Sports Hernia - A Different Type of Hernia that Can't Be Diagnosed or Easily Treated

Sports hernia is a very common illness among those who are playing sports like rugby, hockey and soccer because while playing these sports the body does a lot of twisting moves which weaken the muscles. Most people know this disease as 'Gilmore's Groin' and don't consider it to be an actual hernia because nothing similar to hernia is detected at first sight and there is no bulge or lump like at the other hernias.

Sports hernia occurs when the muscular fiber that is situated in the lower part of the abdomen gets torn because of the movements mentioned above. After this tear appears pain will soon be felt, but in the beginning the pain is barely disturbing. As time passes the pain begins to be disturbing and it can also be felt in the groin and the genital areas (testicles at men). The pain is much more disturbing if someone who has sports hernia coughs, sneezes, bends or starts running. These are the only symptoms that were noticed at people suffering from sports hernia.

Unfortunately there aren't any special tests that can diagnose sports hernia, the only thing that doctors can do is to perform tests for other diseases that cause the same symptoms, and if none of them turns positive, through the process of elimination, the conclusion is that the person in cause is suffering from sports hernia.

If you just found out that you have sports hernia the first thing you need to do is to rest and keep away from effort, in order to speed the healing process up, and the healing process usually takes long, around a few weeks, so you wouldn't want to make it even longer by participating in physically-challenging activities. The doctor may also recommend medication that reduces inflammations.

So, sports hernia is a tricky disease, that can't be easily diagnosed and treated, or prevented if you are a professional sports player. The only thing you can do is know all there is about it and if you experience any of the symptoms consult a doctor and get his advice. The sooner you discover this illness the sooner you will be able to heal from it and return to your sporting activities. But don't start doing sports again without the doctor's permission, because you may get worse and start all over again. Some say that if you can touch your toes without feeling any pain, after suffering from sports hernia, the disease is cured and everything is all right.