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future of inguinal repair and PT
Yeah, lots of questions and comments there and I will just speak to the gist of it. Hernia repair is a major surgery with the potential for major complications. I knew that going into it. I have lived a very healthy life and wasn’t emotionally or psychologically prepared for those complications. I still believe my problem is the result of a biomechanical imbalance that came from living with a hernia for many years and being very active and doing very heavy labor. Bodies have a way to adept their movement to things that just aren’t right and that is what mine did. Now I have a pelvis and supporting muscles that want to behave one way out of habit and the repair “expects” it to do something different, hence the swelling and discomfort. If you rub two things together long enough you get friction. The exercises produce good results but I am very congnizant of my movement when I do them. The trick now is training my mind and body to move again in a way that respects the repair without having to be so focused on moving that I can’t concentrate on anything else.
As for comments about surgeons, I have three:
1 – Choose the most experienced surgeon you can. Simply put, you should expect the best.
2 – Choose a surgeon that you feel like you can talk to and one who doesn’t quickly glance over potential complications. Should complications arise, you need someone you can talk to.
3 – And this should probably be first, if you discover a hernia early on which is not problematic, be very careful if “watchful waiting” is recommended. Hernias do not heal on their own. If you do heavy manual labor and/or you have an active lifestyle, it is almost guarenteed to get worse. That means a bigger repair with the potential for more problems. I was in my mid 30’s when mine was found, felt healthy, and when the doctor said, “this can wait,” I didn’t hesitate to wait. I didn’t want to be cut open. Of all the things I have tried to make excuses for, I truly believe this was my biggest mistake – waiting!