Women with a sports hernia can go undiagnosed for months or even years. This results to unbearable episodes of intense abdominal and pelvic pain. Once an area in the abdominal wall thins out, weakens or separated, it allows the internal organs such as the small intestines to push through. Remember that this is a hernia that can cause intense pain.
Indications of hernia in women
The symptoms of hernia in women are different from men. One difference is the location which occur deeper in the body and less visible than men. Women usually experience chronic deep pelvic pain or episodes of acute, stab-like pain that comes on rapidly and lingers.
Coming up with an accurate diagnosis is difficult in women since the hernia is often small and deep in the abdomen. Due to this, the hernias rarely trigger any protuberance on the skin which is a characteristic indication in men.
Diagnosis
Even though most cases in women are initially believed to be triggered by other issues, the unique nature of the symptoms can be used to obtain a correct diagnosis. It is vital to properly describe the pain sensations including pinching, burning and shooting pain in the groin or pelvis so that an accurate diagnosis can be given.
Activities that increases the internal abdominal pressure such as weightlifting, exercising, laughing, coughing and even straining in the bathroom can be indications that the doctor will recognize as a possible hernia.
The pain should be described as clearly as possible so that a diagnosis can be given. Once the symptoms point to a possible diagnosis of hernia, an MRI is the ideal imaging tool to confirm a diagnosis.
Management
The conservative treatment includes medications and physical therapy and might improve the pain or control the other symptoms. The physical therapist might utilize myofascial release techniques to minimize or alleviate the muscle spasms that intensifies the hernia pain.
Once the conservative treatments fail to alleviate the symptoms, laparoscopic surgery is widely utilized to repair a hernia. This surgical procedure repairs the weakened region of the abdominal wall. In most cases, women heal from laparoscopic surgery fairly quickly, usually in 1-2 weeks and able to resume sports and other activities without any lingering pain.