What Are The Causes Of Hernia?

The basic cause according to most authorities is an inherited or congenital weakness of the abdominal or other muscles. This seems to appear from the fact that hernias at times run in families. Thus, for example, the trumpet player who suffers a hernia in his neck no doubt brought it on because of straining while blowing; but he did not necessarily strain more than other trumpet players who do not suffer this injury. It is just that in the structure of his throat some of the muscles were not as strong as they should have been.
There are other secondary causes specific to various types of hernia. There are hernias of the brain, usually caused by accidents or tumours, and there are those of the iris or eyes. There are also hernias of the neck, found in wind-instrument players who put quite a strain on the muscles of their necks while playing their instruments.
Then again, there are what are known as "incisional" hernias. These are protrusions where there was previously an operation for some cause other than a hernia. (A hernia where there previously was an operation for a hernia is called a recurrent hernia.) There are some in the medical profession who hold that if surgeons were more careful when operating and sewing up their patients, there would be practically none of these incisional hernias; or at least very few of them, comparatively speaking.
Then again, a hernia could easily result from an accident. If someone were to suffer a fall on his feet, that could well result in a hernia. The most common form of hernia, that of the groin in men, usually is brought on by straining, as when straining to have a bowel movement or trying to lift some heavy object in an injudicious manner. It is called an "inguinal" hernia.

Hernias can happen to absolutely anyone, no matter if you are a man or woman, and age does not seem to matter either. Basically a hernia is a condition which occurs when a hole appears in the wall of the abdomen. When a rupture happens, the intestines start to push their way through the abdominal wall. If left untreated, the small lump will start to grow a lot bigger. The hernia can be visible as it presses against the person's skin.
The larger the hernia becomes, the more pain the sufferer may experience. Things may start to get dangerous if the intestine finds itself trapped in the abdomen wall, as it may get strangled. The hernia will not heal itself so a surgical procedure is needed to make it get better. The most common surgery to correct a hernia is a tension free repair which covers the hernia with prosthesis. This surgery may last anything from twenty to ninety minutes.

While it is common to refer to hernias as ruptures, the medical profession prefers the term hernia as being the more correct one. Hernia literally means a protrusion, which is what any hernia is. It does not necessarily involve a rupture or tearing of the tissues, but as often as not is a mere distending or stretching of them. This is especially true of the kind of hernias more common in womenfolk. In other words, every rupture is a hernia but not every hernia is a rupture.

Hernias are among mankind's most common ills. 75 to 80 percent of them occur in males. It is said that as many as one in twenty, or 5 percent of the males, in such lands as the United States and Canada have this problem. Hernias are described in medical literature going back thousands of years. In ancient times and, indeed, until quite modern times, hernias were treated in a great variety of ways, magical, medical and surgical, some of which were very painful.