I developed a small (1-2cm) umbilical hernia during my last pregnancy (baby was born 4 months ago). The hernia is on the inner right side of my navel. The OB told me it was pretty minor at my 6 week postpartum checkup and that exercise (including yoga) would be ok. He said that if I wanted to have more kids, I could probably wait to have surgery to fix the hernia since there is a risk of it needing to be repaired again after another pregnancy.
Fast forward 2.5 months to this past week. After lifting my baby in his car seat out of the car at an awkward angle, I think I tweaked the hernia a bit (I also aggravated my old neck injury). I could feel some twinges around the hernia the following day when I would bend forward or twist my spine at work. Not pain exactly, just little twinges around the navel from time to time. Although I haven’t felt anything since then–it was 6 days ago–I haven’t exercised since it happened. Ironically I had been going to yoga and crossfit 4-5 times a week prior to this “car seat incident” and never had a problem with the hernia at all.
Anyway, I went back to the OB this week, and he recommended I see a surgeon to ask about how I should proceed. I will do that soon. My question is, should I avoid exercise in the mean time? The OB was vague, saying some types of exercise could be ok (eg walking), but he said I should really ask the surgeon about specifics. My concern is that the surgeon might not understand this type of yoga…so I wonder if you have any input that I could bring up or ask him about when I go in. Are there specific concerns to follow up on? For example, I read something about avoiding back bends when you have an umbilical hernia…is that the case? Based on my reading, it seems lifting weights would be more problematic than yoga, but I did wonder about the back bends. Any advice would be appreciated.
