A visit to California to see Dr. Brown, sports hernia specialist, could be a worthy journey.
Unfortunately, many general practitioners and sports medicine experts are unfamiliar with sports hernias. Athletes are told to treat it like a pulled groin and hope for the best. A sports hernia will often respond to a period of rest, yet pain returns as soon as normal sport activity resumes. In fact, sports hernia specialists agree that chronic pain that comes on with sports and subsides with rest is one of the key indicators of a sports hernia.
The condition is notoriously difficult to diagnose, and many patients endure several misdiagnoses before seeing a sports hernia specialist. This delays appropriate treatment and can exacerbate the problem. Often times it’s recommendations from other athletes and Internet research that finally lead many patients to a sports hernia specialist. But these specialists are far and few between.
When you’re experiencing excruciating abdominal or groin pain, traveling cross or even halfway across the country to see a sports hernia specialist is the last thing you want to do. Just the idea of lifting and carrying baggage is enough to persuade you to stay closer to home, especially when just a sneeze or cough hurts. However, for many suffering from a sports hernia for months and even years, it’s the last resort.
MRI results can reveal a sports hernia. Patients send their MRIs to Dr. Brown, a sports hernia specialist, then makes recommendations for treatment, which can involve surgery. While surgery is no small undertaking, many patients take the news as a relief. It’s finally confirming what they’ve suspected all along.
Sports hernia patients travel to Dr. Brown’s office in Fremont, California and undergo an exam the next day. If necessary, surgery can be scheduled and patients return home within a few days post-surgery. If you are traveling to see a sports hernia specialist, be sure to choose one who is well known for personally following up with patients no matter how far away you live.
How far is too far to travel to see a sports hernia specialist? Tens, hundreds or thousands of miles? Approximately half of Dr. Brown’s patients live outside of California. Those numbers just go to show the distance those living with a sports hernia are willing to go for treatment that will give them their lives back.