Longstanding Adduction-related Groin Pain in Athletes

Although participation in sports is considered important by the Dutch government, it does increase the risk for musculoskeletal injury. Every year, about 3,500,000 sports injuries occur in the Netherlands (Schmikli et al., 2004). In this thesis, emphasis is placed on sports-related groin injuries. The incidence of groin injuries is estimated at 5% to 18% of all reported athletic injuries (Morelli & Smith, 2001). However, these data should be interpreted with caution as no universal standards are currently available for the definition or classification of groin injury. In contrast with the knee, the groin does not refer to a well-defined specific anatomic structure. It merely refers to a vaguely described anatomical area of the proximal upper leg, reproductive organs and the lower abdominal region. In the Dutch injury registration system (IPAN) (Schmikli et al., 2004; 2009), the groin region is mentioned as part of the upper-leg/hip region and, therefore, there are no accurate estimations of the different kinds of groin injuries among the Dutch population. Groin injuries are relatively common in the type of sports requiring lots of turning, accelerations and decelerations such as soccer, field hockey and tennis, as well as in sports with high-intensity hip abduction such as speed skating and ice hockey. In the Netherlands, with 930,000 active soccer athletes and 431,000 injuries each year, indoor and outdoor soccer make a large contribution to the total number of groin injuries. It is know that males are more likely to have a groin injury than females (Hägglund et al., 2009), and that 10% to 18% of all injuries in male soccer are attributed to groin injuries (Nielsen and Yde, 1989). In Dutch professional soccer, about 9% of all injuries are groin injuries (Stege et al., 2008). A groin injury is likely to result in long-term play loss (Renstrom & Peterson, 1980). In addition, previous groin injury is known to significantly increase the risk for recurrences (Maffey & Emery, 2007).

• View at Worldcat

Free Full Text ( Final Version , 2mb )