Wait … Can You Get A Hernia From Wearing Tight Pants?

On 14 July, character and vocalist Suki Waterhouse shared a tweet explaining her caller absence from X: “‘suki you ne'er tweet anymore’ person you ever considered I wore pants truthful tight 6 months agone it caused a hernia & I’ve been excessively frightened to show you.”

She followed up pinch two pictures: 1 shows her wearing what are presumably nan offending pants, and nan different shows her successful a infirmary bed, hooked up to an IV. (There is besides a vape resting connected her infirmary gown. That’s not applicable to this story, conscionable a nosy detail.)

Like galore rich | texts, nan station raises a batch of questions. Like: could I propulsion disconnected leather pants? They fto celebrities vape successful nan hospital? And astir importantly: tin tight pants really origin a hernia?

We asked experts.

What is simply a hernia?

A hernia is simply a spread successful nan abdominal wall, explains Dr Yewande Alimi, a bariatric and minimally invasive surgeon astatine MedStar Georgetown University hospital. The spread results successful “protrusion of insubstantial from nan abdomen”, she says. “Commonly fat, aliases sometimes intestine.”

These look for illustration mini bulges, and often appear successful areas wherever nan abdominal wall tends to beryllium weaker: astir nan groin, nan beforehand midline of nan abdomen, done nan diaphragm, successful nan belly fastener aliases done a erstwhile surgical incision.

Hernias are “very, very common”, says Dr Marcoandrea Giorgi, an subordinate professor of room astatine Brown University and bariatric surgeon astatine Brown Surgical Associates.

Symptoms vary. Some hernias are visible – bulges astir your trunk “where you shouldn’t person one”, arsenic nan Cleveland Clinic puts it. They tin look during definite strenuous activities, for illustration exercising aliases sneezing, and past retract astatine different times. They whitethorn beryllium achy – a crisp symptom aliases a dull ache – aliases they whitethorn not consciousness for illustration thing astatine all. Other hernias are excessively heavy to spot from nan outside, but you whitethorn consciousness an ache aliases pressure.

Inguinal hernias, those that look astir nan groin, are nan astir communal – astir 25% of men and 2% of women will create these astatine immoderate constituent successful their lives, according to nan US National Library of Medicine. Giorgi estimates that he personally treats astir 100 inguinal hernias a year.

Hernias that only incorporate fat are often not very dangerous, says Alimi. But “when hernias incorporate intestines and are associated pinch pain, location is an accrued chance that those intestines tin get stuck, resulting successful nan request for an emergency operation”, she says.

What causes a hernia?

Hernias tin beryllium coming from commencement – umbilical aliases belly fastener hernias, for illustration – aliases they tin create complete clip arsenic nan consequence of deterioration and tear connected nan abdominal wall. Incisional hernias, those that look done a erstwhile surgical incision, hap successful astir 15% of patients pursuing surgery. Weight gain, pregnancy, strenuous workout and a chronic cough aliases constipation tin each weaken nan abdominal wall and lead to imaginable hernias, says Alimi.

Children who are calved prematurely aliases who person connective insubstantial disorders, cystic fibrosis, hep dysplasia aliases problems successful their urinary aliases reproductive systems are much apt to beryllium calved pinch congenital hernias, according to nan Cleveland Clinic.

Can you get a hernia from tight pants?

“Absolutely not,” says Dr Charlotte Horne, a metabolic and abdominal wall reconstructive surgeon astatine nan Mayo Clinic. Tight clothing “might put unit connected thing that was already there, but nan extracurricular furniture is not going to consequence successful breaking down layers of your abdominal wall”.

Giorgi says he has ne'er heard of a hernia related to tight pants. The only measurement this mightiness beryllium possible, he says, is if nan pants were truthful tight that they put important unit connected nan precocious abdomen. “It’s for illustration you person a balloon pinch immoderate h2o successful it – if you compression 1 portion of nan balloon, nan different portion will beryllium nether much pressure,” he says. But moreover then, nan balloon will only popular if nan integrative is already stretched excessively thin, he says. In different words, wearing tight pants would only exacerbate an existing hernia, putting unit connected it and perchance resulting successful a bulge, but it would not create a caller one.

How do you dainty hernias?

“Oftentimes, group person hernia illness for years earlier they activity immoderate intervention,” says Horne.

If a hernia is neither achy nor peculiarly bothersome, it is thing 1 tin perchance unrecorded with. But astir hernias ne'er spell away, and experts urge consulting pinch a expert to fig retired nan champion people of action.

“Some patients I counsel to deterioration a binder to forestall nan hernia popping retired each nan time,” says Giorgi.

For hernias that are achy aliases consequence causing intestinal blockages, room is nan accustomed people of action.

“The extremity of a hernia room is to reconstruct nan integrity of nan abdominal wall, which intends to adjacent nan hole,” says Horne. This is done by stitching nan spread up aliases patching it closed pinch nan thief of mesh prosthetics. The complexity of nan process depends connected nan severity of nan hernia.

“Some of them tin beryllium done arsenic an outpatient procedure, but immoderate require an inpatient stay,” says Horne.

Although you can’t forestall congenital defects aliases surgical incision complications that whitethorn make you much susceptible to processing a hernia, you tin reduce nan strain connected your abdominal wall by maintaining a patient weight, eating high-fiber foods and being observant erstwhile lifting dense objects.

Horne says she besides recommends that group who do a batch of dense lifting deterioration supportive and compressive apparel to “hold things in”.

So don’t propulsion retired each your tight pants yet – unless you want to look like you’re gen Z.