
What Can You do to Prevent a Hernia?
If there’s a history of hernias in your family and you want to help work to prevent one, or if you’ve had a hernia before and definitely don’t want another here are some lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent a hernia and improve your health in the meantime!
What is a Hernia?
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or part of an organ, or other structure, through the wall that normally contains it. Hernias are very common – In the UK, about 120,000 hernia repairs are carried out each year. There are several types, some of which are much more common than others, although the majority occur in the abdominal wall.
What causes a hernia?
Hernias occur when a combination of pressure and weakness in the abdominal wall happens, this is often caused by excessive exercise, and strain. Some of the most common hernia injuries happen when lifting heavy objects.
Because pressure and muscle weakness (in the abdominal wall) is what causes hernias, other things can also contribute to hernia injuries such as:
- Low Fibre diet
- Smoking (weakens the abdominal wall)
- Being Overweight (This causes pressure)
What makes Hernias so bad?
Hernias are serious injuries because of the complications that come with them when not treated. If a hernia is left untreated it often has a tendency to get worse. The more mild symptoms of a hernia will begin to turn into something much more serious and this can often spiral into some extremely complicated symptoms. If a hernia is left untreated for long enough, it can become a life-threatening condition.
Untreated hernias can cause:
- bacterial infection to the blood. – Will eventually cause blood poisoning
- Strangulation of blood-flow to your bowels – will cause your bowels to shut down and die
- Intestinal obstruction – will cause you to be unable to pass waste
How can I help Prevent a hernia?
Hernia’s are painful and bothersome, and can reoccur if you don’t make lifestyle changes to improve your health, so here are some tips to help prevent hernias:
Stop Smoking – much easier said than done, but if you are serious about your hernia recovery you should make an effort to quit as smoking greatly restricts blood-flow which leads to all sorts of medical problems including hernia injuries
Lose Weight – again much easier said than done, but weight loss (for most people without a medical condition) is all about calories in calories out, and there are plenty of resources online that do the math for you where calorie counting is concerned. Your GP can also give you plenty of advice and resources to help in a weight loss journey.
Improve your diet – swapping out your breakfast for a high fibre option (like bran flakes) is a great way to get more fibre in your diet, which will help with your overall gut health, helping to prevent hernias
Drink more water – this tip also helps with your overall gut health, a dehydrated gut is more likely to struggle under pressure.
If you are seeking hernia experts in Berkshire, contact us today at the Berkshire Hernia Center for hernia care. We have the experts that can check for a hernia and provide a plan for treatment that will suit your needs.
Posted in: News.