richardg40

Anyone on this forum biking with a inguinal hernia ? Does cycling help reduce your bulge because it increases your core strength ?

79pmooney

This could be a dangerous game. One of the "tools" experienced riders have been using for years is relaxing their abdominals so they can pull their diaphragm down. (Look at older professional racers. Many have what look like beer guts.) Between the relaxing of the muscle wall and pressure from the diaphragm, this sounds to me like a formula for pushing that hernia out. I'd go talk to a doc.

I had an inquinal decades ago. My riding had backed off so I didn't test the riding. Two years ago I had a non-inguinal. Small. Rode with it and kept my eye (both literally and during rides, aware of the feelings. When I felt the bulge growing, I'd sit up, ride no-hands and massage it back down. Went to a specialist for an exam but it was down, she wasn't at her home office with ultrasound so all she could do was poke at a lump that was barely there. But that set the table. When it grew larger four months later, she scanned it, said it wasn't a danger yet but that, being non-inguinal, if it did go bad, it could be emergency surgery and a real hospital stay. (The height of Delta.) I asked to be put on high priority simply so I could get this done outpatient and not tie up hospital beds and emergency facilities. She agreed that was a good plan. Got a call early the next week. "Cancellation. Want to have it done Friday?" Yes!

Oh, the modern mesh surgery for hernias is amazing. In at 6am, out before 2pm under my own power and the whole morning was fun (while I was awake) and the drugs and after were far better than 20 years ago. Only the needles for the painkillers hurt.

zandoval 

Inguinal Hernias can be a bugger. Even after they have been repaired. Support is an absolute must and finding the right support is a tedious task. Start with one of these and see if it helps...


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1874

FBOATSB

If it ain't electric, yer doin' it wrong.

zandoval 

Ha... So true. Devices like these, TENS UNITS, are being used to help with post surgical incontinence in some patients after Prostatectomy.

pbass

I had inguinal hernia repair about 10 years ago at age 50. This was before I got serious about cycling. I first noticed it after a day of bodyboarding in big surf, getting really pounded. Mine wasn't even that bad but being very active I wanted it dealt with. I did TONS of research and went with the mesh-free Desarda repair technique (too many mesh horror stories). Has been solid ever since. I do whatever I want, though of course I avoid any unnecessary heavy lifting (but at 60 that's not a bad idea anyways). After the surgery I got really into cycling--mountain and gravel in particular--'cause it seemed a hernia-friendly sport (compared to hardcore bodyboarding at least
All that said, around that same time, it appeared I was developing a small one on the other side too. But it would come and go (reduce as they say). I left that side alone and today it's basically gone. My doc agrees with me that it could very well be that all of the bike fitness I have from the last 10 years has helped keep that one from progressing. It actually seems to have reversed. They say hernias can't "heal" themselves, but it makes sense to me that if your muscles and fascia in that area are strong, and your weight is good, things can stay in place.

beng1

Staying fit can help anything, but if you have any kind of hernia and do not get an opinion or two on it from a pro you are playing with fire. I have had two hernia repairs, inguinal and umbilical, and both of them I wanted to nurse and find some non-surgical way to get rid of them but unless they are almost non-hernias I don't think that will work. Sometimes a hernia is something that is stretched out of shape, and sometimes it is a tear, and often it is not just muscle it is tendon/ligament tissue that might actually get worse with use instead of healing. My one surgery was 25 years ago, and another was two years ago, and of course what they can do now compared to a few decades ago is great, I would not hesitate to get any hernia repaired and out of the way asap today instead of messing around for months or years letting it limit things. Sadly a lot of people around the planet do not have access quality or socialized medicine so may have to suffer with hernias, a situation that no human being should be in, but unfortunately millions are due to corruption and greed............

leob1

I had one two years ago, cycling with it did not help with the bulge. In fact after a good session on the trainer it was more prominent. If you must ride(and I know we all must) go easy, no big hills, no full gas rides, etc.
My Dr. told me I shouldn't ride until it was fixed, but for my mental health I did some easy rides with my wife.
After the surgery, it was a few weeks be for I felt comfortable to get back on the bike.
Of course YMMV.
Good Luck.