hernia - or - that lovely stabbing pain in your balls
I was diagnosed with a hernia after getting occaisonal kicked-in-the-balls plus stabbing pains in the groin while rowing. The pain isn't constant - it just comes on usually after about 10 minutes of reasonable hard rowing, and even then it doesn't always appear, nor does it appear at all if I'm not pushing it at all.
The sports medicine people and the orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed me have sent me to a general/abdominal specialist surgeon for a "proper" diagnosis and potential surgery, but said that in the meantime I can continue rowing if it's not hurting.
My question is along the lines of do these things go away with time? If I just chill out, will it disappear, or does it have to be repaired? I had one hernia before, at the age of 3, that was operated upon, so it appears from that (and from family history) that I'm genetically prone to this shit. Can I strengthen that part of my abdominal wall so it doesn't happen again? Any info from those who've previously enjoyed that ohhhhh fuck feeling in their groin would be much appreciated.