Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Long Pain LastsRisk FactorsTreatment

Table of ContentsView All

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Table of Contents

How Long Pain Lasts

Risk Factors

Treatment

It is not uncommon to experience pain afterhernia surgeryas you might with any other surgery. Withinguinal herniasurgery of the groin, however, the pain may be due to the normal healing of the wound, an immune reaction to the mesh used to repair the hernia, or damage caused to local nerves (resulting in a pain condition known as post-herniorrhaphyneuralgia).

In many cases, the pain will be short-lived, causing dull, pulling, or aching pain that can extend from the groin to the leg or abdomen. Less commonly, there may be chronic postoperative pain that can take months or years to resolve and affect your mobility and quality of life.

This article explains the causes and risk factors of pain after hernia surgery. It also describes the ways that postoperative pain can be treated, ranging from over-the-counter painkillers to nerve blocks.

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A seated man winces while touching his ribs.

Types of Pain After Hernia Surgery

With an inguinal hernia, a portion of the intestine bulges through a weakness in the muscles of the groin.An inguinalherniorrhaphyis a surgical technique in which the weakened area is stitched closed, often with a synthetic mesh to reinforce the tissues.

Pain can arise from the normal healing of the wound, which tends to resolve within a week.Theacute(sudden, short-lasting) pain can manifest with uncomfortable tugging, aching, or pulling sensations, especially with movement.

There are occasions when the pain is longer lasting. When it persists for more than three months, it is generally regarded as chronic postoperative pain. There are several reasons why this might occur:

Post-Herniorraphy Neuralgia

Common symptoms of post-herniorrhaphy neuralgia include:

In some cases, the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your ability to sit or even sleep. In studies, around 6% of people have reported pain bad enough to interfere with daily activities lasting one to six years.

“Inguinodynia"is the term used to describe chronic groin pain. It is a common occurrence associated with the placement of synthetic mesh during hernia repair surgery.

There are several reasons why the mesh can trigger acute or chronic pain:

Depending on the cause, the pain may be described as being aching, burning, shooting, stabbing, prickly, or radiating. There may also be hypersensitivity around the surgical site, leg weakness, or radiating pain with movement or when shifting positions.

Hernia surgery with mesh generally takes longer to heal than hernia surgery without. Because of this, some researchers suggest that chronic pain be described in this context as lasting more than six months rather than three.

When neuropathy is involved, the pain may even be longer lasting. This is because the regrowth of nerve fibers and their protective coating (calledmyelin) is extremely slow, often taking years. In some rare cases, the recovery from nerve tissue damage may never be fully complete.

Know the Signs of Inflammation

Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair is not uncommon. Studies suggest that anywhere from 11% to 54% of people are affected to varying degrees.

Risk factors for chronic postoperative pain after hernia surgery include:

Younger and Older Age as a Risk FactorOne study found that 58% of people under age 40 had persistent, postoperative hernia pain compared to only 14% over age 60.

Younger and Older Age as a Risk Factor

One study found that 58% of people under age 40 had persistent, postoperative hernia pain compared to only 14% over age 60.

A Word From VerywellAcute pain post-inguinal hernia repair may be due to normal wound healing, nerve injury, the patient’s reaction to a foreign body (mesh), or sequelae from mesh. Once identified, treatment may include NSAIDs, opioids, neuropathic medication such as gabapentin or amitriptyline, nerve blocks, or even radio frequency ablation for more severe cases.—ALEXIS APPELSTEIN, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

A Word From Verywell

Acute pain post-inguinal hernia repair may be due to normal wound healing, nerve injury, the patient’s reaction to a foreign body (mesh), or sequelae from mesh. Once identified, treatment may include NSAIDs, opioids, neuropathic medication such as gabapentin or amitriptyline, nerve blocks, or even radio frequency ablation for more severe cases.—ALEXIS APPELSTEIN, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

Acute pain post-inguinal hernia repair may be due to normal wound healing, nerve injury, the patient’s reaction to a foreign body (mesh), or sequelae from mesh. Once identified, treatment may include NSAIDs, opioids, neuropathic medication such as gabapentin or amitriptyline, nerve blocks, or even radio frequency ablation for more severe cases.

—ALEXIS APPELSTEIN, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

Alexis Appelstein, DO

Chronic postoperative hernia pain is usually treated conservatively with over-the-counternonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)such as Advil (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen). Exercise is usually the best way to overcome this type of pain, along with waiting it out.

Severe pain may requireneuropathy medicationsor prescriptionopioidmedications like:

A less-invasive version called anerve blockdelivers an anesthetic injection to a nerve root to temporarily cut off pain signals.Peripheral nerve field stimulation, which uses electrical pulses to ease chronic nerve pain may also help, although the benefits are uncertain.

10 Ways to Recover Faster After Surgery

Summary

Pain after hernia repair surgery is not uncommon. It is generally short-lived, resolving within a week as your surgical wound heals. However, some people may experience chronic pain lasting for over three months due to injury to nerves or complications arising from the use of surgical mesh.

Chronic postoperative pain can be difficult to treat following hernia repair surgery, although most eventually resolve. Hard-to-treat cases may need prescription medications, nerve blocks, or procedures like radiofrequency ablation to provide sustained relief.

A Word From VerywellSurgery of any kind disrupts the surrounding tissue, causing an inflammatory response that promotes pain. Acute pain post-hernia repair is common, as it is with most procedures. It’s important to classify the pain into acute vs. chronic in order to identify causes and treatment modalities.—ALEXIS APPELSTEIN, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

Surgery of any kind disrupts the surrounding tissue, causing an inflammatory response that promotes pain. Acute pain post-hernia repair is common, as it is with most procedures. It’s important to classify the pain into acute vs. chronic in order to identify causes and treatment modalities.—ALEXIS APPELSTEIN, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

Surgery of any kind disrupts the surrounding tissue, causing an inflammatory response that promotes pain. Acute pain post-hernia repair is common, as it is with most procedures. It’s important to classify the pain into acute vs. chronic in order to identify causes and treatment modalities.

Alexis Appelstein, DO

10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Andresen K, Rosenberg J.Management of chronic pain after hernia repair.J Pain Res. 2018;11:675-681. doi:10.2147/JPR.S127820National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Inguinal hernia.Lee SS, Jung HJ, Park BS, Son GM, Cho YH.Surgical aspects of recurrent inguinal hernia in adults.Am Surg. 2016;82(11):1063-1067.Small C, Laycock H.Acute postoperative pain management.Br J Surg. 2020 Jan;107(2):e70-e80. doi:10.1002/bjs.11477HerniaSurge Group.International guidelines for groin hernia management.Hernia. 2018;22(1):1-165. doi:10.1007/s10029-017-1668-xLockhart K, Dunn D.Mesh versus non‐mesh for inguinal and femoral hernia repair.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2018;2018(9):CD011517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011517.pub2Manangi M, Shivashankar S, Vijayakumar A.Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair.Int Sch Res Notices.2014;2014:839681. doi:10.1155/2014/839681Bjurstrom MF, Nicol AL, Amid PK, Chen DC.Pain control following inguinal herniorrhaphy: current perspectives.J Pain Res.2014;7:277–290. doi:10.2147/JPR.S47005Elsamadicy AA, Ashraf B, Ren X, et al.Prevalence and cost analysis of chronic pain after hernia repair: A potential alternative approach with neurostimulation.Neuromodulation. 2019;22(8):960-969. doi:10.1111/ner.12871Gopal SV, Warrier A.Recurrence after groin hernia repair-revisited.Int J Surg. 2013;11(5):374-7. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2013.03.012

10 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Andresen K, Rosenberg J.Management of chronic pain after hernia repair.J Pain Res. 2018;11:675-681. doi:10.2147/JPR.S127820National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Inguinal hernia.Lee SS, Jung HJ, Park BS, Son GM, Cho YH.Surgical aspects of recurrent inguinal hernia in adults.Am Surg. 2016;82(11):1063-1067.Small C, Laycock H.Acute postoperative pain management.Br J Surg. 2020 Jan;107(2):e70-e80. doi:10.1002/bjs.11477HerniaSurge Group.International guidelines for groin hernia management.Hernia. 2018;22(1):1-165. doi:10.1007/s10029-017-1668-xLockhart K, Dunn D.Mesh versus non‐mesh for inguinal and femoral hernia repair.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2018;2018(9):CD011517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011517.pub2Manangi M, Shivashankar S, Vijayakumar A.Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair.Int Sch Res Notices.2014;2014:839681. doi:10.1155/2014/839681Bjurstrom MF, Nicol AL, Amid PK, Chen DC.Pain control following inguinal herniorrhaphy: current perspectives.J Pain Res.2014;7:277–290. doi:10.2147/JPR.S47005Elsamadicy AA, Ashraf B, Ren X, et al.Prevalence and cost analysis of chronic pain after hernia repair: A potential alternative approach with neurostimulation.Neuromodulation. 2019;22(8):960-969. doi:10.1111/ner.12871Gopal SV, Warrier A.Recurrence after groin hernia repair-revisited.Int J Surg. 2013;11(5):374-7. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2013.03.012

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Andresen K, Rosenberg J.Management of chronic pain after hernia repair.J Pain Res. 2018;11:675-681. doi:10.2147/JPR.S127820National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Inguinal hernia.Lee SS, Jung HJ, Park BS, Son GM, Cho YH.Surgical aspects of recurrent inguinal hernia in adults.Am Surg. 2016;82(11):1063-1067.Small C, Laycock H.Acute postoperative pain management.Br J Surg. 2020 Jan;107(2):e70-e80. doi:10.1002/bjs.11477HerniaSurge Group.International guidelines for groin hernia management.Hernia. 2018;22(1):1-165. doi:10.1007/s10029-017-1668-xLockhart K, Dunn D.Mesh versus non‐mesh for inguinal and femoral hernia repair.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2018;2018(9):CD011517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011517.pub2Manangi M, Shivashankar S, Vijayakumar A.Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair.Int Sch Res Notices.2014;2014:839681. doi:10.1155/2014/839681Bjurstrom MF, Nicol AL, Amid PK, Chen DC.Pain control following inguinal herniorrhaphy: current perspectives.J Pain Res.2014;7:277–290. doi:10.2147/JPR.S47005Elsamadicy AA, Ashraf B, Ren X, et al.Prevalence and cost analysis of chronic pain after hernia repair: A potential alternative approach with neurostimulation.Neuromodulation. 2019;22(8):960-969. doi:10.1111/ner.12871Gopal SV, Warrier A.Recurrence after groin hernia repair-revisited.Int J Surg. 2013;11(5):374-7. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2013.03.012

Andresen K, Rosenberg J.Management of chronic pain after hernia repair.J Pain Res. 2018;11:675-681. doi:10.2147/JPR.S127820

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Inguinal hernia.

Lee SS, Jung HJ, Park BS, Son GM, Cho YH.Surgical aspects of recurrent inguinal hernia in adults.Am Surg. 2016;82(11):1063-1067.

Small C, Laycock H.Acute postoperative pain management.Br J Surg. 2020 Jan;107(2):e70-e80. doi:10.1002/bjs.11477

HerniaSurge Group.International guidelines for groin hernia management.Hernia. 2018;22(1):1-165. doi:10.1007/s10029-017-1668-x

Lockhart K, Dunn D.Mesh versus non‐mesh for inguinal and femoral hernia repair.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.2018;2018(9):CD011517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011517.pub2

Manangi M, Shivashankar S, Vijayakumar A.Chronic pain after inguinal hernia repair.Int Sch Res Notices.2014;2014:839681. doi:10.1155/2014/839681

Bjurstrom MF, Nicol AL, Amid PK, Chen DC.Pain control following inguinal herniorrhaphy: current perspectives.J Pain Res.2014;7:277–290. doi:10.2147/JPR.S47005

Elsamadicy AA, Ashraf B, Ren X, et al.Prevalence and cost analysis of chronic pain after hernia repair: A potential alternative approach with neurostimulation.Neuromodulation. 2019;22(8):960-969. doi:10.1111/ner.12871

Gopal SV, Warrier A.Recurrence after groin hernia repair-revisited.Int J Surg. 2013;11(5):374-7. doi:10.1016/j.ijsu.2013.03.012

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