Sports Hernia

A sports hernia is an injury that often involves the muscles and tendons from your lower abdomen to your pubic bone. Unlike a traditional hernia, this injury does not create a hole in your abdominal wall.

What You Need To Know About Sports Hernias

What Is a Sports Hernia?

A sports hernia — or athletic pubalgia — is a strain or a tear of soft tissue. This type of injury often involves the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that travel from your lower abdomen to your pubic bone. While the amount of pain and pressure created from these conditions is comparable, a sports hernia is not a hernia at all. Getting a proper sports hernia diagnosis can be difficult without an expert.

Getting relief for your sports hernia symptoms starts with a visit to Resurgens Orthopaedics. Schedule an appointment at one of our Metro Atlanta locations now!


What Causes a Sports Hernia?

Tearing of soft tissue in the lower abdomen typically occurs in athletes who perform intense twisting motions and sudden changes in speed and direction. Sports like tennis, ice hockey, football, wrestling, track and field, and soccer are common culprits for this injury.

While sports hernias most commonly affect athletes, any frequent movement of the pelvis or overstretching of the abdomen can tear soft tissue and create this uncomfortable condition.

Sports Hernia Symptoms

Side effects for a sports hernia vary but typically involve less acute pain when resting that worsens when returning to physical activities.

Some other common sports hernia symptoms include:

  • Tenderness when you press on the area

  • An aching groin area

  • Pain in the abdomen

  • Pain that feels more severe when twisting or turning

  • A tearing feeling in the abdomen

Many people find the pain gets better with rest, but it comes back when you engage in physical activity again.

How is a Sports Hernia Diagnosed?

During your visit to Resurgens Orthopaedics, one of our experts will ask about your medical history, symptoms, and where and when your pain originated. The physician may also conduct a physical exam. This exam may include pressing gently on the abdomen and asking you to complete a series of physical exercises to demonstrate the degree of pain you are experiencing.

Diagnostic imaging with MRIs, X-rays, and bone scanning technology may be required to rule out other forms of abdominal pain and properly diagnose a sports hernia. This information will help us create your unique treatment plan.

Sports Hernia Treatment

Treatment for a sports hernia depends on a variety of factors. Your age, level of participation in sports, and medical history will influence the physician's approach to your treatment. Treatment options may include rest, medications, ice and physical therapy. If you have a severe injury, you may benefit from surgery to repair the damage.

Non-Surgical Treatment

Many patients recover quickly from a mild sports hernia with a proper amount of rest. Ice and compression help relieve pain in the affected area. Additionally, the use of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs may help.

After a great deal of rest, physical therapy may be necessary. If pain remains after several weeks of rest and physical therapy, surgery may be recommended.

Surgical Treatment

In the most serious conditions, a sports hernia will require a surgical procedure. Resurgens Orthopaedics offers many ways to restore comfort and reduce sports hernia symptoms.

They will also help you determine which type of surgery will be best for your particular injury. Common procedures for sports hernia include:

  • Open procedure: A traditional approach to sports hernia repair, using a long incision to restore torn tissues surgically.

  • Endoscopic procedure: Approach that uses several small incisions to insert a small camera into the abdomen - The surgeon uses synthetic mesh to restructure torn tissues and ligaments.

There are many surgical solutions to a sports hernia, and your surgeon may opt for a different one.

Sports hernias are painful injuries that cause extreme discomfort and worsen over time. Schedule an appointment to learn about sports hernia treatment options at Resurgens Orthopaedics.


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