Inguinal Hernia Healing: A Guide to Non-Surgical Self-Care and Watchful Waiting

By Christopher K. Johannes

This ebook is a healing and self-care guide for those with a reversible (reducible) inguinal hernia who have opted for non-surgical, "watchful waiting", and self-managed lifestyle options of care. While "watchful waiting" (forgoing or delaying surgery) is a front-line physician-recommended mainstream alternative to surgical repair, most patients remain poorly educated about self-managed hernia healing methods or optimal self-care during the watchful waiting period. Toward the goal of successful hernia reduction, reversal ("cure" in the layman's sense), or favorable management, this ebook offers such healing and self-care methods, including recommendations for self-monitoring, sleep, diet, exercise (and posture), mental and emotional, support, energy based, and other lifestyle measures. Included are links to numerous resources such as tutorial videos, articles, organizations, belts, self-management forms (e.g. self-monitoring, goals, motivation, mindfulness, action planning), and information on current evidence-based hernia care. The material can also be used to individualize a self-care regimen in collaboration with a primary health care provider.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher K. Johannes
• Release date: Aug 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463339756

Christopher K. Johannes

German-American psychologist, life coach, health & wellness coach, educator (higher ed - TESOL, ESL/EFL, Psychology, Integral Health), integrative behavioral health professional.

Book preview

Introduction

Before we begin, I recommend the following selection of readings from the medical literature (evidence base) for a bit of context on inguinal hernias, their treatment, and the rationale for this book.

International Guidelines for Hernia Management https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29330835

Is Surgical Repair of an Asymptomatic Groin Hernia Appropriate? A Review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21298308

Inguinal Hernia Management: Operation or Observation? A randomized controlled multi-center trial https://www.narcis.nl/research/RecordID/OND1317550/Language/en

Exercise Strategies to Prevent the Development of Anterior Pelvic Tilt: Implications for Possible Prevention of Sports Hernias and Osteitis Pubis https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0213/288e3772f12e7673dd3f8702f6cab9d98345.pdf

Report on Hernia Repair 2008/ Synthetic Meshes: Types, Costs, Advantages, and Disadvantages https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/582009 [Useful video documentary: BBC Documentary on Mesh-patch surgery complications: https://youtu.be/UsG-Kftd7ZM]

Effect of yoga therapy in reversible inguinal hernia: A quasi experimental study. (PMID:22346061 PMCID:PMC3276927) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3276927 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22346061

You or someone you love has likely purchased this book because you have opted for the ‘watchful waiting’ self-care alternative to surgical repair of a reducible/reversible (interchangeable terms), one-sided, and largely asymptomatic inguinal hernia. You want to heal your hernia, but you don’t want the surgery, or at least you want to safely and sensibly put off that surgery for as long as you possibly can. You have good reason for that choice. That surgical alternative is not some ‘woo woo’ fringe approach; it is a first-line mainstream medical approach (as in the references offered, above).

You may also have been advised by your healthcare provider or through your own research about the disquieting percentage of post-operative complications, discomfort, pain, or hernia recurrence (and potential for even more post-operative issues with another surgery that, again, may not offer hoped for assurances of avoiding recurrence) on the basis of which you decided to opt for non-surgical approaches to healing first. Perhaps you have heard or read about hernia surgical mesh repair lawsuits and the pain and suffering of those for whom the surgery produced poor outcomes. Or maybe you read an article that found its way into the mainstream medical evidence base (like the examples cited above) about the benefits of yoga therapy, exercise, and lifestyle approaches to inguinal hernia healing, and case reports of successful self-care for hernia management, healing, and recovery without surgery. If any of the above are true for you, then you have the right book, and you’ve taken an important first step toward healing and/or successful management of your hernia.

Of course, you also have the right book if you are the type of person who has always taken active responsibility for their own wellbeing, taking charge of