Umbilical hernia

Been training my father as of late (week 2 of bridge 1.0) he has had a hernia repair on some other type of hernia and I’m not too concerned with that.
He has an umbilical hernia for a few years that has not been operated on. He does not have any pain or discomfort while training and I try to emphasize the importance of bracing and valsalva due to this hernia. But I’m a little concerned about complications as the weight gets more substantial

  1. Is strength/powerlifting types of training advisable while having a umbilical hernia? I’m assuming this is indicative after an exam but generally would you recommend anyone to train or not train having one?

  2. If so, is their any modification I should follow to not agitate or make the outcome worse?

  3. He hasnt seen a physician for the hernia, I would assume the doc would tell him it’s not advised to train with one.

What indications would give you the “go ahead” to advise a client with an umbilical hernia to train?

Thanks docs

If I am going to specifically recommend that someone not train, that means I have come to the conclusion that the risks of training with the condition outweigh the risks of not training.

Is it possible that the hernia progresses in some fashion due to training? Sure, though neither I nor anyone else can accurately predict such a thing (even though some people will be happy to give very confident opinions on the matter).

In my opinion, the long-term risks of not training are enormous, and this is woefully under-recognized by physicians who casually tell patients “just don’t train” for silly bullshit like a hernia. If it’s been deemed a problem that is progressing or causing issues, just get the thing fixed.

For the overwhelming majority of people, not training shouldn’t be an option.

Anecdotal Evidence-I’ve had a small umbilical hernia for 20 years. Training has never bothered be or caused any discomfort. It seems that my body fat percentage has more to do with how pronounced it appears than how I’m training.