According to a recently concluded research at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the use of tension-free mesh during surgical repair of sports hernias along with an innovative rehabilitation program can pave the right way to return to the sporting arena for athletes by as much as 93 percent.

This research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada by lead investigator L. Michael Brunt, M.D., professor of surgery.

Sports hernia is a rare ailment among recreational athletes but it is more common among those with a bent for professional or college sports and is often related to changes in strength training.

From News-Medical.Net:

The surgery involves a two-inch incision to remove some of the damaged muscle tissue and instead of a primary repair with stitches, tension-free mesh is used to strengthen and reinforce the area. “We think the mesh provides considerable support to let the area heal,” Brunt says. “Because there’s no tension on the repair, this helps athletes return to full physical activity faster than surgery with a sutured repair alone.”

The rehabilitation protocol used in the study was developed by Ray Barile, an athletic trainer for the St. Louis Blues hockey team. The multistep, graduated program is more structured than others used to return athletes to activity after groin surgery. It starts with early walking and movement and gradually moves athletes to resistance and core muscle building before progressing to speed and functional activities. Athletic trainers, physical therapists and athletes appear to have the most success when they are given well-structured guidelines about what can and can’t be expected or allowed at each stage after hernia surgery, Brunt says.

The findings of this research are expected to offer great relief to all those athletes who have been let down by sports hernia by offering them a unique platform to be on the same level before the injury.