Abdominal Hernia Rehab Exercises

Recovering from a hernia repair is always a painful and lengthy experience. While at first the patient can do little more than attempt to regain normal movement patterns without any pain in the affected area, eventually they must progress to a series of exercises designed to strengthen and reinforce the abdominal area to prevent the possibility of relapse. A three-step progression of exercises is available for those looking to rehab their hernia.

"No sitting up" situps

• The goal of hernia rehab is to strengthen the muscles of the abdomen to such an extent that they can safely withstand the rigors of daily activity without again becoming damaged. Thus, our rehab program begins with the most basic variation of the sit-up possible. The sit-up is chosen for rehab due to its low learning curve and broad number of alternative variations.

  The first sit-up you will be performing is not really a "sit-up" at all. Lie on the ground on your back with feet on the floor and knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Keep your hands in contact with the floor or across your chest. Now initiate the motion for a traditional situp (contract the abs and begin to lift the torso off the floor), but stop when you first begin to feel tension in the abs, before your shoulder blades even leave the floor. This is all you will be doing in phase one of rehab.

  Remember to keep breathing naturally throughout this exercise. Holding your breath and increasing abdominal pressure after hernia surgery is a good way to reopen your injury. Start slow (with perhaps one set of less than five reps), and gradually work up to three sets of 15 reps. When you can complete all three sets, move to phase two.

Stomach Crunches

• Phase two of the program will use your newly regained abdominal strength to take the challenge level one step further. Assume the same position as in the first exercise (lying on floor with knees bent at a 90-degree angle). Instead of merely raising up until some strain is felt, here we will be bringing our shoulder blades fully off the floor. Continue the sit-up until both your shoulder blades have fully cleared the surface of the floor, but stop there. Return to the starting position, and this completes one rep. Again, start slow and gradually add more reps and sets. When you can complete three sets of 15 reps, you are cleared to move to phase three.

Full Crunches and More

• Phase three of the program is designed to return you to the level of strength possessed before the hernia. Assume the same general position as in the first two phases. Instead of stopping with just your shoulder blades off the ground, continue the movement until your torso is at a 45-degree angle to the ground. This is the basic "crunch" position, and the final leg of your rehab journey. Train with these 45-degree crunches until you can perform another three sets of 15.

  For those who want to further bulletproof their abdominals against future injury, the next step is performing crunches on a 45-degree incline. Work your way up to three sets of 15 with these. If you made it this far, congratulations. Chances are good that nothing you do in day to day life will cause your hernia to relapse.