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Other/Mixed Just discovered an umbilical hernia

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Kev

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I've literally discovered a small bulge in my belly button. No pain, no discomfort though I did attend accident and emergency on Saturday because I suspected inguinal hernias as I was taking intermittent dull ache in one testicle. All tests came back clear and I worked out it was my less than perfect log bar clean and press technique. Namely not lapping the log but humping it with my pelvis that caused the testicle pain (stupid I know). The ER doctor who saw me couldn't have been less concerned at the small bulge in my belly button and basically said I've probably had it from birth and I've not noticed and put no restrictions on returning to the gym once my ball ache subsided I even mentioned I'm routinely squatting 150kg and he never said stop. I have a doctor's appointment this Thursday to talk about it again. I'm kind of in a place where I'm seriously considering quitting barbell work altogether and just being a kettlebell purist and do bodyweight stuff and sandbag training. Pretty annoyed and despondent if I'm honest. The wayoung the ER doctor was talking it does not warrant a repair (I live in Scotland so it's the NHS). Have any ofurther you guys and ladies on here got umbilical hernias? If so do you still lift heavy ie squats and deads? What's been your experience with kettlebell work? I was literally pressing a 20kg the other day with the finger of my free hand in my belly button to see if it was messing with it but nothing (I know a 20kg isn't heavy).
 
@Kev, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

Please see another doctor. You may be OK or you may need surgery. Get thee to a physician as soon as possible, and in the meantime, please avoid doing anything you think might make your injury worse or cause you pain. The people I know who have had concerns about umbilical hernias have ended up being referred by their general practitioner to a surgeon.

-S-
 
@Kev, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

Please see another doctor. You may be OK or you may need surgery. Get thee to a physician as soon as possible, and in the meantime, please avoid doing anything you think might make your injury worse or cause you pain. The people I know who have had concerns about umbilical hernias have ended up being referred by their general practitioner to a surgeon.

-S-
Yeah I'm doing 531 and discovered this lump just as I was on the heavy week so I'm resting anyway. Doctors this Thursday but I'm worried he's going to say give up anything strenuous. Conversely I'm worried he's going to say keep going until it gets worse. I am a committed iron head. The thought that my barbell days might be done at 39 has put me on a real downer if I'm honest. Hopefully he'll get the ball rolling for surgery but I'm reading constantly that some small hernias can be with you forever and never affect your daily activities. Seeing videos of meat heads with hernias still lifting having had them for years and years. I'll see what Thursday brings. Thanks for replying. I actually joined this forum because I was reading past posts by yourself and other people.
 
I had a umbilical hernia repaired with mesh ten or 12 years ago. Definitely wasn't there at birth (at least not at anywhere the same size) as I watched it get bigger over the course of a few months.

It never crosses my mind. At this point I think if it was going to fail, it would have. Just the way I perceive it.
 
I had a umbilical hernia repaired with mesh ten or 12 years ago. Definitely wasn't there at birth (at least not at anywhere the same size) as I watched it get bigger over the course of a few months.

It never crosses my mind. At this point I think if it was going to fail, it would have. Just the way I perceive it.
Think the docs here won't go near it unless it's bigger. See what Thursday brings. I'm confident any repair will see me squatting and deadlifting once it's fully healed. Still a bit bummed about it.
 
I had an umbilical hernia about 7 few years ago. A scottish one too, treated by the good old nhs successfully.
Be very careful until getting a diagnosis. At the time I was training for a marathon and a newbie to kettlebells doing etk with a 16. I was diagnosed and told to avoid 'excessive' strain with the advice that should it get any worse to immediately stop. And that I did and had no problem. So define 'excessive'?
At that point I avoided pull ups!! Did what I had planned, had the op after a marathon and back at everything with a watchful eye a couple weeks later. No problems at all.
But my hernia is not yours....mine would pop out now and then and I'd pop it back in, it never grew and had no pain. If it were to grow or get painful, a totally different story.
Maybe for scottish/uk cases.....depending on your hernia, you may have a mesh implant ( I didn't, just plain old stitches).
There's a lot of controversy surrounding mesh implants and a number of support groups are available, so find out more. Not sure if this is particular UK thing or what. Whether you have one or not may depend on your surgeon's opinion - there is ongoing medical and legal shenanigans on policy, better to read up on it. I've met a few people severely disabled due to what they think is a result of a mesh implant. There are a number of ongoing court cases. You may not realise that you get one until after the op, thus if ask not to have one before the op but that may cause conflict with a surgical decision....or cost implications. Just making you aware. It could be down to a botched procedure too maybe but nonetheless there is an issue for some people.
Running, pressing, swinging was fine for me. Pull ups, nope.....it would pop out. I would guess - for me and my hernia - that I wouldn't have lifted particularly heavy if I was lifting heavy at the time.
 
Certainly the prudent thing to do is see your physician, if it is an umbilical hernia it will not get better on its own.

I had an inguinal hernia repair eighteen months ago. I simply got fed up with pushing it back in again. During walks and runs it became difficult to enjoy the training due to fussing with it every few steps. It would be interesting to me to find out whether your testicle pain is in any way related. Strangulation can occur and I sense a decent amount of anxiety on your part. Worry is not going to help the process, imo.

Mine was an "open" repair as opposed to laparoscopic which I knew was a possibility prior to the procedure. Mesh was used and the doctor told me that he wanted me walking and walking stairs that day. After a 1 1/2 mile walk and plenty of stairs it occurred to me that I also had a nerve block that would last 24-48 hours, at which time I swallowed hard hoping that I hadn't overdone things. It turned out that I had not. Being the compliant patient that I am I did not exceed the lifting restriction of fifteen pounds the doctor imposed. At the three-week follow up the doc was well pleased and told me to hold off for another month or so before pressing the issue. When I asked him what my poundage limit was he said anything I could do fifteen reps with. I told him that it would be difficult to limit myself to 250 lb one-arm presses, but I would do as he wished. He got quite a chuckle out of that.

Fortunately, I never experienced much discomfort at all. I'm sixty-two years old and no longer chase big numbers, but deadlift repping at 315 is only limited by my strength and energy level that day and not a hernia repair. I did start conservatively when I got back into KB's, swinging the mammoth 16 until it was abundantly clear that I was in the clear to progress as I felt appropriate.

Everyone is different and my inguinal is not your umbilical. My point is that medical science has made great strides and in the event that it is a hernia you are experiencing the worst part is holding yourself back for a while post-surgery. At least that is my great hope for you. My father-in-law had the same doctor and had precious little pain as well.
 
Certainly the prudent thing to do is see your physician, if it is an umbilical hernia it will not get better on its own.

I had an inguinal hernia repair eighteen months ago. I simply got fed up with pushing it back in again. During walks and runs it became difficult to enjoy the training due to fussing with it every few steps. It would be interesting to me to find out whether your testicle pain is in any way related. Strangulation can occur and I sense a decent amount of anxiety on your part. Worry is not going to help the process, imo.

Mine was an "open" repair as opposed to laparoscopic which I knew was a possibility prior to the procedure. Mesh was used and the doctor told me that he wanted me walking and walking stairs that day. After a 1 1/2 mile walk and plenty of stairs it occurred to me that I also had a nerve block that would last 24-48 hours, at which time I swallowed hard hoping that I hadn't overdone things. It turned out that I had not. Being the compliant patient that I am I did not exceed the lifting restriction of fifteen pounds the doctor imposed. At the three-week follow up the doc was well pleased and told me to hold off for another month or so before pressing the issue. When I asked him what my poundage limit was he said anything I could do fifteen reps with. I told him that it would be difficult to limit myself to 250 lb one-arm presses, but I would do as he wished. He got quite a chuckle out of that.

Fortunately, I never experienced much discomfort at all. I'm sixty-two years old and no longer chase big numbers, but deadlift repping at 315 is only limited by my strength and energy level that day and not a hernia repair. I did start conservatively when I got back into KB's, swinging the mammoth 16 until it was abundantly clear that I was in the clear to progress as I felt appropriate.

Everyone is different and my inguinal is not your umbilical. My point is that medical science has made great strides and in the event that it is a hernia you are experiencing the worst part is holding yourself back for a while post-surgery. At least that is my great hope for you. My father-in-law had the same doctor and had precious little pain as well.
Thanks for your kind words. I was in a bit of a downer for a couple of days there but I'm back on the horse so to speak. I'm actually having a cup of tea right now as I'm early for my GP appointment. If I don't get the answers or the referral for surgery that I want I will be going for private consultation to get it repaired. I'm managing planks daily without any increase in size or pain. My friend had a mesh repair for inguinal hernias even amongst all the controversy 9 years ago and she has had zero issues. I reckon I will manage most kettlebell work while I await my op but I'm confident this time next year I'll be back at it with barbell work.
 
Kev-

I reckon I will manage most kettlebell work while I await my op but I'm confident this time next year I'll be back at it with barbell work.

Good point. Going into the surgery it was my goal to be in pretty darn good shape, hopefully it would facilitate recovery plus I knew there would be a down period from training. Aside from having a hernia I felt about as physically prepared as a then 60 year old could have been.
 
Had bilateral inguinal surgery, both sides had the mesh implant. IIRC I was training again in 6-8 weeks, real discomfort only lasted about a week.

The early mesh repairs had a bit of a spotty track record, but improvements in the materials seem to have done away with most complaints. I did have some scar tissue discomfort for a year or so, but routine exercise and time have made it a non-issue. I was in pain before I had it done and they appeared to be slowly increasing in size, was an easy decision to make.

There are similarities, but I don't think umbilical hernias and inguinal ones are quite the same when it comes to repair options or risk factors for not having them fixed.

Good Luck!
 
Had bilateral inguinal surgery, both sides had the mesh implant. IIRC I was training again in 6-8 weeks, real discomfort only lasted about a week.

The early mesh repairs had a bit of a spotty track record, but improvements in the materials seem to have done away with most complaints. I did have some scar tissue discomfort for a year or so, but routine exercise and time have made it a non-issue. I was in pain before I had it done and they appeared to be slowly increasing in size, was an easy decision to make.

There are similarities, but I don't think umbilical hernias and inguinal ones are quite the same when it comes to repair options or risk factors for not having them fixed.

Good Luck!
Thanks mate. I'm cleared for for exercise and I've been referred to the surgeons so just waiting for my appointment. Resigned to it now and hearing all the successful repairs on here has cheered me up a bit. All good. I'm loaded with a cold so I'll start a kettlebell programme on monday.
 
Managing heavy swings and even c+p with a 32kg. Pull ups and TRX dips too. Kb wise I'm doing a mixture of swings and snatches using the "gotch bible" complexes with a single kb as well. I haven't went near a rack squat or goblet squat however. Still waiting to talk to surgeons on the glorious NHS.
 
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