Time Between Sports Hernia Injury and Treatment is an Eternity
The quicker the diagnosis the better for teenagers.
Any parent who has raised or is raising children knows teenagers are not the epitomes of patience. This is especially the case when they are in pain and that pain is hindering them from doing what they want to do. Also, a parent with a teenager struggling with an undiagnosed injury feels the child’s frustration and pain as much, if not more so, than the teen.
We get it. We have children too. And with the media’s attention on high school athletes’ injuries lately, collectively, we’re on guard (as medical professionals and parents) whenever teenagers complain of pain. Teens are not immune to a sports hernia, despite their resiliency and strength.
If your teenager has severe abdominal pain (either side), your general practitioner or pediatrician might order further testing to rule out appendicitis. When ultra sounds and CT scans are clear of any appendix problems, most likely rest will be ordered and to return if symptoms persist after that.
Rest may help, but as soon as normal activity is resumed, the pain returns. The pain associated with an inguinal disruption is severe enough to keep your teen from attending classes and participating in sports. Any movement, even simply walking from their rooms to the kitchen, can bring on intense pain – so much so that many teens wind up in the emergency room. Without fever, blood in stool or urine or other symptoms, your teen can be sent home again for more rest. The cycle continues…
We get calls and emails from many parents who have turned to the Internet for help and information. After reading the possible causes and symptoms of a sports hernia, it can start to make sense and the path to recovery begins. If your teenager is suffering from pain that is keeping him or her from school and activities, it’s worth considering a sports hernia. An MRI test can determine if that’s the case and we can develop a course of repair and therapy from there.
Since sports hernias are so often difficult for physicians to diagnosis, it can take weeks or months between the initial injury and the eventual repair. Months are long for an adult, but they seem like an eternity to a teenager. The quicker an accurate diagnosis, the better for your teen, and you.