Injury Question - No Diagnosis Still

[Mrsmart999]

Hey all,

I've had an injury for almost 6 months now and its made life really hard for me since I'm active duty in the Army. I believe I hurt it doing sprints. I have had Bone Scan, X Ray, MRI, contrast CT Scan and an exploratory surgery to find out what is wrong with me.

I have lumps in my stomach area which according to the surgery are lipomas which the surgeon told me I should not worry about.

THe problem is the pain is worst, and usually just presents itself, when I try to sit up out of bet from laying on my back. Raising both my legs while laying flat on my back on the ground is very painful in the left groin area (feels very deep). Spreading my legs in the same position is painful too. Doing a situp is painful too as I cannot get any strength from my abdominals or groin.

Does anyone know what this might be?

Illiopsaos injury maybe? This whole thing is driving me crazy as I was a half marathon runner and weight lifter prior to this and now I cannot do anything.

[kjwilkin]

Hey all,

I've had an injury for almost 6 months now and its made life really hard for me since I'm active duty in the Army. I believe I hurt it doing sprints. I have had Bone Scan, X Ray, MRI, contrast CT Scan and an exploratory surgery to find out what is wrong with me.

I have lumps in my stomach area which according to the surgery are lipomas which the surgeon told me I should not worry about.

THe problem is the pain is worst, and usually just presents itself, when I try to sit up out of bet from laying on my back. Raising both my legs while laying flat on my back on the ground is very painful in the left groin area (feels very deep). Spreading my legs in the same position is painful too. Doing a situp is painful too as I cannot get any strength from my abdominals or groin.

Does anyone know what this might be?

Illiopsaos injury maybe? This whole thing is driving me crazy as I was a half marathon runner and weight lifter prior to this and now I cannot do anything.

Hi there,

It could be a number of different things.

I would strongly suggest you see a sports physician that specialises in groin and hip injuries. It could be be a illiopsoas injury as you suggest. Whereabouts are you based ? One of my sports physicians in Melbourne is a specialist in this area. Let us know if you want their details.

Good luck !!!

[Mrsmart999]

I'm in the United States unfortunately. The Army medical care system here is somewhat flawed and even though I am an officer it is hard to get proper care sometimes. I am really coming down the the end here as I have to deploy to Iraq in the coming months and cannot run or anything yet.

I am going to try to see someone this monday. Everything feels fine except I cannot really straing or flex my abdominals well and cannot do the leg lifts, sit ups, and I have no tried running yet. I am very worried, anyone elses help would be greatly appreciated.

[Rob N]

MrsSmart999:
Clearly your problem isn't easy to identify, however, it might be a hernia of some sort. See below.
Rob N

What is a hernia?
A hernia is an opening or weakness in the muscular structure of the wall of the abdomen. This defect causes a bulging of the abdominal wall. This bulging is usually more noticeable when the abdominal muscles are tightened, thereby increasing the pressure in the abdomen. Examples of activities that can worsen a hernia are lifting, coughing, or even straining to have a bowel movement. Imagine a barrel with a hole in its side and a balloon that is blown up inside the barrel. Part of the inflated balloon would bulge out through the hole. The balloon going through the hole is like the tissues of the abdomen bulging through a hernia.

Serious complications from a hernia result from the trapping of tissues in the hernia -- a process called incarceration. Trapped tissues may have their blood supply cut off, leading to damage or death of the tissue. The treatment of incarceration requires surgery.

The most common location for hernia is the abdomen. The abdominal wall - a sheet of tough muscle and tendon that runs down from the ribs to the legs at the groins - acts as 'nature's corset'. Its function, amongst other things, is to hold in the abdominal contents, principally the intestines.
If a weakness should open up in that wall, and it does not really matter how or why it happened (more on this later), then the 'CORSET EFFECT' is lost and what pushes against it from the inside (the intestines) simply pushes through the 'window'. The ensuing bulge, which is often quite visible against the skin, is the hernia.

These 'windows of weakness' commonly occur where there are natural weaknesses in our abdominal wall - such as where the 'plumbing' goes through it. Examples of these are the canals (inguinal and femoral) which allow passage of vessels down to the scrotum and the legs, respectively. The umbilical area (navel) is another area of natural weakness frequently prone to hernia. Another area of potential weakness can be the site(s) of any previous abdominal surgery.
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What to do about a HERNIA
The ONLY way to stop a hernia getting worse is to repair the defect surgically. There are, however, several ways of doing this and the results vary widely.
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Hernia Terminology
GROIN
HERNIAS:
Inguinal Hernia
Femoral Hernia
Scrotal Hernia
Any of these can be
Primary ('first time')
or
Recurrrent hernias
What are the symptoms of a hernia?
Symptoms of a hernia include pain or discomfort and a localized swelling somewhere on the surface of the abdomen or in the groin area.

[Joni]

Hey
Hope things are going better for you. Have you had any cortizone shots anywhere or an MRI with dye to see if they can see anything from that. Have they checked your lower back. These are just some suggestion for the next doctors appt. Keep us posted on their findings.
Joni