Hip and Groin Injuries in Athletes

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Hip and Groin Injuries in Athletes

By Brian Dunleavy

Whether you are a serious athlete or a weekend warrior, hip and groin injuries are common among sports enthusiasts, particularly as they age.

In a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, an international team of researchers from Europe and Australia sought to gain increased understanding of the functional and performance differences between athletes with these injuries and those without, with the ultimate goal of developing new prevention and treatment approaches.

The authors reviewed more than 2,000 published studies on hip and groin injuries in sports and focused on eight trials that enrolled more than 200 athletes. The pooled data from these studies revealed that athletes with hip/groin pain reported pain and demonstrated lower strength on the adductor squeeze test (which measures the strength of the muscles of the hip and thigh) and reduced range of motion in hip internal rotation (when the femur rotates within the hip joint) and bent knee fall out (an exercise that gauges hip flexibility). In addition, they found strong evidence that lower patient-reported outcome scores, altered trunk muscle function and moderate evidence of bone bruising in athletes were associated with hip/groin pain.

Although this study does not necessarily yield any new information, it does add to the existing knowledge of the effects of hip and groin pain in athletes and identify possible markers for injuries that can assist physicians in diagnosis and treatment.

“Which Factors Differentiate Athletes with Hip/Groin Pain from Those Without? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.” British Journal of Sports Medicine 49, no. 12 (June 2015): 810.

Last Reviewed 12/07/15

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Brian Dunleavy is a medical writer and editor based in New York City.

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