Sports hernia, oblique + adductor injury rehab program
Rehab your sports hernia at home, without the $20,000 surgery decision
A two-phase program for sports hernia, oblique, and adductor injuries: a strict six-week “Virtual Surgery,” then an eight-week strength rebuild back to weights, jogging, and the first steps of sprinting. Includes the 40-page Sports Hernia 6-Step Recovery Plan book.
Who this is for
Does this sound like you?
- Your groin or lower ab flares when you sprint, cut, swing, cough, or sneeze. Even socks and seat belts can hurt.
- Rest helped, right up until you tried to be an athlete again.
- Physical therapy got you partway there, then you plateaued.
- You’ve been quoted sports hernia surgery and want a disciplined alternative first.
- You want a plan back to sport, not “take it easy.”
Before you start: get examined. A true hernia with a bulge, a fracture, or bone marrow edema on MRI changes the plan. This program starts after that exam, not instead of it.
The problem
Why rest, massage, and bracing keep failing
They cover about a quarter of the rehab picture. Athletes rest for months, feel better, test it, and end up right back where they started.
The theory this program is built on
The core’s job is to anti-move.
Real torso stiffness comes from internal pressure, built by breathing plus co-contraction of the whole abdominal wall.
When that pressure is missing,
the obliques, lower abs, and adductors do a job they weren’t built for, and one of them tears.
So this program offloads the injured anterior chain,
aggressively strengthens the lateral and posterior chains, and corrects the movement patterns that got you here.
Why it starts with a “virtual surgery”
Structure without the operation
An idea borrowed from back researcher Stuart McGill: some people get better after surgery because they are forced to rest and rebuild in a structured way. Phase 1 gives you that structure without the operation. We can’t speed up tissue healing, but we can stop picking the scab.
What's inside
A two-phase course, not a list of stretches
Two-phase online course
Six weeks plus eight weeks
35+ videos
Weekly follow-alongs, exercise demos, first-aid and cool-down drills, a 17-minute lecture on how the core works
Four audio classrooms
Setbacks, strength versus toning, adding load, reintroducing sprints
The 40-page book
Sports Hernia 6-Step Recovery Plan
Phase 1
The 6-Week Virtual Surgery
- Weeks 1-2: structured rest. No lifting, jogging, sprinting, sit-ups, or adductor stretching.
- Weeks 3-5: lower-ab breathing, bridges, rolling, the high bear, daily walking
- Week 6: first light strength session (kettlebell deadlift, split squat, half-kneeling press, farmer carry, strap rows)
Phase 2
The Advanced 8-Week Program
The same outline every sports hernia case at Performance Place starts from. In clinic an exam tells us which week to drop you into; on your own, go in order.
- Four audio classrooms: setbacks and mindset, strength versus toning, adding the Copenhagen and wall wedges, reintroducing sprints
- Daily cool down: Frog Breathing, skin rolling, later daily walks or hikes
- Daily rehab circuit: Lateral and Crossover Wall Wedges, Regressed Copenhagen, Hard Style Plank, Diagonal Sit (10 seconds on, 5 off, to about 70% of failure)
- Strength workout: split squats and kettlebell deadlifts, progressing to goblet squats, farmer carries, and rotational squats with band or cable
- Closes with a what-comes-next lesson and a long-form deadlift technique video
How it works
Four steps from rest to sprinting
Phase 1: the Virtual Surgery.
Weeks 1 and 2 are structured rest. From week 3: 15 to 20 minutes of floor work a day, up to an hour of walking, light bike or elliptical once tolerated. Nothing at the injury site should hurt.
Progress when ready.
Each video tells you when to stay put: “stay here on this video for a little while until you feel ready to progress.”
Phase 2: the Advanced Program.
Daily cool downs, a 10 to 15 minute circuit most days, strength about three days a week: heavy, under 10 reps, no pump.
Return to sport.
Hiking, light jogging, skill drills, sub-max hill sprints or sled pushes to tolerance. Full-speed sprinting and striking come after week eight; the sprint classroom shows you how.
“I’ve freaked and thought, hey, this is the end of the world, I’m never gonna be able to play baseball or run again. I’ve been there.”
Why Performance Place
Dr. Sebastian Gonzales, DC, of Performance Place Sports Care in Costa Mesa, CA, wrote this program and has been the patient too: an oblique strain from baseball and a groin strain.
Reviews
- Verified ownerCharles MoodyFebruary 24, 2021
I found amazing results with this program! Honestly, it is the only rehab that has worked for me beyond resting (which eventually didn't work), and I had tried everything available to me. I am a track and field athlete and I compete in the decathlon. I was practicing the hurdles one day in December 2019 and at the end of practice I noticed my groin was unusually sore. It slowly became worse and eventually led me to see a doctor. I was diagnosed with a sports hernia in February 2020 and was told with physical therapy and rest I should recover within 4-6 months. One good thing about the pandemic is that I had time to recover without missing any competition, but after about 2 months I hit a plateau in terms of recovery. I did 2 months of physical therapy and eventually didn't notice any improvements. In November/December 2021 I finally decided to just rest, instead of trying to still do tolerable activity. By the beginning of January I noticed a slight improvement, but I could still tell the groin discomfort was there. As I was in a last-ditch google search effort I found your program which was a beacon of hope. I was attracted to the program due to the non-conventional methods of recovery. The breathing and emphasis on being mindful during the exercises is unique and I find it helpful. I feel this is something mainstream exercise and athletics lacks. I no longer feel pain with putting on my socks or sneezing. If I squeeze my adductors really hard my right groin still feels different, but there isn't pain like before. I am trying to "add to my bank account and not make withdrawls". It's hard because when I feel better I want to test it but I am refraining for at least these 8 weeks. I am still hopeful to make a full recovery so I can sprint and jump again. This program has been the game-changer for me; I wish I could see what would have happened if I started it earlier on in the injury process.
What you get
Everything in the program
- The complete two-phase course: 6-week Virtual Surgery + 8-week Advanced Program
- 35+ videos plus four audio classrooms
- The 40-page Sports Hernia 6-Step Recovery Plan book
Informational program. Not a diagnosis or treatment, and not a substitute for your surgeon’s exam.
FAQ
Fair questions
- Is this right for my injury?
- Sports hernia, oblique, or adductor injuries: same rehab logic, with your strained tissue swapped in. Fresh injuries rest first; the exercise videos begin at week three. Get examined before you start.
- How is this different from YouTube?
- The exercises are on video. What you can’t get from scattered clips is the program: which exercises, in what order, how hard, what to cut when something flares, and when to move on. Plus four classroom talks and the book.
- What if I’ve been told I need surgery?
- Phase 1 is the “virtual surgery”: the structured post-surgical protocol without the surgery. It is informational, not a diagnosis or treatment, and not a substitute for your surgeon’s exam.
- How much time does it take?
- Phase 1: 15 to 20 minutes of floor work a day, plus up to an hour of walking. Phase 2: daily cool down, a 10 to 15 minute circuit most days, strength about three days a week. Hard, not painful. Minor flare-ups happen; the sensitivity reset video shows how to turn the alarm off and try again.
- Do I need a gym?
- Weeks 3-5: floor space, a soft surface, a yoga block or towel. Week 6: kettlebell or dumbbells, suspension straps or something to row from. Phase 2: a heavy band or cable, and from its week four a barbell or hex bar.
- Will I be supervised?
- No. This is “an instructional model,” in Dr. Gonzales’s words; see someone locally to check your form. Telehealth and in-person visits are available separately.
Stop testing it. Start rebuilding it.
Six weeks of structure, eight weeks of strength, and a plan back to sport.