This is an interview that I did with Logan Grant. He’s a guy who is trying to heal his hernia naturally without surgery like me and has been making pretty good progress. I thought there would be some benefit to giving people another point of view on what’s working for him.
Please note that this video was filmed in February of 2020, but not posted on the blog until November of 2021.
If you’d like to skip ahead to a point of interest you can go to the following times to hear these questions:
2:45- What do you do for work?
4:14- When did you get your hernia?
7:26- What made you want to take the natural approach to heal a hernia?
8:32- Did you get an actual diagnosis?
16:00- How big did the hernia get?
17:33- What are some things you’re doing that allowed you to make progress with the hernia?
18:38- Are there certain foods in your diet that you stay away from?
21:46- How much meat do you eat?
22:30- Do you have any pelvic postural issues?
33:00- Are you doing any exercises specifically for the hernia?
36:01- Do you think there is one exercise that is most beneficial?
37:10- What are your thoughts on wearing a hernia belt?
39:12- When you work out, is the hernia out or in?
40:35- How do you think stress affects the hernia?
49:37- How much of your thought process is taken up by the hernia?
50:45- Do you see yourself being able to heal the hernia 100%?
To reach out to Logan you can contact him on his youtube channel @grantmetopics or on instagram @grantmetopics
Interview Transcript:
George:
Hey, what’s up, guys? George here from mynaturalherniacure.com. And I put this video together because a little while back, I had mentioned on one of my videos that I was going to start doing some video interviews with some people that have inguinal hernias and have made some progress with healing naturally, just to kind of see what they were doing, and just to kind of try and get some more information out there for you guys so that you can hear from other people other than just myself on what’s working for me.
George:
I think that the more information that we could get out there, the more that you can hear and kind of hear things that resonate with you so that you can put together something for yourself. It is going to be beneficial if you’re trying to heal your hernia naturally. So this is the first of those videos that I’m going to be putting out, and this one is with Logan Grant. He actually has a YouTube channel called GrantMeTopics. I’ll put a link to that in the description below and then he’ll also give you his contact information and all that kind of stuff in the video at the end of the video. It’s a little long, but I think there’s some good information in it.
George:
And just bear with the choppiness of the video, it was a zoom conference call. This is the first one of these that I’m doing. So, I’m kind of trying to work out the kinks as I go. So give it a watch, and let me know how you like it. If you get anything out of it, make sure you hit up Logan on his channel. Any comment you want to make to him, he’ll be able to answer any questions you might have for him on his channel also. So check it out and let me know what you think and if you want me to keep doing more of these. All right. Thanks, guys. Here it is.
Logan Grant Smith:
My name’s Logan Grant Smith. GrantMeTopics is kind of a play on my middle name. And so sometimes I would just go by Logan Grant. Also when I started my channel, I was intending to have like lots of different topics, but the main purpose was to be able to get some hernia videos out there, and then I ended up just doing all hernia videos. So I’m 22, and I live in Central Virginia.
George:
What do you do for work? Is your job physically demanding at all?
Logan Grant Smith:
I’ve worked for a steel fabrication company for over seven years and I started when I was in high school, part-time, and then went full time when I got out of high school. And what I was doing up until about two years ago was all like manual labor. I was building like gauge steel roofing trusses. So it was all like self-drilling screws. So constantly just like pressing and lifting. Yeah, it was pretty hard stuff. And then I moved into the processing department, which in some ways got a little bit easier, but I was still doing a lot of lifting and doing some engineering. And then I moved into the estimating department. So now, I’m a proposal designer for the company.
George:
Okay.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
A little easier on the body.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, it’s harder on the mind but easier on the body.
George:
Yeah, so did you get the hernia while you were doing all that steelwork?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, I did. So I started doing it part-time when I was 15, and I was diagnosed with a hernia when I was 17. Actually, no, I wasn’t 17. It was 2017. Sorry, I missed that. I’m very active. I’ve just always been like that. I love hiking and working out. While I was doing the manual labor job, I was kind of crazy about working out. I’m actually kind of addicted to it. And I would get up at like 5:00, workout, go to work like I had to be at work by 7:00. I would work a 10-hour shift and then I would go home and work out again. That didn’t last long because I ended up injuring myself just from doing too much and not relaxing.
George:
Yeah, just in not allowing recovery time in between.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I kind of went through the phase, well, almost my whole life doing the same thing, just constantly pushing, thinking, this is the way you get in shape. You got to push, you got to do it, you got to do it.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
And never ever give yourself that time to regenerate and relax.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
It was killing me. It was killing me.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
For me, once I got the hernia, I kind of realized that I needed to take that time to recover in between, especially just for the… Like when I started doing the hernia exercises, when I figured out the exercises, I was doing it every day, because that’s the type of person that I am. I’m like, “I’m going to kill this thing. I’m going to do this every day, and strengthen everything up.” And then I realized that that was having a worse effect on it than if I just did it twice a week. So I had to give myself that recovery time in between to make sure that I give the muscles actually time to recover.
Logan Grant Smith:
You’re working like kind of funky muscles that you don’t normally work. So like I kind of did the same thing when I started. Especially with the stomach vacuums and stuff, I would just like go crazy on it. Then the next day, I’m just like, “My god.”
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And like it does the same thing.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
I think when I first learned about it, I kind of [inaudible 00:06:51] Okay. I did it once in like a week and I had to take a break for like the rest of the week, just because I was so sore.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
It was crazy.
George:
So what made you want to take the natural route and not get surgery?
Logan Grant Smith:
Honestly, I’m just kind of more natural in general. Just pretty much everything I do, I lean more towards a more natural or organic kind of way of doing things. I don’t get vaccines, I don’t take prescription drugs. I try to eat organic non-GMO food. And if I ended up having an injury or some kind of illness, I try to take care of that naturally before going to the doctor.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
Though, it’s just kind of the mentality that I already had. So I didn’t really want to settle for something other than that.
George:
Right. Yeah, had you done research before? Like when you got the hernia, did you actually get a diagnosis? You went to a doctor and they actually did an ultrasound or something like that, where they diagnosed it?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, well, what was crazy is, I went to the doctor, like my family doctor, and that was when I was just experiencing pain like there was no bulge yet. And he told me I had [inaudible 00:08:42] colitis, which like is your inflammation of the backbone. And anyway, so he was like, “Just take some Epsom salt baths,” and I think he told me to use the ice packs and just take it easy. And he said if it is a hernia that it was too small to tell.
Logan Grant Smith:
So it was not too long after that, kind of like long story short, a pregnant lady had fallen and turned her ankle. And then she was trying to get back up and like went to fall again. And so I caught her and then I like picked her up. And when I got to the top, I felt the tear. And like I knew it like right then like I was like, “Man, I just did it.” And I carried her over and set her down in a chair. And what’s crazy is I don’t think I actually had a protrusion. At that point, I remember distinctly feeling like that tear. So I think it took a little while before it kind of worked its way out.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
And I actually experienced a couple more feelings of tear before it actually popped out. So then I went to the doctor once it actually did and he was like, “Yeah, you got a hernia,” And then he told me I needed to go to the surgeon to get checked out. So I went to a surgeon. And anyway it was crazy as in, you know how they like go away. And then you’re like, hey, I think I’m better and then it comes back.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
So I think it went away like the day before I went to the surgeon. And then I went to the surgeon, and he’s like, “I’m not even sure you have one.” And just like a week after that, it came again, and then I went back to the surgeon. And he was like, “Yeah, there’s definitely something there.” But he’s like, “I’m not really sure what it is.” He’s like, “If it’s a hernia, then it’s not really big enough to operate on, so just go back to normal life and let me know if it gets worse.”
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And so I did, I went back and kept working out. And I was kind of passively like still researching about it. But other than that, I wasn’t really doing anything for it. Because I was still kind of in the mindset of looking at surgery as an option. And anyway, then it got worse. And then I went back to the surgeon. And he was like, “Yeah, well, there’s definitely something there.” And he’s like, “But I’m still not quite sure if it’s a hernia.” And I’m like, fine, because I had been doing some research and I was like, “I’m pretty darn sure this is a hernia.”
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
And you do surgeries on these all the time, kind of like, how can you not tell. And so he’s like, “Well, I’m going to schedule an ultrasound for you.” And take into consideration this hospital is like an hour from my house. So he’s just like sending me back and forth. And I’m like getting fed up. So then I come back and I am in the waiting room for the ultrasound and this nurse comes out. And so that was like, her being a woman made it awkward.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
But on top of that, I did it. I was like, Wait a second. I know that girl from my homeschool group.
George:
Are you serious?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, that was really awkward. So they made me lay down for the ultrasound, which was a little bit [inaudible 00:13:44]because I told her, I was like, Do you want me to stand up? Because it goes back in when I’m laying down.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, when she was doing the ultrasound, I was laying down on the table and I asked her if I was going to need to do it standing up because the hernia would go back in when I was laying down. And she said no, that it should pick it up even with me laying down. And anyway, then I finish up with that, go to the waiting room. And then the doctor comes in, and he’s like good news. He’s like, “You don’t have a hernia.” And I was, “Then what is this bulging thing in my groin?” And he’s like, “That’s a good question. So I’m going to send you to get a CT scan.” And I was just like, “My goodness, like, I am just tired of this.” So I decided just to not get the CT scan.
Logan Grant Smith:
But I wanted a third opinion so I scheduled an appointment with a urologist and went to him, because I was like, if it’s not a hernia, then maybe it’s like a varicose vein or something like that. But I was still not too cool. And so I went to him and then he comes in, just checks it real quick and he’s like, “Looks like a regular old hernia.” And I was like, all right. Well, I’m just going to go with that and try to self-help.
George:
Right. How big did it get? Like when it was at its worst, how big was the hernia?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, when it was at its worse, it was about the length and size of my thumb in my scrotum.
George:
Wow.
Logan Grant Smith:
So it like had gone pretty far down there.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
That was scary.
George:
Yeah, I bet. Yeah, because I get questions a lot of times from people that asked me if it’s in my scrotum, do you think that this stuff will work? And I’m always like, I have no idea. Because mine didn’t do that. Mine was pretty big, it was the size of two golf balls. But it was all above my pelvis the whole time. It never went down in my scrotum ever.
Logan Grant Smith:
Got you. It’s almost like it definitely is shorter. Like it doesn’t go down as far. But more like this circumference of it is smaller. Like, before, it was the size of my thumb, where now it’s the size of my pinky.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
And I’m assuming that’s because the inguinal canal healed back and it doesn’t allow it down this far.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
So, it’s interesting.
George:
Are there some things that you’re doing that you think allowed you to make some progress with it?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, definitely. Diet probably is the main immediate helper or, for me. Because I think that even though the rupture was from lifting, I think the weakness was mostly from constipation and stress that I had.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And my diet was not good. Like, when I was a teenager, for my lunch at work, I would eat like two or three hot dogs and a bag of chips or something. And it’s like now if I eat one, I’m like, my goodness, like what’s going on inside of me?
George:
Is there certain things in your diet? Like do you stay away from gluten or anything else that you just completely stay away from in your diet?
Logan Grant Smith:
There are actually very few things that I completely stay away from. I just moderate a lot better than I used to. Like if I’m going to eat bread or something, I’ll try to get like some sprouted like brown or like wheat bread or something like that versus straight-up white bread.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
For the most part, I’d avoid white bread. I don’t think I’ve heard anything good about white bread. I try to really limit dairy. I kind of try to reserve that for special occasions. So I don’t eat sandwiches or burgers very often, but if I’m going to eat one, I would like to have cheese on it. So it’s like, I’ll just refrain from eating cheese for the most part. And then when I’m going to have a burger, then I can really enjoy it.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
And I think kind of like my cheat thing is like I really enjoy craft beer. So I just have to be really careful to like moderate that, because it just kind of messes with my digestion. And if I just make too much of a habit of it, I’ll just feel kind of crappy in general.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
Also, I was doing some research a while back and in the articles and stuff that I was reading, they were down on my binge drinking and the effect on wound healing. And it directly affects wound healing.
George:
Really.
Logan Grant Smith:
So I imagine some of that would kind of carry over to your audience. But that’s another reason why I try to just moderate it.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
I try not to eat crappy meat. I don’t know. I would hate to go to McDonald’s or something like that.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
But I am a fan of like in moderate amounts eating like quality meat. I think it actually can be beneficial to the hernia.
George:
Yeah, how much meat Would you say that you eat? Like do you eat meat every day?
Logan Grant Smith:
No, I don’t. I probably eat meat once or twice a week. I do eat a lot of eggs.
George:
Yeah, me too.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, they’re a really big percentage of my protein.
George:
Yeah, I know for me, like the anterior pelvic tilt, that was the first thing that I realized had an effect on my hernia. So did you kind of put those two things together? Did you realize any pelvic postural issues for yourself?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, I didn’t know what anterior pelvic tilt was until I think it was like maybe the week that you posted your first video on that. I was seeing some things on YouTube about it and didn’t really know what it was. But then once I watched your video, I was like, wow, okay. So I started trying some of the things you had shown and I actually noticed improvements right away. And what was interesting is that video that you did where you were basically just flexing your glutes. That’s something that I didn’t even know was a thing. But way back like earlier on, with my hernia, I would just sometimes do that. And I would realize that the hernia basically stayed in when I was like flexing really hard.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And then my chiropractor, I was talking to him about anterior pelvic tilt, and then he told me to do that to correct it.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
So yeah, I think definitely have had some problems with that, and just doing little things to try to help it has helped the hernia. At what point did you realize that that had something to do with it?
George:
There’s an E-book that’s out online, and I was doing research. And I can’t remember the guy’s name that wrote it. But it was this short little thing about this guy that had a hernia and how he healed it naturally. And it was basically him walking around on toes. He went into this whole thing about how he feels like people weren’t designed to walk around on their foot being flat. He said that we’re like the only animals that do that so he thought that we were supposed to walk around on our toes, which didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But I was willing to try anything at the time because I was miserable. I was going nuts trying to figure out how I’d get this thing to not poke out anymore.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
So I decided, I’m just going to give it a try and see what happens. And I tried it and it was like… I don’t how long did it for but it was probably a couple of weeks. It took practice to constantly think about having to be on your toes all the time. But once I started doing it, it was kind of the same thing. I was like, man. It’s staying in now. Before, I couldn’t keep it in at all. It would pop out as soon as I got out of bed in the morning. I would still have a hernia belt on. But every once in a while, I’d pull the hernia belt away, see if it would pop out, and it was staying in when I moved the hernia belt away. As long as I was standing up, and I was walking around on my toes. I’m like, man, there’s something to this. But, I don’t believe that we’re designed to walk around on our toes all day long every day. That doesn’t mean sense to me.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
So I got to figure out what it was, like what part of this is making the hernia not poke out rather than just walk around on my toes? I looked like an idiot walking around. So then I go to the mirror one time, as I stood up on my toes, I was looking in the mirror and I could see right away when I did that, that it rotated my pelvis under into the correct position. And it was like, that’s where it is, in my pelvis. And then I looked and I was like, “Man, my ass kind of sticks out really far.” But I’m in there still thinking like, something’s not right with my pelvis. And then I started doing research and realized that I had APT and that’s when I started trying to fix the anterior pelvic tilt once I realized all that.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay.
George:
I kind of realized a couple of things. There was a lot going on at that time where I was doing so much research, and I realized a couple of things all at the same time. So that was the one part of the, that started making a difference for me was the anterior pelvic tilt. It was something that I noticed right away. And that I could work on that.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay. Got you.
George:
And then there was that I kind of learned about the whole mindset portion of it. And there was like a bunch of other stuff that I put all together all within that same, there was like a three or four week period, and that’s when I started really seeing results. But to answer, that was definitely the first thing that I realized.
Logan Grant Smith:
Got you. As far as diet goes, I’ve heard you mentioned some things like you had been vegetarian for a while, or something like that, what is kind of what you do for diet?
George:
Yeah, for me, right now, basically, I’m gluten-free. I don’t eat gluten. I don’t eat sugar. I don’t eat dairy.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay.
George:
I’m like 90% vegetarian. So I eat a lot of eggs just like you. (This video was actually filmed in February of 2020. At this time 11/1/21 I do not eat eggs anymore) Like I have three eggs every morning, two pieces of gluten-free toast. Because I tried to go vegan last year, I did it for about nine months and I could not. I was starving for protein. I couldn’t get enough protein. I could feel like my body was starving for protein. So then I started looking really skinny. I’m already a skinny guy. And like when I don’t get enough protein, my face gets like real super skinny and I start looking like I have cancer or something.
Logan Grant Smith:
Wow.
George:
And I went into the bank, and I was talking to my banker who I’ve known for like, I don’t know, 10 or 15 years. And she looked at me. She was like, “Are you okay?” And I said, “Yeah, why?” She’s like, “You don’t look good. Like, you look sick. It looks like something’s wrong.” And I was like, “All right, that’s it. I got to start eating meat again.” So that’s when I started eating meat again.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
But not very much. I usually have a turkey sandwich for lunch. Three slices of turkey on it. That’s pretty much my meat intake these days. And I don’t think that the meat necessarily has a huge effect on the hernia. I do it for other reasons other than the hernia. You know what I mean?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I don’t feel the need to kill animals to eat if I don’t have to. If I was in the woods, I would be an opportunistic eater like I would kill an animal if I had to. But if I don’t have to, I don’t really feel like I’m going to.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
And the whole process of the way that they process the meat and all that kind of stuff, I’m not really down with it. So that’s why it’s still clear to me. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the hernia.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
But the gluten definitely does, for sure. Staying away from gluten and dairy. Those two things have a definite effect on me on the hernia, so that’s why I stay away from those two.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay. The gluten and the dairy?
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
Got you. Are you lactose intolerant?
George:
No, I’m not. I just don’t like drinking milk.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
But I love cheese. I love cheese on the sandwich. So, for lunch, I cut out all the dairy except I will still put that slice of cheese on my sandwich. And then I started saying, “You know what, I’m just not going to do that. I’m not going to put the cheese on and I’m going to see what kind of effect that has.” And once I cut out that one piece of cheese, I could feel the effect that had on my hernia, so I just left it out and it was much better.
Logan Grant Smith:
Wow, that’s wild.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
I know what you mean, as far as the lunch thing, because lunch is probably one of the more complicated, at least for me, like to just think of something that’s going to satisfy me, but like do what I need like nutritionally. And so for lunch, a lot of times, I like a lot of beans and lentils and rice for lunch. It’s cheaper too. But I’d buy in a can of like organic [beans 00:31:43] for less than $2 and I would just spice it up like with some different like Mexican style spices, and just eat that straight. I mean, it’s all right, but it gets old really fast.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And so like the videos that I would do like hernia healthy meal videos, those were when I would have time to actually meal prep and really kind of think through what I was doing. But it’s like, when I can do meals like that, it’s actually pretty rare. A lot of times, it’s just simple stuff. Sometimes just even like some nuts like cashews or almonds or something.
George:
So are you doing any exercises now just purely to focus on the hernia?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, in the mornings, I usually will do them, if I have time. If I don’t, then I’ll try to do them when I’m home after work. The exercises are pretty hard, but I keep the reps like pretty low, that way I can do them like every day. And kind of, I guess, remind the hernia to stay in its place. But it’s really simple. Actually, I’ve been trying to make a video of the exercise, so like how long you take to do them. But I think I did all under three or four minutes. And so I was just going to show people that it’s like, if you just kind of make a routine, you can do it really fast and just make it a part of your daily routine to do them. I do that soccer ball squeeze to help the groin muscles, I do the hip bridges, and then just some like double leg raise.
Logan Grant Smith:
And then I’ve started doing some oblique exercises. Because after doing some research, this one guy who had a video on basically the whole muscle structure down there. It was actually about the inguinal canal. It was really cool video, but he was saying that the oblique actually goes down and I think it was something iliac crest on like your pelvic area. And the oblique like wraps around that and creates the inguinal canal.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
So just as kind of a theory, I was like, I’m going to start working my obliques and see if that helps anything. And I feel like it has a little bit. So I’ll do like some oblique exercises, and then I’ll do like a quick back exercise where I just lay on my stomach and just kind of like raise up to kind of work the core all the way around.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
And then I do the whole kind of put in positions stomach vacuum, and that’s it.
George:
Do you think that there’s one specific exercise that you feel would be the most important one to do?
Logan Grant Smith:
I think I would have to narrow it down to two.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And that would probably be, not be so much a specific exercise. I mean, the one that I do is like the glute one to fix the anterior pelvic tilt, and the stomach vacuum. Because when I was doing the stomach vacuums and not doing this stuff for ATP, it’s like it wouldn’t really help keep the hernia in. But then it’s like if I do the stuff for ATP without doing the stomach vacuums, it’s like it still doesn’t help. So I think you kind of has to have those two at the bare minimum.
George:
Yeah, that makes sense. Because no matter how much you strengthen the muscle, if the pelvis isn’t in the right position to hold everything in the right place, it’s going to pop out. And what do you think about wearing a hernia belt? Do you wear a hernia belt? Do you think it’s important, not important?
Logan Grant Smith:
I think they’re good. I think it kind of depends on the individual. Basically, I wear one when I comfortably can. Because I’ve got varicose veins on my left side, my left testi, for lack of better words. It’s like when I have the hernia, It kind of makes everything bulgy over on that side, which really makes it uncomfortable there.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
And then on my right leg, it’s like … I don’t know. Maybe it just cuts the circulation off my right leg. And I used to just try and bear through it and I would wear like religiously. But eventually, I got to a point where I was just dealing with numbness in my leg all the time and my inner left was still hurting me. I’m just like, Screw this. Right? I’m like, I might heal this hernia, but I might have blood clots a lot of the time.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
For the most part, I work out without a hernia belt kind of for the circulation stuff. And I feel like when I don’t wear a hernia belt, I’m more conscious of my posture and like making sure I’m breathing to like focus on the hernia.
George:
So when you’re working out, is your hernia usually out when you’re working out or are you able to keep it in on your own at this point?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, at this point, basically, if I’m doing something that I’m like breathing real heavy, my hernia pretty much stays in. It might like start to poke out like a tiny bit, but I can suck in my stomach and then it goes in.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
So it’s super manageable at this point.
George:
When you’re just out walking around too like, when you’re not necessarily doing something strenuous but when you’re just walking around, is the hernia in most of the time?
Logan Grant Smith:
I’d say it’s probably 50-50. And it actually probably pokes out more when I’m just not doing anything like if I’m standing. Because I have a standing desk where I work, and if I’m standing and not focusing on my hip posture, then it’ll sometimes come out like that.
George:
What do you think about stress and the effect of stress on the hernia?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, at least mine, I think it was one of the main causes of mine. And it’s like I would start out doing good, the hernia would be like getting smaller or staying in or something. And then I would be hit with like a bunch of stress just from something, and then all that progress would be lost.
George:
Really?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, and I looked into it more and it’s definitely a thing like for stress to affect your fascia and it just dries it out and weakens it. So when I first started noticing the pain in that area, I believe I was like 17. And I was dealing with a lot of depression then and stuff like that. And it’s like when I’m under stress, usually, sometimes that’ll give me constipation and stuff. And so I was very emotionally stressed. And I remember just like dealing with so much constipation throughout that year. And then shortly after that, then I got the hernia.
George:
That’s it then. It’s so interesting to me, the whole mind-body connection part of it is unbelievable how connected your mind and body actually are. And for me, that was one of the biggest things that I figured out was that I made that link between the mind and the body. A hernia is literally a perfect defense mechanism for your brain. You’re thinking away from having to deal with your emotions and put it onto something physical. It’s like a perfect defense mechanism.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, and when I first heard of all that kind of stuff, the mind and body connection, I was just like, that’s just weird. I’m like, that’s stupid. And then I started researching more. And I was like, dang. Like, why did all this happen when all this was happening?
George:
Right. Yeah, so it starts being easier to kind of piece things together when you realize what you’re going through when certain things happen, for sure.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I was the same way. When I first heard about it, I was like, I don’t know about that. It doesn’t seem like something that could happen. How could you have a physical ailment because of something that you have going on your subconscious or whatever? But once I started noticing the same thing, I was like, wow, this is real. And it’s just as real like, if you’re going to go and do a speech in public or something like that and you get butterflies in your stomach, or some people feel sick, some people, their face turns bright red, some people start sweating. You know what I mean?
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
That’s a physical sensation that you’re having because your mind is trying to not make you think about the mental aspect of what you’re dealing with. It’s giving you physical symptoms, so that you have to focus on that instead of trying to protect yourself from your subconscious thoughts basically.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
And people breaking out in hives, people break out in hives when they’re in stress, and there’s so many different things that happen because of stress. For me, I know a lot of times when I talked about it in reference to a hernia, people are right away like, “Yeah, right. Like that doesn’t make sense.” But if it can happen everywhere else like with feeling sick when you’re nervous or whatever, then why can’t the same thing be true for the hernia? I just thought it was interesting like when I started researching, when I realized the whole thing about the mind body connection, that stress actually affects the psoas muscle, which is a muscle that goes from your spine. It’s the only muscle that connects your upper body to your lower body. It goes straight through from your spine to the top of your femur and it runs-
Logan Grant Smith:
It is the muscle that connects them?
George:
Yeah, it connects the upper body to the lower body. And it runs from the spine and it runs down right behind the inguinal canal and down basically to your thigh bone. If your inguinal canal is here, the psoas is right here, right behind it. And I was doing a bunch of research and found out that it’s proven that stress has an effect on the psoas muscle. So if the psoas muscle is coming down, right behind the inguinal canal and you’re under a bunch of stress, and that psoas muscle is tight like a rubber band, now you’re making a bunch of room behind the inguinal canal. You’re making a bunch of room in there for things to slide through, whereas if the psoas was full and not under stress and not pulled like a rubber band, it would be filling up that space, the way that it should be.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I started really thinking off that whole stress aspect and also doing some release work for the psoas to release the tension from the psoas and that was another thing that helped a lot too.
Logan Grant Smith:
Was it like a stretch that you did?
George:
For the psoas, it was more of like with a massage ball like massage ball work. So I have a massage ball that’s about the size of a softball. And I lay down on my stomach with it right like about two inches to the side of my belly button. And I just like lay down and just let the ball sink in real deep through all the musculature. And then I kind of roll it out with the massage ball nice and slow. It sucks.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay.
George:
It’s painful because it’s like really deep in there and all your intestines are in the way, so you’re kind of smashing everything in there, but it does work.
Logan Grant Smith:
I’m sure it would. I’m sure mine’s probably pretty tight. Because I have not been doing a whole lot of stomach massages or anything like that lately.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
I did a lot of that early on. There’s a lot of basic things that it’s like I need to get back to. It’s just a lot of those things take so much time. And I would do castor oil massages, like once or twice a day. So it gets just so messy, and castor oil doesn’t smell good either. So it’s like you don’t really want to leave it on. You kind of want to take a shower afterward. And it’s like, the busier I got, the harder it was to do those things.
George:
Yeah, at this point, how much of your thought process is on the hernia right now compared to like before? Would you say like it’s much better or are you still dealing with a lot of kind of that all the time all day long in the back of your head?
Logan Grant Smith:
I don’t know. I’d say it’s maybe 20% of my thought process. Sometimes I’ll get up in the morning or just be busy with something and not even think about it. And then I’ll think about it and I’m like, wow, it’s in. Like it’s not even bothering me.
George:
Right.
Logan Grant Smith:
But like early on, I actually would have nightmares. Like it was tormenting my mind that much.
George:
It does.
Logan Grant Smith:
It was wild. And I would just have these dreams where like my guts are popping out and stuff like that. It was crazy.
George:
Yeah, I know it really does. That’s what it was with me too. It was like 100% of my brain power was focused on this stupid lump. Like, how do I get rid of this stupid lump? I couldn’t stand it.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
That’s good. If it’s down from that to thinking about it 20%, it’s good progress especially because it was in your scrotum. That’s it. To me, I always thought in my head like, “If it goes into my scrotum, I’m probably just going to go get surgery.” That would be like the point where I would just be like, I’m done. So for it to go in your scrotum, and then now not being your scrotum and be where you’re only thinking about it 20% of the time, that’s pretty awesome, man.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, it’s definitely miraculous.
George:
Do you see yourself being able to heal 100% or do you see yourself just kind of going through and managing it the way that it is now?
Logan Grant Smith:
My goal is to heal it 100%. But I, 100%, believe that can heal all the way. But I don’t know that everybody can heal, 100%.
George:
Yeah.
Logan Grant Smith:
So I guess where I’m at is, I’m not sure if my personal hernia is something that’s going to be able to heal all the way or if it’s just something that’s going to be able to get better, but I’ll just kind of maintain. But I’m trying to get to the complete healing. Yeah, it’s so manageable. And I feel pretty comfortable doing almost anything with it. Even when I’m not wearing hernia belt, I feel like the area around it is strengthened enough to wear like a blow out basically is not really part of the equation anymore or is not really like a concern anymore.
Logan Grant Smith:
So I think probably something that would cause me to get surgery would be more so like a job option or something like that. Not that I would just do that for anything. But it’s like, if there was something like really big that I was like, I feel like I need to do this, and maybe they did not pass me for the physical or something like that because I had a hernia. And it’s like, maybe that’s when I would get the surgery. But if I did get the surgery, I would definitely not get Mesh. Yeah, I would probably get the… I’m trying to remember what the method’s called. But basically, where they use your own flesh and they kind of weave it back together.
George:
Yeah, as in the Desarda or the Shouldice technique.
Logan Grant Smith:
Okay. Yeah.
George:
I’ve actually talked to a couple of guys that have gotten that through over the years that were trying to do it naturally. And just kind of hit that point where they said, I’m done, and got the Shouldice technique and had really good results with it. From what I know, it’s funny, because I’ll talk to a lot of people while they’re trying to heal their hernia naturally and if they do give up and they get the surgery, it’s almost like they don’t want to talk to me anymore because they feel like they’ve let me down, I think.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
What I’m doing is right for me, but whatever. Everybody’s got to do their thing. You know what I mean? I don’t care who gets surgery or who doesn’t.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
It seems kind of weird. Like I’ve actually reached out to them to just say, Hey, let me know how it went so I could tell people about this and how it works out and whatever, and people just don’t want to get back to me after they get the surgery. It’s kind of weird.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, I know what you mean because it’s like, when I would tell friends or like people that I would meet who have hernias, it’s like, I’ll be telling them, what I’m doing and what’s been working and what hasn’t, and stuff like that. And they’re like, “I’ll probably just get the surgery.” I’m like, “I’m not really going to argue with you because it’s really hard to do this.” Like it probably sounds weird. But like for me, it’s also like kind of a faith based thing. Because I’m a Christian, and not that that has anything to do with like healing stuff naturally, but it’s like I kind of feel like it’s something that God wants me to do. Because I believe God created us all and I don’t think he created us to… I think he created our bodies to heal. And so I think that he wants me to do that to kind of show that’s how he created us.
George:
Right. Adversity is good for some people. Everybody needs adversity, because that’s how we learn and grow, through adversity.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I think it all just depends on what you’re willing to put up with and how much adversity you can handle. I’m glad we did this. It’s been nice talking to you. And hopefully, people get some good info out of it.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
I just think that the more information that we could put out about it for people to find at the right time where they are in their journey, they might just pick up on one thing that we said that makes a light bulb go off. And that makes it all worth it to me. So, I’m glad we could do this.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah.
George:
Well, let everybody know where they can find you, like your YouTube channel, and whatever other social profiles you want to put out there, so people can hit you up. And I’ll also put a link in the description underneath the video so they can get to you easy.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, I’ll just say, real quick, I really appreciate you having me on and reaching out because it’s really like a dream come true to do this. Because when I was early on, your channel was kind of what, I guess, inspired me to even try. And just like people are telling me now, if nothing else, my videos help them not feel alone. And I would just like getting really discouraged, then you put a new video out and I’m like, all right. I can keep trying. And so it’s been really good to finally talk to you.
George:
Yeah, that’s awesome.
Logan Grant Smith:
Yeah, so I’m on Instagram and YouTube. I’m not very active on my Instagram Grant account, which is GrantMeTopics And my YouTube channel is also GrantMeTopics. So if y’all want to contact me or anything like that, YouTube would be the better route because I check that almost every day. Yeah.
George:
Cool. Sounds good, man. Well, I appreciate it and am glad I could be there for you and hopefully, that you can find some other people in the same spot that you were in when you found me and have the same effect on them.
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