c.) changing lifts for “lighter” variations and keeping reps and RPE the same but perhaps decreasing intra-abdominal pressure and likely emotional expectations to the “main” lifts
d.) just keep going as I have been and see how I do
e.) go very light and do very little until next year when I can have surgery quickly if needed without a big financial burden

Do you think training is likely to make this worse?

I’ve watched Jordan’s and Alan’s hernia videos and I think every other youtube video from BBM. Have not had a chance to listen to the hernia podcast yet.

2

It’s hard to provide confident predictions or individualized advice here, unfortunately.

  1. I’m not sure this is likely to make a significant difference at the same RPE target, unless your individual experience suggests otherwise.
  2. This may be reasonable, particularly if you experience more symptoms at heavier loads / higher efforts.
  3. Same as #2
  4. If you are not experiencing progressive symptoms with training, this may be reasonable.
  5. I would not recommend “doing very little” if you seem to be able to tolerate more without issues.
3

Thank you for the response and I listened to the hernia podcast this morning during my workout.

Still a little worried about this getting much worse really quickly, but that doesn’t seem likely. Went very light today, but will increase intensity a bit next session.