Can you exercise groin hernia

In this article we break down the best exercises recommended by physical therapists to strengthen muscles that will help decrease and prevent symptoms. When the core is strong and can properly coordinate daily activities, it will minimize strain on surrounding tissues, like the groin.

Unfortunately, poor trunk flexibility and weak abdominal muscles are common with an inactive lifestyle and being overweight; which often lead to the need for hernia surgery if not properly addressed. These exercises can be beneficial for any of the types of hernia. However, for more specific recommendations, see our other hernia exercise resources linked here:.

Sports Hernia Exercises. Abdominal Hernia Exercises. Hiatal Hernia Exercises. Below are six of the best stretches and exercises for both managing and preventing an inguinal hernia which focus on flexibility, core strength, and stability.

The hamstrings attach to the bottom of the pelvis. This commonly tight muscle group can throw off the mechanics in the entire core and put excessive strain on the pelvis, low back, and groin. Thus, a simple hamstring stretch can go a long way. This exercise is a great strengthening and stretching combo for the groin.

Start cautiously with a small range of motion to ensure your groin can tolerate this move before progressing. If you're struggling with this stretch, you can also try a frog stretch see the next exercise in the video or a seated butterfly stretch as well.

Strengthening this muscle can help protect the groin and lower abdomen by providing great innate stability. This muscle commonly gets weak with inactivity, low back pain, and being overweight. This exercise works the hip adductors, the inner thigh muscles that attach directly to the groin. This exercise is excellent for working the glutes, hamstrings and core all at once.

This is an exercise progression for the TA activation we went through above. The goal is to learn to coordinate using the core with more dynamic moves of the arms and legs, just like you would with normal daily activities.

Practicing safe stretching and strengthening for an inguinal hernia leads to a handful of benefits; including:. More Ways to Relieve Hernia Pain. Excess stress on the abdominal cavity and groin can make your hernia much worse and exacerbate symptoms.

In general, here is what to avoid:. Managing and preventing an inguinal hernia all begins with a better understanding of the underlying cause. Plus, learning how to minimize strain to the groin with an exercise routine and proper lifestyle choices.

These exercises are a great addition to any home program and can yield great benefits for feeling your best without risking complications from your hernia. A hernia is when an internal part of the body pushes through a weakness in the muscle and body wall, often resulting in the appearance of a lump that gets bigger when you cough or strain and tends to disappear when you lie down.

Generally, hernias are not harmful, however, in some cases, it is possible for them to get strangulated where the blood supply is cut off or obstructed, which can result in pain and further complication requiring emergency surgery. Therefore, most hernias are routinely repaired surgically to prevent any complications occurring in the future. Hernia surgery aims to replace the internal organs to their normal position and to repair the weakness in the muscle and body wall.

Hernias are sometimes caused by repetitive straining, so recovering from hernia surgery involves carefully returning to normal exercise and activity without causing the hernia to recur. There are several things you can even do before your surgery to aid a swift and successful recovery:. Any kind of exercise that gets you out of breath and gets your heart pumping faster will help improve your general health and aid recovery from any kind of operation.

This can include walking, light jogging or swimming. Making small differences, like standing up from a chair without using your arms, or doing a few bicep curls with a lightweight something like a tin of baked beans works well can make a big difference in feeling stronger post-operatively. Exercising and strengthening in a gym is a great way to improve your fitness, but doing small things at home can also make a massive difference if the gym is not suitable.

Talk to your doctor for more advice regarding exercise before your operation. It is common and normal! Particularly following abdominal surgery, taking deep breaths can be more painful so people tend to take very shallow breaths. This can sometimes lead to infections developing in the bottom of the lungs where they are not being fully expanded. Therefore, it is important to take several, conscious deep breaths a few times a day.

It is also important to clear any phlegm or sputum with controlled coughing. It can be helpful to hold a pillow or towel over the surgical wound to lend it some more support and allow you to cough and clear the lungs properly.

The best exercise to do after hernia surgery is to get up and get walking around as soon as you can. This helps to keep your circulation moving well and encourages your gut to keep working. Many people feel very weak and tired following surgery, but it is important to walk a little even just a few steps to start with and try to increase the distance throughout the recovery.

Walking has many benefits, including speedier recovery and prevention of infection and clots. For each of the following exercises, repeat a few times to start with, and increase the repetitions as you feel stronger. These exercises help to keep your legs strong so you can move around more easily and keep the circulation moving to prevent blood clots:. The most important thing to remember is to take it easy!

What is normal intra-abdominal pressure and how is it affected by positioning, body mass and positive end-expiratory pressure. Springer Link, 35 6 , Simons, M. European Hernia Society guidelines on the treatment of inguinal hernia in adult patients. Springer Link, 13 4 , You can still exercise with a hernia as long as you have few or no symptoms. Appropriate aerobic and anaerobic exercises include swimming laps , bicycling and moderate weightlifting with proper form.

If you have surgery for a hernia, you may need to wear a truss, or supportive device. However, this won't necessarily guard against possible complications of surgery such as pain and swelling. But you should keep exercising after surgery, even if you don't feel like doing so, per a May clinical trial study from the U.

National Library of Medicine. Researchers suggest that reduced physical activity could lead to physical deconditioning and chronic post-surgical pain.

After you have recovered from an inguinal hernia, you should stay cognizant of the types of exercises you do to circumvent a relapse. Exercises should avoid include any movements that involve heavy lifting , sudden twists or pulls that can cause discomfort, according to the NIDDK. To prevent a potential hernia, you should perform regular exercises that can strengthen abdominal muscles.