Coming Back To SS Program After Left-Side Inguinal Hernia Repair

[LetsTelemarkSki]

Hey folks!

I'm a 45 y/o M 195lbs 6'1" that has been fairly active throughout my life (trail running, mountain biking, skiing, hiking, etc.) and have done the SS program off and on (organizing life has been tricky recently, we have a 6 y/o and an 18 month old; wife changed careers and started a financial planning business... all during COIVD). I developed a left-side inguinal hernia about a year ago and had an outpatient open incision mesh repair on 4/6. Recovery has been fast (modern medicine is amazing, I could have driven home after the surgery if they hadn't given me oxycontin) and the area feels good now. There's just some tenderness around the incision.

I skied this season (I'm a blue square plus telemark skier working on becoming an instructor) with the hernia with no issues.

My only restriction has been lifting no more than 20 lbs. for a month, which ends on 5/4 then easing back into activity depending on how I feel.

I made my Dr. and everyone that's asked aware of my interests in activities and SS specifically (I'd tell anyone that would listen how much I love the deadlift).

When I had my post-op call with the PA, I asked about going back to activity once my restrictions lift on 5/4. When I asked about coming back to SS (deadlift specifically) the PA responded with: don't try and max out your weight right off the bat (totally get this and I wouldn't) and he also mentioned maybe only doing 80% of my max with squat / deadlift. I also asked about reoccurrence, and he mentioned that for healthy adults it's like 1%. I get that they can't say no chance (I have a background in stats) for this.

Starting 5/4 I was going to start the program with the empty bar; I know this is conservative, I'd rather start slow coming back from injury / inactivity than deal with ANOTHER injury.


My question in this: what's been peoples' experiences with inguinal hernia repair and the SS program? Any long term issues / reoccurrences? How do people feel? Thoughts on doing more than 80% of my max once I'm back on the program for a while?

Thanks for your input!

[tiny&mighty]

Here's a good article about this:
Inguinal Hernia And Strength Training | Jonathon Sullivan

[kevindice]

I'm a 26 y/o M 185 pounds, 5'9" and just had this surgery 10 days ago on Thursday 4/21. Also very active in most of the activities you list. Left side, inguinal hernia repaired with the rTAPP method (laparoscopic robotic) with mesh. Three incisions about 12mm long each.

My hernia was fairly large. I'd first noticed it about 10 or 13 years ago, and I'd say that lifting (which I started doing last summer) played a role in accelerating its growth. In January, I went and got a referral, and in the consult w/ the surgeon, we selected mid-April as the ideal time to operate on it. I'm a volunteer ski patroller part time thru mid-April, and I've got a month of big mountaineering objectives planned starting in early June in Colorado and Ecuador. The discomfort from the hernia wasn't all that bad until I got a sinus infection in early April and was blowing my nose all the time. It seems like the intra-abdominal pressure from coughing, sneezing, especially blowing your nose is generally much higher than what can be achieved most of the time while lifting. It started to be a constant, noticeable, dull pain, so it was pretty perfect timing on getting it taken care of.

Recovery has been much better than expected. I woke up at 2:30pm, got dressed and tied my own shoes, and by 4pm I was walking laps around the periop wing for about an hour waiting for my buddy to pick me up. I got the impression that the nurses aren't used to seeing that...to be fair, hospitals are mostly for old and sick people. They prescribed some narcs but I never took them - one Tylenol that evening, another in the morning, and then I quit taking anything. The surgery site itself didn't hurt that much - what did hurt was the groin bruising from the process of reducing the hernia (I'm told it was tedious) and with gravity doing what gravity does, a large, heavy blood clot 'hanging out' down there. Also, I had a little shoulder blade pain from the CO2 they inflated me with that hadn't entirely dissolved off yet.

Doctor's orders were not to lift more than 10 pounds for 4 weeks. I've obeyed the spirit of that but perhaps not the letter. This article definitely influenced my approach: Inguinal Hernia And Strength Training | Jonathon Sullivan


My post-surgery activity log:

4/21 - 2:30 wake up from surgery, walking for 1 hour 4-5pm before discharge
4/21 - walked 1.3 miles at midnight after dropping car off for alignment
4/22 - 4pm, walked 1.3 miles to pick car up from alignment
4/22 - 8:30pm, bouldering at local climbing gym, sticking to just V0s and V1s with a 'no-fall' mindset, always down-climbing rather than jumping off. There was a little discomfort with all the bending, flexing, and reaching, but not bad. Did some upper body exercises incl. band pull aparts, band tricep press downs, slow hammer curls w/ 10 pound DBs. My notes say "Shoulder pain is 4 out of 10. Abdominal pain is mild, 1/10 to 2/10."
4/23 - Went fly fishing. Climbing in and out of the car was a little uncomfortable but not bad.
4/23 - Went to the gym in the evening and did more bouldering. Then 9 sets of 3 on banded bench press with 60 seconds rest in between. Bar weight 45% of max, band tension at 25% of max. Felt good.
4/24 - Hiked 10 miles, 1000ft elevation gain with a friend and her dog. Did a little fly fishing
4/25 - Back to work - I do computer stuff from home
4/25 - Washed dishes for a volunteer thing. (commercial dish washer). Had a little discomfort from lifting the dish tray loaded with plates - awkward lifting mechanics.
4/26 - nothing
4/27 - More bouldering, 3 sets on bench 135x6, back squat 95x6, 135x6, 185x6 and decided 185 (75%) was dumb/unnecessary, 4 sets of goodmornings 3@95 and 1@115, bicep curls. I did some leg raises and they didn't hurt too badly.
4/28 - Dry tooling with my ex girlfriend who has bigger biceps than me. (Dry tooling is like rock climbing with ice axes but without the ice). Light squat at 135, some power cleans up to 155, deadlift up to a top-set of 365x1 (a "skittles" deadlift if you've got colorful 25, 20, 15, 10kg plates). Note: 365 is 85% for me.
4/29 - A little more bouldering. Press for a few sets. Power cleans and snatches up to 145 pounds. A few deadlift sets: 225x6, 315x6, 385x1 (90% of max), 315x6, 225x6, 135x8
4/30 - Had brunch with friends but alas no avocado toast. Went on a 2.1 mile hike with 650 ft elevation gain. The CO2 is fully dissolved, and I can comfortably inhale to maximum lung capacity without any abdominal pain. The incision sites are tender still.

Outlook is really good. My focus will shift to cardio and longer hikes with more elevation gain. June 8-15 I'm doing a 120 mile ridge traverse with 53k of elevation gain/loss. June 18 I'm headed to Ecuador to climb tall stuff, topping out at over 20,000ft. Afterwards, my focus will really get back to strength training and getting in the 1000 pound club by the end of the year. Will have my 2-week follow-up appointment on Thursday.

The robotic laparoscopic surgery might give a little faster recovery than the open procedure you had. Since it's been 3 weeks, you're probably good to start ramping things up and let your pain level be a good feedback loop along the way.

[Johnsonville]

Rip has spoken about this many times. I was back to work laying stone less than three weeks after, then began lifting starting light that same week. My repair has given me issues throughout the years, but never of it seeming to be failing, rather just pain and tightness. I also had about a year of pretty strong nerve damage in my leg below the repair. But the thing won’t break