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What is the Ilioinguinal Nerve?

Sandra Koehler
Sandra Koehler

The ilioinguinal nerve is a spinal nerve that starts in the low back, wraps around the lower abdominal muscles, and ends just underneath the groin. It is primarily responsible for transmitting pain and other sensations in the hip. When injured, however, the pain is often felt much more extensively, often in the inner thigh, groin, and genitals.

Location and Appearance

Almost any animal with a ribcage and legs has an ilioinguinal nerve connecting the lower back to the abdomen. In humans, it is the very first of many lumbar nerves.

The ilioinguinal nerve transmits pain and other sensations in the hip.
The ilioinguinal nerve transmits pain and other sensations in the hip.

When viewed in isolation, this nerve resembles a slightly misshapen loop. Beginning in the lower lumbar, it branches out in both directions, crossing over to the front of the body through the transversus abdominis muscle, a core abdominal muscle that extends from the hip to the rib cage. It ends just under the scrotum in males, and at the base of the vaginal opening in females.

Main Functions

Car accidents are a leading cause of ilioinguinal damage in young people.
Car accidents are a leading cause of ilioinguinal damage in young people.

The ilioinguinal nerve plays different roles in different places. When it first crosses through the abdominal muscles, for instance, it is instrumental in communicating with the iliohypogastric nerve. This nerve is what controls the diaphragm, which helps regulate breathing.

As it continues downward, the ilioinguinal nerve is responsible for transmitting sensations from the upper thighs and hips. Most of the feelings associated with hip movements and injuries are transmitted through it.

A hip fracture may also affect the ilioinguinal nerve in rare cases.
A hip fracture may also affect the ilioinguinal nerve in rare cases.

The nerve is also responsible for some sensation in the genitals. A great many nerves exist in this area, however, and the ilioinguinal nerve is not a primary player; arousal and sexual function, for instance, are part of a separate system. Still, it has an important role to play when it comes to basic sensations, like touch, pressure, and pain.

How the Nerve Sends Signals

Sports injuries may cause ilioinguinal damage.
Sports injuries may cause ilioinguinal damage.

The ilioinguinal loop is part of the afferent nervous system. Afferent nerves carry messages directly to the brain and the spinal cord. Neurons all along the length of the nerve transmit signals back to the lumbar connection, where they are routed up the spine to the part of the brain that deals with feeling and sensation.

The actual process of capturing and sending signals is relatively uniform across all nerves, the ilioinguinal nerve included. Nerves are tight bundles or neurons, each of which has a receptor. When stimulated, receptors are triggered to fire synapses, which nerves carry across their fibers to hubs at either end. The ilioinguinal's hubs are in the spine and in the groin region. Transmission works both to and from the brain, with that organ serving as the ultimate authority to decide whether the body should feel pain or other sensation.

How Injuries Happen

Most people remain unaware of their ilioinguinal nerve until it is injured. Injury is rare thanks to its relatively protected placement, however, and normal life activities do not usually expose it to risk.

Problems with the ilioinguinal nerve caused by pregnancy may be relieved through deep tissue massage or other manual treatments.
Problems with the ilioinguinal nerve caused by pregnancy may be relieved through deep tissue massage or other manual treatments.

Problems with this nerve are often the result of surgeries gone wrong. Appendectomies and hysterectomies are two of the most common procedures that bring the surgeon's knife very close to the nerve, though almost any surgery involving the lower abdomen or genitals can pose some risk. Nicking the nerve or injuring nearby muscles, causing scar tissue to grow across the nerve, can lead to a lot of pain and discomfort.

The ilioinguinal nerve controls the diaphragm, which helps to regulate breathing.
The ilioinguinal nerve controls the diaphragm, which helps to regulate breathing.

Injuries can also lead to ilioinguinal damage, particularly when they involve direct impact. This type of injury may be caused by things like sports accidents, car crashes, or falling and breaking a hip. In rare cases, the nerve can also be damaged in the third trimester of pregnancy. If woman's abdomen swells more than normal, the growing fetus can put tremendous pressure on the nerve. This condition is known as idiopathic iliohypogastric syndrome, and is estimated to occur in less than one in 1,000 pregnancies.

Treatment Options

Transcutaneous electrical stimulation is sometimes used to ease the pain of ilioinguinal nerve injuries.
Transcutaneous electrical stimulation is sometimes used to ease the pain of ilioinguinal nerve injuries.

Diagnosing an ilioinguinal injury is often the most difficult part of treating a patient's pain. The nerve is almost never damaged in isolation, which means that many other things may be going wrong at the same time. Unless it has actually been severed, most nerve problems will usually fix themselves over time. Severed nerves usually require surgery, and even then will require a lot of time for recovery.

Nerve entrapment — when the nerve is trapped between muscles or scar tissue and is out of its normal placement — can sometimes be fixed manually, usually through deep massage or pressure. Physical therapy exercise programs involving stretching and tension release movements are also common.

For strains or other nerve damage, healthcare providers usually start with a high-powered pain medication. Depending on the extent of the injury, a standard painkiller is usually enough to provide relief while the nerve repairs itself. Patients who do not respond to general medication are typically prescribed a nerve block, which is a local injection that impairs the nerve's ability to fire pain synapses. Blocks are more invasive procedures, and are usually only temporary fixes.

Discussion Comments

thomaspowder

My son (15) had a hernia repair but the doctor put a tack partially through the inguinal nerve. He had severe pain for couple months. I finally was able to get a doctor in Madison to use a new procedure-microwave ablation of the nerve. The pain is completely gone. He does have an area of numbness over his thigh and some pain sensations there, though not nearly as bad or often and we hope those go away as it's only a week out.

anon358518

@Post 11: If they diagnosed a teratoma, that can be extremely serious. About 25 percent of the time they are cancerous. However, even if they are benign, they are covered by a membrane that can be compared to that of the membrane under the shell of an egg. They are formed prenatally, and most probably will contain parts of the body like hair, nails, teeth and epidermal tissue. Unfortunately, they can all contain infectious seepage and they can rupture. If not caught in time, you can end up with pelvic peritonitis, and I would consider that even more dangerous than a ruptured appendix, because they are usually even larger.

I carried a teratoma, or what is often called a "dermoid cyst", that was formed prenatally, and was attached to my colon, my bladder and my fallopian tube. It ruptured when I was 21, and I ended up with an abdominal abscess, fallopian tubes that were totally scarred, a uterus that was attached to my abdominal sidewall and stenosis or scarring of the urethera, due to a cystitis that was coming from this teratoma. This happened when I was 21 in 1966.

I am now 68. I have lived an adult life in hell, because I had not only infertility, but also pain. An abscess in the C section scar was drained and this scarring enveloped so deeply that it entrapped nerves above the bladder and peritoneum. I then developed an abdominal abscess which also had to be drained. The worse thing I ever did was to have laparoscopies in this country, because we have no good internal barrier, and the sticky surfaces of the newly lysed areas just re-adhered. I must also warn you that the more surgeries you have, the better chance there is that you will develop scarring, called intertissual scarring, and this scarring gets so deeply embedded in the muscles that it embeds nerves outside the peritoneum. My advice is to get it out quickly.

I finally got some relief from a product called Sprayshield, developed by an American pharmacologist, that is used for adhesions or scar tissue under the peritoneum that connects organs there. It is a barrier that allows the tissue to heal, by covering the newly lysed tissue, until it can heal and then it is reabsorbed. We have no good barrier here, and that is the reason, adhering scar tissue reoccurs, and many times worse than it was previously. I can substantiate the work only of Dr. Jens Pagels in Moers, Germany. Internal scar tissue forms almost immediately, but does not harden until a few weeks have passed. I had a second look four weeks after the surgery that finally freed up my colon. I know because not only was the pharmaceutical company, Covidien, there for first and second looks, but also a friend who was an advocate for adhesion patients, and the chief of the hospital at Klinikum Duisburg. There was only one American M.D. who even had the interest in learning about this product, and he is now retired.

Dr. Pagels is now chief of gynecology at Moers Hospital near Dusseldorf. He is the only surgeon I can verify. Do not go through multiple adhesiolysis procedures here. They never worked for me, and I just kept making more internal adhesions. Unfortunately, Sprayshield is only good for internal adhesions, and a normal adhesiolysis procedure can be used. We have the normal adhesiolysis procedure, but the FDA has not yet approved Sprayshield, and Covidien has chosen to market it only in Europe at this point. Unfortunately, Sprayshield will not work on the outside scarring that can develop from using the same scar over and over. This scarring can also entrap nerves and cause pain. This is the reason for not having repeated surgeries here.

There is no cure for the scarring outside the peritoneum that can develop and cause severe pain from nerve entrapment. Believe me, I have had an adult life that has been incredibly painful. I now go to the Stanford Pain Clinic for help with my outside scar tissue that has entrapped nerves very close to the peritoneum, and low in the pelvis where it is highly innervated. This is just a warning that you can get into a lot of trouble, if the teratoma is not removed before it ruptures.

anon347289

Anyone who has ilioinguinal pain should go see a plastic reconstructive surgeon. They are the only ones who study to relieve nerve entrapment that will help with the pain. Do it early. Don't wait. The longer you wait, the more you will pay for nothing being done.

anon335697

Reading through this, I feel for all of you. A vasectomy in 1997 led to a life of sheer hell, with doctors and people in the profession not listening. To make a really long story short, I am now having my testicle removed next week and I have permanent ilio-inguinal nerve damage.

Keep strong people. As this page shows, it doesn't matter what country you live in. They don't diagnose people quick enough to stop the stress, pain and removal.

anon326240

I just found out today that I have nerve entrapment of the ilioinguinal nerve due to a hysterectomy two and a half years ago. The pain at times is so unbearable. I am scared that my life will never be the same. I will need to see a pain specialist and undergo injections. I hope this helps me. I am 42 years old.

anon307663

My sister just had the ilioinguinal nerves severed surgically last week. She had suffered from intense groin pain for several years. The operation seems very helpful. Dr. Gabrielson (general surgeon) in Bloomington, IN did the surgery. Hope you can find help and relief.

anon300135

I have Ilioinguinal nerve damage. I too have the critical issue of inguinal neuralgia. The pain is so intense that it has destroyed my life along with many others.

I am only 33 years old, and I have been suffering with this pain since 2005. I've seen all kinds of doctors and finally in 2009, I was told that the nerve was sewn onto the surgical mesh. I had the nerve removed about seven months ago and it has helped a lot, but the damage was already done so my pain still remains intense.

I hate to say it, but M.D.'s should not be able to get away with this kind of stuff, knowing that a little bit of concealment will bleed out a statute of limitations.

Deb79

About 32 years ago at the age of 1, I had a bilateral inguinal hernia repair. For the last several years I have been suffering from severe lower abdominal, back and menstrual pain to the point that I am doubled over. I've had test after test, but nothing gave us answers and doctors have always been confused on why nothing seemed to work, until my latest doctor noticed my nice long scars at the base of my abdomen and started thinking, maybe...

I'm now going through injection therapy for nerve entrapment, which they feel may be causing my pain. I never thought something that long ago would come back and haunt me, but I'm giving this a try if it means relief. I was about to go through exploratory surgery and if I can prevent that, all the better!

anon269491

I had an operation to remove a psoas absess and am experiencing severe pain in the form of cramps, spasms and heaviness in my leg. It's a nightmare.

anon268578

Four and a half years ago I had hernia surgery which resulted in stitches being placed over the ilioinguinal nerve, entrapping the nerve and due to inaction on the surgeon's part it caused permanent nerve damage. As a previous post says, "I wouldn't wish this on anyone".

I'm disabled. Have had four neurological surgeries, been told my pain is only "discomfort", and feel as though when I went to my pain doctor I was viewed as a pain addict. I pray that one day they can help find relief for such a thing.

anon265422

It's an amazing feeling to know that one isn't alone in their fight for answers. I've been dealing with the pain in my right testicle and leg for nearly twelve years now and I'm only 37!

I've had unneeded surgeries, CT's, MRI's X-rays, blood work and a lot more hands on my body than I ever wanted. In the end all I got back was doctors staring at me blankly with no ideas as to what could be the issue. But thankfully, I was able to find an amazing neurologist in my home state of Wyoming who could tell me what it was, and hearing the comments from many of you who are dealing with the same issues as me only helps to confirm that diagnosis.

Currently I'm on Vicodin and Cymbalta and will talk with another doc soon about a nerve block. I'm very reluctant to have another surgery as the others were a waste, but it's sounding more and more like the way to go.

The shame in all of our cases is that doctors are so frightened these days of dealing with pain related cases, for fear that the DEA will be on their doorstep the next day. I really believe people are really suffering because of the bureaucracy. Yes, there are people out there looking for their next score, but that will never change no matter what new rules and regulations are put out. Stop punishing the doctors and sick/injured!

anon232252

My husband is 34 year old and has been suffering from pain in his right testicle for the past several years. While working in an attic he twisted wrong and felt a sharp pain shoot down his back and into his testicle. It subsided and he continued on. A few days later while hunting, he experienced the sharp pain in his testicle. Thus started our journey of medical frustration.

He has seen a multitude of doctors and we have spent thousands in medical treatment. He has seen several pain management doctors and has had many steroid injections in his lower back. The first injection was successful in relieving his pain for several months, however, the next injection did not work as long. Over the years the injections helped for shorter periods of time, eventually not working at all.

We have been to a variety of physicians, urologists, primary care physicians, neurologists and many more. Unfortunately they have all had the same conclusion: no answers or explanations.

In April, his most recent pain management doctor felt that he would benefit from a minimally invasive discectomy. Dr. Johnson felt that since they were able to get even a limited amount of relief from the injections in the L5 region, that the disectomy would relieve the pain.

In August 2011, they implanted a trial version of the Medtronic Neuro Stimulator. However, it was determined that this was not a great option.

It is now December and he has not been released to return to work because his testicular pain is still unresolved. Unfortunately, he had to file for disability at only 34 years old. He has been told that pain medication is his only option.

After many years, doctors and lots of money we are back to square one! We are beyond frustrated and do not know where to turn. Please help!

anon206358

May I suggest that if you have nerve pain that you search for doctor A.L. Dellon and read about all the things he does to help people with nerve problems. He is a peripheral nerve specialist and I sure will be able to help some of you.

He did my husband's groin surgery (entrapped nerve from previous surgeries) a year ago in Sept and my husband no longer has any pain.

Good luck to all of you and I hope my comments get posted since he is the only doctor in the US that does this type of surgery.

anon204611

I have been dealing with nerve pain in my right leg for over a year. It began with groin pain after I fell in a splits position. It felt as if I had torn something off the pubic bone. I had dull lower back pain which got worse with sitting or standing. About two weeks later I noticed that my medial shin was numb. My obturator nerve, which allows you to squeeze your legs together, like to ride a horse, stopped working almost immediately and I lost my ability to adduct. The leg was very weak.

It got better (not healed but better) after four months, but then I hurt it again by shoveling some dirt and twisting my torso. My right side hurt near my right ovary and the whole leg went numb this time: the femoral, cutaneous femoral, medial shin were all still numb, along with the obturator. Only the lateral tibia, big toe and hamstring had feeling.

It got a little better again and then I walked through water for a number of hours with rubber boots. It got so bad that I had to use crutches. I have severe atrophy in my right leg, have to drive with two feet, and it is horribly weak.

I have had MRI's, CT scans, x-rays, PET scans, muscle biopsies, blood tests, spinal punctures, and more. There is nothing wrong with me or remarkable about the imaging except the "significant amount of diffuse edema" in the muscle tissues on my right side. Incidentally, the edema, can be traced by my fingers even without an image because it hurts! It begins just to the right of my sacrum, continues around the side of my hip bone, drops down to the right side of the groin, ending just to the right of the pubic bone where the initial pain began with the fall. I have been with a neurologist who actually now believes that this might be affecting my quality of life – now that she's seen me for eight months with no diagnosis or treatment. Wow!

My EMG's show that the nerves' axioms are getting less and less signal. I do "exercises" with my leg, which doesn't move really, except in my mind and with a mild twitch under hand pressure, in order to keep it strong enough to actually pretend to walk – sort of. Before this I ran 100M wind sprints, rode and showed three horses, lifted weights, shouldered and carried 50 pound feed sacks, surfed, snow skied, water skied, mountain biked and hiked.

If any of you have MDs who are fixing the nerve entrapments or removing scar tissue or releasing compartmental syndrome nerve injuries please let me know who they are! I have to find someone who can treat this!

anon203961

It's so good to know I am not the only one who has had so much difficulty getting an answer to all of my pain. I have been having severe sharp pains in my left lower abdomen for over a month now. When I went to the emergency room they did a CT scan and could not find the cause of my lower left pain, but found a teratoma tumor on my right side. They sent me home with pain meds.

One week later I made myself go back, because even with being on vicodin my pain was unbearable. They did x-rays and another CT scan and decided my pain must be because the tumor was causing one of my ovaries to twist. So they rushed me in for emergency surgery, took out the tumor and one of my ovaries and fallopian tubes. Since the surgery I have been back to the hospital two times, at which point they gave me more x rays, which of course showed nothing. I kept telling them that the pain I am still having is the same pain I had before I even knew about the tumor.

The last time I went to the hospital they refused to even give me any pain medicine, although I was doubled over in pain, and pretty much accused me of making up my pain.

I went to my obgyn last thursday and this doctor knew what was wrong with me in minutes. The pfannenstiel incision I had from the cesarean I had with my daughter was the cause. Their was scar tissue there and now the nerves were compressed and this was the cause. He took a needle and stuck it in my stomach several times until he hit the nerves and shot them with lidocaine. He said many people are cured after this but by the next day I was in horrible pain again. I am going back to see him tomorrow.

I am so miserable. It's almost like being in labor all the time. I have five children and a husband, am a full time college student, and work from home full time. Everything I do now is a struggle. I hurt all the time and god forbid I turn the wrong way, the sharp pain knocks me to the floor. I just want to feel better. I am desperate.

anon166312

i had panniculectomy 2.5 years ago and went through many doctors. Most didn't want to see me. the original surgeon washed his hands of me and wouldn't give me any pain relief or referral to another doctor.

It has been a horrible experience. My quality of life has been stolen from me due to the lack of care and concern of the original surgeon. he could have referred me to a neurologist, at least. My family doc put me on gabapentin, which takes away about half of the pain, but i still have episodes of pain up to at least an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10.

Finally, a plastic surgeon agreed to see me, but did not want to do anything, although he did refer me to the pain clinic. i had my first trigger point injection with cortisone and pain reliever three days ago but it has not helped.

I'm so angry at the way my case has been handled, and no doctors were willing to get involved and help. what happened to their oath, their care and concern? it is so hard to find others who had tummy tucks or panniculectomies and ended up with nerve entrapment and what they did to fix the problem. please respond if you have had the same problem. Thanks.

anon126062

Since my first daughter was born via C-section in 1996 I have had twinges of pain in my right lower abdomen. I was told it was "probably scar tissue" and dismissed. I had another C-section in 1999, with continuance of this pain.

I had an abdominal hysterectomy in 2005, and a laparoscopic removal of a left ovarian cyst in 2006. I have had intermittent pain in my right lower abdomen all of these years. Approximately two years ago, the pain became continuous. I began using narcotics to dull the pain. My doctor, whom I think a great deal of, couldn't offer me a diagnosis or "cure". I have had four local injections into the ilioinguinal nerve canal, with 50 percent success. With a pain free period of 12 days being the greatest.

I have tried acupuncture, which is a wonderful relaxation tool. I am also on 900-1800 mg of Neurontin a day. The 1800 mg is only when I am able to stay home all day because I can't function well with that dose. I have days when I am unable to stand up straight because of the sharp burning pain in my right lower abdomen, right groin, and around to my right hip.

For two years I have suffered with this with no idea of what was causing it. Recently I was referred to a doctor who told me he thought this is what was affecting me. wow. I have a name for the creature that has been eating away at my life.

I am currently researching pain specialists, management, and general surgical management. At this point I will do anything to feel normal again.

anon124926

My name is Robert. I have been suffering with pain around the iliac crest on my right side. A D.O. diagnosed it as nonspecific idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. My family physician does not believe in the diagnosis, as he could not properly diagnose it after seeing two orthopedic specialists and a neurologist.

At the same time, I was suffering with diverticulitis. I am lucky to be alive because I have been on Lyrica and Tramadol once a day to tolerate the pain. I am lucky to be alive at the age of 55. I am a 55 year old male, but still have nagging pain in this area. Could the D.O. be wrong? I am trying to wean off the lyrica and tramadol but it is very difficult.

anon124502

Hello I know what many of you are going through. In 2007 I had a tumor in my kidney and had surgery. I had a portion of my kidney cut off to remove the tumor. Two months after the surgery I was still having a lot of pain in my abdomen and scrotum. For the next 1 1/2 years my body started to slowly deteriorate.

Eventually my pain became so severe I could not walk and I needed pain medicine to walk or function. Over a six month period I went to a pain doctor and they determine I had Ilioinguinal neuralgia and Orchialgia nerve damage. My pain is so severe I can not walk or function without pain medicine. The pain medicine gives me some relief as long as I do not directly hit my nerves in my testicles.

I also go to a physical therapist several times a year for manual muscle releases. It provide minor relief but every little thing helps.

It's my understanding there is no cure for this type of nerve damage. I'm no longer able to work and my life is very different being disabled. I'm learning to deal with the pain on a daily basis but it's difficult. It took almost two years for doctors to diagnosis my problem.

anon113829

Had several entrapped nerves in the groin area. Had blocks done etc and nothing worked. I am even allergic to many drugs. The pain was so bad, (+50 jabbing a day) I would fall on the floor and cry.

My wife found Dr. Dellon and he preformed my surgery and now I am pain free. He is an amazing doctor for nerve issues.

rmhooper

I had a bad twisting fall at Albertsons grocery in 2008 causing pain in my hip, back, and finally a doctor diagnosed possible inguinal tear, but his possible diagnosis was documented without suggesting future investigation of the issue.

I went to a doctor who does Active Release Therapy, and he said I had an impingement in the genitofemoral muscle where the ligament travels and has worked to stretch that muscle which gave me a few days relief.

All other doctors, including a neurologist, said I needed back treatment. I decided that if injections in the back helped back issues then maybe injections in the abdomen where the doctor was working on me could relieve the pain.

The pain travels through my abdomen and groin into my testicles. The testicular pain is so great that it feels like someone is kicking me in the testicles and sometimes the pain is so great I fall to the ground.

A month or so ago, this happened at home and I passed out. I had had neck surgery a couple of years back and felt that the hardware in my neck had been compromised. I went to ER and they said everything looks fine. However, I must have landed on my wrists because both wrists are now in wrist guards because of the pain. This is such an ongoing thing.

Tonight my testicles hurt so bad, I got ready for bed and find a huge bulge in the abdominal area genitofemoral muscle, which I know is a hernia.

I have lost my business over this and started a new one. Now my new one is in jeopardy because I need to do some physical labor.

I feel bad for all of you who are going through what I am going through. This has been 2-1/2 years of hell. I am going to look into the laparoscopic surgery where they put a spring mesh in. It is supposed to do better than the open hernia repair.

Today I am wearing an orange on top of the bulge and have duct taped around my mid section to push the bulge back in. I am quite a sight with my wrist bands, a neck brace, and a small orange duct taped to my body to keep my intestines from coming out further and twisting. This is so ridiculous.

anon91841

Thank you so much! I am a 36 year old police officer and EMT. I had my appendix removed four weeks ago. I have the same feelings in my lower Left abdomen where the lowest incision is. I also cannot stand for anything to touch my stomach due to the pain, including intermittent burning, stabbing pain also.

My doctor had prescribed an antidepressant and valium. I cannot put on a gun belt, or sit in my patrol car. I cannot lift patients either. I am depressed but I now know that I'm not alone and that there is some hope.

anon87961

I had a hysterectomy in 2000. I didn't know that the pain I was experiencing wasn't normal post-op pain. It seemed like the skin on my trunk from the rib cage down to my legs was shredded raw. I had to place pillows on either side of me so that the sheets didn't touch my skin while I was in bed.

My incision healed and I still had this pain. I took to wearing loose dresses (and no underwear unless I was leaving the house) because I couldn't bear to have anything touch my belly. Nothing I did could make the pain go away.

Nobody seemed to be able to explain why I had so much pain over such a broad area. Some doctors suspected adhesions, so I had two surgeries. That helped with some pinching I felt, but this widespread, relentless pain on the surface of my belly persisted.

It took me eight years to figure out that ilioinguinal nerve entrapment was causing this debilitating pain. After I discovered it, I found some doctors who were helpful in determining the diagnosis for sure. I've had nerve blocks that helped a little, but I want to have the nerves cut.

I've read on other sites that people who have had it done experience instant relief with no unwanted side effects. Surprisingly, hockey players are at risk of having this nerve injured, and even elite athletes have had good results from neurectomy of the ilioinguinal nerve.

I lost my job over this (was a professor who couldn't concentrate well enough through the pain or medication fog to do research to achieve tenure), so now have to wait until I find another job before I can try the neurectomy.

I would do almost anything to live without pain and the pain meds. One thing I won't do is have the taxpayers pay for the neurectomy procedure. I'll do that myself once I get back to work.

anon79373

It has been five very long years of hundreds of doctors and three surgeries that I did not need. Back surgery, hip surgery and my appendix was removed.

I finally gave up all faith in doctors and the medical system which just passed me around like a hot potato and demanded from the doctors a logical explanation. After much research, loss of my business, my relationship, and my jobs I finally discovered that I have ilioinguinal neuralgia or the nerve or nerves that run through the ilioinguinal ligament and psoas muscle are damaged. I only was able to make this discovery when the MRI showed inflammation of the ilioinguinal ligament and when the doctor explained to me that he wanted to remove the ligament.

I am outraged that no trained doctors could make this diagnosis and that I have suffered for so long. I cannot tell you how many doctors tried to put me on anti anxiety medication and many other meds and told me that this was all in my head.

I sincerely hope that more is done to communicate to the medical industry and to doctors that this is a very serious and painful debilitating injury that needs a lot more attention.

I have spent over $100,000 in the last year alone on MRIs, CT scans, X Rays and operations that I did not need to have. Nerves do not show up on any of these tests so that is why the doctors would never make a diagnosis.

I hope people can understand that nerve pain is very real and extremely painful and relentless. It is as though you are being torched for years and being told by everyone around you that you are crazy and it's in your head.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel and all I hope for now is that I will be able to find my old self which I lost so long ago to the pain. Have faith and take control of your care but more importantly, demand a logical explanation from a doctor who is not willing to make any diagnosis because they do not have any hard data because nerves do no show up on any tests.

anon75803

I have ilioinguinal nerve damage following hysterectomy. GYN would not admit this is what happened or that he had anything to do with it. He gave me run around.

Another doc came clean with me and explained the problem. Nerve blocks haven't helped. Just keeping the faith that what goes around comes around.

Trying to stay strong mentally and physically. I don't wish this pain on anyone. My heart goes out to anyone with this pain. Don't let any doctor tell you it is in your head. It is real.

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    • The ilioinguinal nerve transmits pain and other sensations in the hip.
      By: videodoctor
      The ilioinguinal nerve transmits pain and other sensations in the hip.
    • Car accidents are a leading cause of ilioinguinal damage in young people.
      By: lupoalb68
      Car accidents are a leading cause of ilioinguinal damage in young people.
    • A hip fracture may also affect the ilioinguinal nerve in rare cases.
      By: Dario Sabljak
      A hip fracture may also affect the ilioinguinal nerve in rare cases.
    • Sports injuries may cause ilioinguinal damage.
      By: Jasminko Ibrakovic
      Sports injuries may cause ilioinguinal damage.
    • Problems with the ilioinguinal nerve caused by pregnancy may be relieved through deep tissue massage or other manual treatments.
      By: Gabriel Blaj
      Problems with the ilioinguinal nerve caused by pregnancy may be relieved through deep tissue massage or other manual treatments.
    • The ilioinguinal nerve controls the diaphragm, which helps to regulate breathing.
      By: pathdoc
      The ilioinguinal nerve controls the diaphragm, which helps to regulate breathing.
    • Transcutaneous electrical stimulation is sometimes used to ease the pain of ilioinguinal nerve injuries.
      By: praisaeng
      Transcutaneous electrical stimulation is sometimes used to ease the pain of ilioinguinal nerve injuries.