Sports hernia: diagnosis and therapeutic approach.
Groin pain is a common entity in athletes involved in soccer, ice hockey, Australian Rules football, skiing, running, and hurdling. An increasingly recognized cause of groin pain in these athletes is a sports hernia, an occult hernia caused by weakness or tear of the posterior inguinal wall, without a clinically recognizable hernia, that leads to a condition of chronic groin pain. The patient typically presents with an insidious onset of activity-related, unilateral, deep groin pain that abates with rest. Although the physical examination reveals no detectable inguinal hernia, a tender, dilated superficial inguinal ring and tenderness of the posterior wall of the inguinal canal are found. The role of imaging studies in this condition is unclear; most imaging studies will be normal. Unlike most other types of groin pain, sports hernias rarely improve with nonsurgical measures; thus, open or laparoscopic herniorrhaphy should be considered.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
Adam J
AJ
Farber
John H
JH
Wilckens
D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006119:Groin; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome