I had my hernia at the end of last year, from holding pee for too long before I was able to find a restroom.The location of my groin hernia is on the left side only and shown in the attached Figure 1. The hernia was not causing severe pain, just mild pain or discomfort but was constantly there. The area bulged out and could be pushed in and then would stick out again after my hand was gone.I did some online search for the common treatment. Most of the postings I found online suggest surgery. But on the other hand, one website site, https://herniabible.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/alternative-treatments-for-inguinal-hernia/ suggested alternative treatment for hernia. Interestingly, it listed a follow-up patient response to surgery. It seems that the success of surgery is not guaranteed, and the success rate is disappointingly low. According to a survey of 44 responses, one year after surgery, still over 80% patients feel either constant or occasional pain. That really made me change my mind about surgery as the only viable treatment recommended by most doctors.I recall about 17 years ago when I was 40. I had to see my doctor for treatment of lower back pain. The doctor prescribed a CT scan and later explained to me the problem with my “herniated discs” and predicted that I would have to undergo a surgery within the next 5 years.After that, I started my research. I read about the traction table and also bought and tried an inversion table (a frame to hang oneself upside down to stretch the spine/discs). In my research, I by chance read something interesting in this book titled “Before You Call the Doctor”, by A. Simons, B. Hasselbring, and M. Castleman, 1992. It lists the survey results from lower back pain patients on the question “What works for chronic lower back pain?” The results are very surprising. I copy the key data here.Patients reporting “Moderate to dramatic long-term relief”:Yoga 96%, Physiatrists 86%, Physical therapists 75%, Acupuncturists 36%, Chiropractors 28%, Neurosurgeons 26%, Orthopedists 23%, Primary care doctors 20%, Neurologists 4%.This points a clear path forward for me – I should try the lowest cost and yet the most effective treatment first, yoga.After practicing yoga for some time over weekends only (once Saturday and once Sunday), I found myself getting improvement on my lower back. Some of the yoga poses, for example, “reclining hero” and “fish”, seem to serve the same purpose as the inversion table. I retired my inversion table and kept my weekend yoga practice. After 17 years since the doctor’s prediction, I don’t see a need to have any surgery on my lower back and am feeling better than before.Based on that experience, I opted for the conservative treatment along with exercise. Unlike other reviewer who used this hernia truss temporarily only before their scheduled surgery, I hoped to use it for long time and not to have surgery at all. I think surgery is always the last resort. If you can try something less invasive first, why take chance if it cannot guarantee a 100% success rate? For the doctor operating on you, if the operation is not successful, he can suggest to have another follow-up procedure on you. If that’s still not working, how about another follow-up? But it’s your body.For me, I want to try the external truss first with minimal risk before I take a great risk with a surgery. That’s when I ordered this hernia truss after my research.I ordered the double option even though I had hernia on the left side only. My thinking was to keep it looking symmetrical in case something bulges up under my clothes. But that concern is actually unnecessary. This truss seems to have minimal protrusion under the clothing and it’s hard to observe much from the outside. Thus it is probably better to have the truss for the left side only, instead of the double-sided.My waist is 32 inches. The medium size fits me just fine. It is noted that there is some room for adjustment in the Velcro end. Furthermore, the belt itself is made of elastic material which allows for some stretching. At the beginning, I was concerned with the long time use of the Velcro and was afraid that it may not be very sticky after a while. But after a few days, I found that I could just leave the Velcro attached all the time and pull the truss up and down just like an underwear, due to the elastic stretch of the belt.I would have given a five-star rating except for two things. For one, the straps connecting the front and the back seem a little too wide and hard and feel uncomfortable between the legs. It takes a good 20 days to get used to it, and probably even longer for people with sensitive skin. On one hand, this is a drawback. But on the other hand, it implies that the straps are sturdy and can last for a long time. The second problem is indicated in Figure 2 – the Velcro patch on the belt for the left side strap was not located correctly. This seems to be a quality issue and may not happen to another one pending your luck. I had to stitch the end of the strap to the belt at a different location to make it feel more comfortable.The shipping was fast, within a few days (I didn’t order express). I got the truss in about two weeks after I had the hernia. After I started using it, I also started my exercise routine as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The exercise is done with the truss off as gravity keeps the hernia in. The exercise consists of two types of leg kicking in lie-down position. One is in a high position with the knees as straight as possible, in a scissors kick back and forth alternating between the two legs. This kick is more strenuous. The other is a low position bicycle kick with the knees free to bend but feet not touching the floor. This is the easier among the two. I do a few hundred kicks each day, normally before the bed time, but more than once over the weekend. The hope was to strengthen the tissues in the injured area such that it does not protrude again.After about two months of use, I noticed that the area seems to stay in even when the truss was removed. I knew it was too good to be true. Therefore I did not take it off but planned to keep it on for another two months to let the tissues grow stronger before I take it off for good. If I do not revise my review here, it implies the area does not have a recurrence of rupture.This review is a little longer than usual as I took it as for a hernia support group and hope by sharing my experience, my review will benefit other people with similar hernia problem. But as always, different people may have different medical conditions. My experience may not work for other people and one should always consult with one’s own doctor for the best advice on hernia treatment. I wish you the best luck with your hernia treatment and recovery.I ordered this product early Jan. 2017 and have used it for less than 3 months by now. I have not tried another similar product and therefore cannot comment on this product in relation to other similar products. I did not receive a discount on my purchase and only offer my honest opinion for your discretionary consideration.LC 4/01/2017Update:I used my hernia belt for 4 months until 5/10/2017. It’s been more than one month and the hernia has not re-appeared again after the belt was removed-thank God. Some people mentioned in their review that they used the belt only for a short time while waiting for surgery. To those I suggest that you postpone your surgery and try the belt for longer time, say for 4 months, with kicking exercises as I described here, and see if it works. If it doesn’t work, you can still take the surgery as the last resort. You have nothing to lose. What if you are lucky like me?For those trying the kicking exercise, make sure you don’t over-exercise at the beginning. Start at 30-40 kicks and increase 5-10 kicks each day depending on your age and fitness condition. A ramped gradual increase in exercise can avoid unnecessary muscle stress that may actually slow the healing process.Liyong 6/23/2017