Hernia Operation

john bateman 6

There's probably a few runners needing or about to have a hernia op. I looked for advice prior to mine and can now share my experience with others. It's only one person's experience and I'm not medically trained!

I had an repair to an inguinal hernia (the most common type). As it was my first op I was a bit nervous and (of course) wondered how it would affect my running. I'm 59 and a reasonably decent 5K runner (Parkruns around 21 mins).

I had 'open surgery' (not keyhole), general anaesthetic and was home on the same day.

First few days - pretty sore. Walking for 15 mins within a couple of days. Longer walks (up to 5 miles) by end of 2nd week. Today (exactly 3 weeks after the op.) have just got back from a 5K (slow) run and feel great. Obviously lost a bit of fitness (and speed) but also don't want to overdo it. And I'm rather hoping that the 3 week layoff has given my Achilles a bit of a rest ('every cloud......')

So - in case you are lined up for a similar op. this might cheer you up (there are plenty of horror stories out there). Oh yes: and it was on the NHS and everything was fine.