Management and Therapy for Sports Hernia

摘要

The etiology and management of groin pain in athletes have evolved gradually over the last 40 years. Initially, in 1966, Cabot1 reported 202 cases (0.5%) of groin pain in 42,000 Spanish soccer players over a 30-year period. Since then, recent studies have reflected an increased prevalence of groin pain in athletes, ranging from 5% to 28%.2'3 The majority of these athletes participate in soccer and ice hockey.4-5 For both the patient and physician, groin pain is a diagnostic and management challenge. This dilemma is secondary to the extensive differential diagnosis associated with groin pain, including osteitis pubis, stress fractures, avulsion fractures, hernias, entrapment neuropathy, and referred pain from the spine and sacroiliac joints.The most common cause of groin pain in athletes is chronic inflammation associated with the adductor muscles and tendons.6 But many of the previously mentioned diagnoses have overlapping signs and symptoms that prohibit a definitive diagnosis and complicate the management of groin pain.