Hernia issues

[Anthony DiSarro]

I have had a slight umbilical hernia for about a year now and hate the idea of taking time off to have it fixed. lately though it has been bothering me a bit more than usual. i am able to push it back in when it does show it self so it 's not too bad and not painful but i'm worried it will get worse. has anyone had a similar injury and had it repaired? what is a realistic recovery time? Thanks

[Matt DeMinico]

Well, my 4 week old has one, that's about as close as I can get to helping with it. But they say with young kids it's somewhat common (our now 4 year old had one when she was little).

Does it happen only when doing certain movements? From what I understand, hernias don't really ever go away on their own, so it might be better to just get it fixed if you can.

[Anthony DiSarro]

i know they are pretty common with little ones. Well, i was unloading several 80# bags of concrete mix and 2 4X6X12 posts (to build a pullup station). When I finished it was very prominant. It looks like a half of a marble right above the navel. Sometimes it will appear during deadlifts if I don't breath properly. Had a great workout today with tire flips and KB swings with no problems though.

[Alvaro Viquez]

I had a hernia repair surgery about 3 years ago. I didn't have an umbilical hernia, mine was a bit lower (a direct inguinal hernia). I was out of shape at the time and I think that caused my recovery to take a bit longer. It will be uncomfortable in the abdominal region for a good month or two. You really start to appreciate just how much your core is involved in all the basic movements of everyday life from getting out of bed to just laughing.

My suggestion would be to follow your surgeon's recommendations for recovery. All CrossFitters have that burning desire to continue to train through injury but the best thing to do would be to get it fixed, concentrate on eating right, and slowly bring yourself back to full speed. Once you're fully recovered, the hernia will be a distant memory and it will no longer get in the way of your workouts.