Pulled Muscle or Hernia? Clues to help You Tell the Difference

It may not happen all at once, but gradually, you notice concentrated pain developing in your stomach or inner thighs. It feels like a pulled muscle, but this time, you notice a small lump. That is called a hernia: an organ or piece of fatty tissue that's pushed out through a weak spot in the muscles. Hernias are a fairly common medical occurrence for adults, most commonly appearing in the abdomen or groin. 

Pulled Muscle Vs. Hernia

While both are sore and tender, there are distinct differences between a hernia and a pulled muscle, otherwise known as a muscle strain. You can usually tell just by looking at or feeling it.

Characteristics of a Hernia

Hernias can result from many factors, such as overexertion, general wear and tear, birth defects, or surgery. There are many signs of a groin hernia or abdominal hernia, but the biggest is the lump that forms in that area. It creates a concentrated pain that's most uncomfortable when you're standing or with quick or forceful movements, such as coughing or lifting. The pain can range anywhere from a dull ache to a sharp burn. You may feel a pull or strain coming from the hernia as well. When you lie down, the hernia might move into a less painful position where there's no obvious lump. 

Characteristics of a Pulled Muscle

A pulled muscle can happen if you overexert it, typically during a strenuous exercise or movement. it happens when your muscle tears, and it's usually accompanied by a "popping" feeling when the injury occurs. With a pulled muscle, the pain can feel concentrated, like a hernia, but there won't be a lump. There may, however, be some swelling and/or bruising and a little dent in the muscle. Like a hernia, you may feel more pain when you move or lift things than when you're resting. 

When contemplating a strained muscle vs. hernia, understanding how it's caused and how it looks will be useful when determining if you should seek help. Understanding why certain parts of your body are at higher risk of developing a hernia is equally important. 

Why Hernias Don't Heal with Rest Like Muscle Strains Do

A minor to moderate muscle strain can often be treated through rest, with healing taking place over a matter of weeks. But to understand a hernia, you need to know that it's not something you can treat at home. Once you get a hernia, it sticks around - the only way to treat it is through surgery. 

At first, a hernia may be small and hardly affect your day-to-day. However, once that weak spot in your muscle tissue is big enough for a hernia to form, it will continue to slacken, enabling the hernia to grow larger. 

If left untreated, a hernia will continue to grow and lead to more serious complications, like an incarcerated hernia. This happens when the protruding tissue or organ gets trapped on the outside of the muscles, cutting off blood flow. This can then lead to necrosis or gangrene - conditions where the cut-off cells or tissues of your body die. 

This is why rest is not enough to heal a hernia. In order to truly treat a hernia for good, you will need to reach out to your primary care doctor, who will refer you to the Schneck Surgery team for a specialized procedure. 

Routine Hernia Surgery at Schneck

Hernia repair at Schneck is quick and precise. We offer three kinds of procedures: open hernia surgery, laparoscopic hernia surgery, and robotic hernia surgery. 

• Open hernia surgery involves accessing the hernia by cutting into the groin and stitching up the weak gap in the abdominal wall. 
• Laparoscopic hernia surgery involves a laparoscope - a long, skinny tool with a camera in the end. A surgeon will insert the laparoscope through a small incision and create another incision to send the surgery tools through. Using the camera to see what they're doing, the surgeon will use the tools to stitch up the weak abdominal gap. 
• Robotic hernia surgery allows surgeons to perform many types of complex procedures with added precision, flexibility and control than is possible with conventional techniques. Robotic surgery is typically used in procedures using minimally invasive surgery techniques. 

These procedures may take as little as an hour to complete. However, more advanced/complex hernias are likely to still take longer. Hernia surgery recovery is fairly quick, with soreness post-operation lasting about three days. Your doctor will prescribe pain medication and offer tips to make your hernia surgery recovery more manageable.