Have been to see the doc and the specialist and have an iguinal hernia – it aches and is annoying. I'm pretty sure riding, particularly off road is not going to do any good are there any pre op exercises that are unlikely to aggravate it and will help to maintain some level of fitness?

Post op – whats the story? How long off work, how long before exercise and how long before biking can start again. I know everyone is different and 'start exercise when it feels right' will be sensible answers but would be interested in some recovery insights from STW collective.

I'm 2 weeks post op today easygroove…..

Went in for my 4th hernia (I'm just prone to them – but fingers crossed this will be the last) – was told inguinal (like the other 3). Had keyhole….. and when I woke up surgeon said it was a femoral hernia. Same repair (mesh).

Anyway… pre-op I'd been doing lots of turbo stuff – but stopped when I noticed the hernia – so no doubt lost fitness.

Post op – came out Saturday morning (overnight stay only because the op was at 19:00 Friday night).

Sunday – I gently walked 1km on a treadmill at home
Monday – 1 mile on the treadmill
Tuesday – 2 miles on treadmill
Wednesday – 20 gentle miles on the trainer
Thursday – 20 gentle miles on the trainer – but quicker than Wednesday

Then went on holiday for a week – and walked 3 miles each day.

Only pain I had was around the keyhole entry points – must have been very bruised internally. Also had a pot belly (must have been from the gas used to blow me up).

So – today… 15 days post op – planning to get on the trainer shortly. Have bailed out of the Whinlatter Challenge (might be too much). Have got a 100 mile road sportive in 4 weeks.. then HONC the week after. Should be ok…..

Important thing was the surgeon said that as no muscle was cut during surgery, cycling 'shouldn't' cause any damage – and he said I would know if I was ok to ride (pain I guess)?

Hope this helps…

Si

I got my inguinal hernia fixed down at the Hernia clinic in London. Its the best thing I ever did. Walked out of the operating theatre, obviously with plenty of pain relief, started walking the day after and was driving witin a week and back out on the bike in about 10 days, first ride back was AE with a few mates and I certainly didn't hold anyone up.

As above because it was a mesh repair instead of stitiches, my surgeon told me to push it as hard as I dare using the pain relief they supplied. It worked a treat, 4 years on I have had no issues with it.

Dan! 8) Nothing useful to add, but whatever happens, just wanted to wish you good luck and a fast recovery. Hope life's treating you well otherwise, cheers me babber! Giler.

Crucial thing is to let heal and do not rush back or you will be prone to ruptures.

I had a laproscopic bi-lateral hernia operation several years ago, so only had 3 small incisions and it was repaired with the mesh insertion. I took it easy for a few days but got back on the mountain bike after 8 days–a little sore, but no problem. The surgeon said I wouldn't hurt it and if the pain was tolerable to start riding when I wanted. Didn't feel like it for the first 4-5 days, but after that there really wasn't any pain except if I twisted around a bit too far.

Had the mesh op' nine years ago. The area around the op' is now very unsensitive. It still aches or feels numb occasionally but otherwise it's been fine. I had 6 weeks off work (postman). The worst part of the recovery process was sneezing or taking a dump.

Thanks chase, the comment about the dump made me chuckle!

Giler – things going well, off road ride time less than id like but still get to road ride a fair bit with 40k commute (2way) a few times per week.
Seeing massive attack in a couple of weeks on Sydney Opera House steps, Sam got us on Delj's guest list – bristol connection in full effect aiiightt!
do you see the old crew much?

2 groin hernia ops, one each side, both meshed, both cut 3" long, still ache some 7 years on and lost some feeling where nerves cut, other than that, stronger than before 😆

i had a slight one that was mental painfull.
did aload of rehab stuff with a physio to fix it.the doc's and the surgeon said it wouldnt work but it did. well so far anyway.

I had a open bilateral inguinal hernia repair last mid-June.
None of this keyhole nonsense for me – two 6" scars. Ouch!
Was a bit miffed as despite the hernias being described as "large" they only ached when I sneezed.

I was kept in overnight after the op and allowed home the next day. Was work for two weeks – moping around and sleeping a lot. Tried working from home a bit but got uncomfortable.

Post-op my surgeon said I could ride gently to work after two and a bit weeks – if only for the reason that I had no other way of getting to the office.
I was told to take it gently and to stop if it hurt – I pushed up the hill for the first few days. I used a Brompton for the first week of this to reduce the need to lift my leg over the cross bar.

After three and a half weeks I went for a spin on my road bike. In hindsight I did too much – 30 hills with an 800ft climb. I got half-way and ached like hell but had no choice but to carry on to get home. I started MTBing after 6 weeks and had no problem with this other than a loss of mojo and pain if I slammed my saddle into the scars. Ouch!

I found the best way to recover was to do some gentle exercise and then rest for a couple of hours before doing a bit more. I slept a lot too!
Chatting a while later to a friend who's a physio and cyclist he reckoned I'd got the recovery process spot on – gentle exercise stops lesions from forming, which is a big risk and causes a lot of pain.

At the end of August I set off on a hilly 6-day cycle tour of Northumbria. I aimed at 40-60 miles a day which caused no problems. Lack of strength and stamina was a bigger problem than hernia pain. Normally I'd aim at 60-80 miles a day but that would have been too much having lost three months of hard cycling (by my standards).

Oh – and riding a fixie ached for several months post-op, but again I think it may have been helping the recovery process.

Hope this helps – good luck with your recovery!

Nine months on, I get the occasional ache only.

That's cool Dan! MA gig should be good – I remember Delj from about 14 years old, hanging around the park drinking cider n sniffin glue, with his tartan bondage trousers on! I still think of him that way – how times have changed!
Since i left Bristol i don't see many of the old gang, shame really – but do keep in touch via Facebook and other bikey websites.
Did see some pics of you, Tracey and the little 'un on Facebook a while back. Someone must be a friend of a friend kinda thing. Looks like a happy life down under! 8)
Good luck with the op! Giler. 🙂