-
Do trusses or belts relieve inguinal hernia pain?
I’ve had an inguinal hernia for 2 weeks, and the pain can be quite intense sometimes, just nagging at others. I’m a 63-year-old male awaiting my first consultation. I believe an operation is likely to be offered me as a solution, but in the meantime I’m wondering if any of the trusses, belts, etc. on the market can prevent or relieve the pain. Does anyone have experience of them and recommend them? Any in particular? Thanks!
-
7 Replies
-
Curious whether weightlifting underwear would be a potential remedy for daily wear, and if it would provide the right kind of compression?
-
quote clive63:Thanks, GoodIntentions. Are you suggesting there are some advantages to open surgery over keyhole/mesh? I think mine is what you call direct: i.e. it shows as a visible bulge in the groin area. I do need a rapid convalescence, as I’m the only driver in the house and my child is still in school. But I don’t want to sacrifice long-term efficacy for short-term gain. I have not found anyone yet who has said the belt/truss relieves the pain, although I was hoping it might allow me to walk further without discomfort. (I enjoy long country walks ordinarily.) Thanks again!
Both direct and indirect types will cause the bulge.
-
I’ve never tried a truss or belt but I use KT tape when I am active, generally running. I generally tape with two pieces in an X pattern over the hernia. Mine are small but running definitely irritates them. I also wear tights more often than shorts right now, that also helps by supporting everything down there.
-
quote clive63:Thanks, GoodIntentions. Are you suggesting there are some advantages to open surgery over keyhole/mesh? I think mine is what you call direct: i.e. it shows as a visible bulge in the groin area. I do need a rapid convalescence,
Hi clive63, sorry I missed this. For whatever reason there is a very big push to laparoscopic implantation of large pieces of mesh, somewhat recently, like over the last 5-10 years, for hernia repair. I think that it might be partially or predominantly due to fewer immediate complications, and the rapid return to functionality. Cheaper for the clinics and hospitals. But the long term issues with laparoscopic implantation of large pieces of mesh seem to be of higher frequency, according to many research papers. It’s not even clear that recurrence rates are actually lower than open with mesh.
You’re trying to compare a few days or weeks of recovery time to the rest of your life. Choose the method that is best for you and what you want out of the rest of your life. Take the time off to recover if you have to. Find somebody who has had a hernia repair and is happy with it then find a surgeon who will do that same repair on you. Not all meshes are the same and as I said above the trend today is to cover as much abdominal wall area as possible. The whole lower abdomen if they can. The device makers even recommend it, indirectly, in their marketing videos. You’ll miss many many more driving days if you get a bad mesh repair, and nobody can predict who will get a bad one. It’s big gamble.
I still have vivid memories of discussions with surgeons before my initial repair surgery, and how I saw the warning signs, that they didn’t really believe enough in what they were doing to be enthusiastic about it. I even got a second opinion after talking to one who seemed more enthused about the operating center he was using than the method of repair. But I convinced myself that no doctor would knowingly do something that they thought might harm me in the long run. “Do know harm” and the Hippocratic oath, and all of the things you associate with physicians. It’s a disturbing situation for everyone involved. I think that the medical device makers and the insurance companies know, they have the most access to long-term results, but they aren’t talking, even though they could easily show what’s true.
Good luck.
p.s. when I said above that “Males in their later years are about perfect mesh implantation patients” I meant that any problems could just be blamed on normal aging, instead of the actual cause. Perfect for avoiding the issue. Hope I didn’t give the impression that we’re actually great candidates for repair.
[USER=”2470″]clive63[/USER]
-
Hi, I had a right side inguinal hernia. I’m male, and 70 years old. I had my hernia for 8 months before I concluded that I had to get it repaired. Small visible bulge, but often very uncomfortable feeling in my groin, and burning pains at the base of my penis, and my scrotum. I worked my way through a flat style truss, and a regular truss with pads. I eventually made my own much smaller pad, and used the elastic waist band from an athletic supporter backed up by a pair of ladies Jockey tummy trimmer pants to keep it in place. It worked to stop the bulge coming out, and that seemed to be the key to significantly reducing the burning pains for me. It was also the most comfortable to wear. I could run 2 miles, without any pain, and walk for hours. Hard to keep any truss in place if you are very active though, and I felt I didn’t want to live with any truss long term. I had an open mesh repair with local anesthetic as day surgery. I was driving two days later. Could probably have driven the following day. The issue is can you make an emergency stop.
-
Thanks, GoodIntentions. Are you suggesting there are some advantages to open surgery over keyhole/mesh? I think mine is what you call direct: i.e. it shows as a visible bulge in the groin area. I do need a rapid convalescence, as I’m the only driver in the house and my child is still in school. But I don’t want to sacrifice long-term efficacy for short-term gain. I have not found anyone yet who has said the belt/truss relieves the pain, although I was hoping it might allow me to walk further without discomfort. (I enjoy long country walks ordinarily.) Thanks again!
-
I think that effectiveness depends on the type of hernia and the magnitude. They probably help with reducible hernias by stopping the material pushing out in the first place. But indirect hernias, where the material is pushed down in to the canal from inside probably are not be affected as much by a truss or belt. I did not try a truss or belt with my direct hernia although I did do some research on them.
Good luck with your consultation. Make sure to browse the threads on this site and read the stories. There is a “mainstream” procedure that will probably be offered to you, laparoscopy with mesh implantation, with rapid return to work or active life as a benefit. Little will be disclosed about long-term effects though. They’ll talk about “exploring” the other side, because they can and why not, and “fixing” any hernias that they find. But there is almost always some sort of potential hernia sign, so you’ll wake up with mesh on both sides.
It’s a big decision, don’t let the comforting voice of the surgeon convince you that what they offer is guaranteed to produce good results. The benefits described will probably be about reducing the risk of strangulation, a rapid return to work, and an outpatient procedure requiring no hospital stay. But if you ask about 5 years out, they will probably not have much to say. No news must be good news.
And, unfortunately, because you’re older, any new problems from mesh implantation that you experience will probably be attributed to your age. Males in their later years are about perfect mesh implantation patients.
Log in to reply.