A sports hernia is a tear in the muscles of the groin. This commonly occurs in high level athletes that are involved in twisting or turning activities at full speed, such as soccer, hockey, lacrosse, baseball, track, and basketball and football players. Typically this injury occurs from hyper-extension of the abdomen with hyper-abduction of the thigh. Patients with groin pain that occurs following an athletic activity are evaluated with rest, analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications. If symptoms stay the same or get worse, then additional diagnostic testing is performed.
Doctors will send you to get an MRI to diagnose if you have a sports hernia, and if that is diagnosed then surgery is required. Many findings showed that a sports hernia is becoming more of a common injury in males more than females. It is caused when muscles in the abdominal wall are weakened through overexertion, causing a tear in the groin muscles. Doing more core strength and core stability exercises will strengthen pelvic muscles, which will help players to withstand the large amount of force that this area of the body is subjected to when playing . This will help to reduce the risk of developing a sports hernia.
Surgery is always required. The recovery rate is different from one person to another. Not enough data on preventing yourself from a sports hernia. Sports hernia is a tear in the muscles of the groin usually more common in male athletes. It is an injury that requires surgery and also rehabilitation. Not enough findings on prevention from this injury. Most athletes return to their sports or activity after treatment and rehab from this injury. Athletes impacted by this injury are likely to return to play. A sports hernia will usually cause severe pain in the groin area at the time of the injury.
The pain typically gets better with rest, but comes back when you return to sports activity, especially with twisting movements. A sports hernia does not cause a visible bulge in the groin, like the more common, inguinal hernia does. Over time, a sports hernia may lead to an inguinal hernia, and abdominal organs may press against the weakened soft tissues to form a visible bulge. If symptoms stay the same or get worse, then additional diagnostic testing is performed. Doctors will send you to get an MRI to diagnose if you have a sports hernia, and if that is diagnosed then surgery is required.
After surgery and the healing of your incision you will then start rehab. After getting through rehab you are usually cleared to return back to normal activity after a certain time. The article Sports Hernia in National Hockey players by Jakoi, O’Neill, Damsgaard, Fehring (2012) covers hockey player’s performance before the surgery and their performance after they returned from recovery. This articles finding was players who undergo sports hernia surgeries return to play and often perform similar to their pre surgery level. Players with over 7 full seasons return but with significant decreases in their overall performance levels.
Less veteran players were able to return to play without any statistical decrease in performance and are likely the best candidates for repair once incurring injury (2012). This was important because this researcher is on the likelihood of players returning and the impact the injury may have had on them to decide that factor. Another main article by Kachingwe, Grech (2008) studied six patients and their recovery time and their physical therapy time before returning to play. The article by Rambani (2015) study highlights that the restriction of rotation of the hips can be a pre-disposing factor in the pathogenesis of the sports hernia.
The injury of a sports hernia is still being studied. It is more common in males than in females. Different sports and activities have done studies on patients to figure out recovery time and impact on performance. There is no exact answer on how to prevent getting a sports hernia. Some studies say doing more core strength and core stability exercises will strengthen pelvic muscles, which will help players to withstand the large amount of force that this area of the body is subjected to when playing. The article Sportsmen hernia, what do we know?
By Garvey (2010) explained five signs and symptoms has been described as signs you may have a sports hernia: (1) a complaint of deep groin/ lower abdominal pain, (2) pain that is exacerbated by sport-specific activities and relieved at rest, (3) palpable tenderness over the pubic ramus at insertion of rectus abdominis and/or conjoined tendon, (4) pain with resisted hip adduction, and (5) pain with resisted abdominal curl-up. The sports hernia is a clinical diagnosis, with no gold standard diagnostic test available nonetheless, diagnostic imaging is important for several reasons.
Plain film x-rays, bone scans, computed tomography (CT), diagnostic ultrasound and especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may be necessary to sort out related or associated injuries or pathology. Ultrasound would theoretically be well suited for diagnosis of this condition, but its accuracy is debatable, it is operator dependent, and its use is presently limited. Many studies report that MRI has limited ability to diagnose a sports hernia and is only beneficial to rule out alternative diagnoses, however others have reported that clinical sports hernias almost always exhibit abnormalities on MRI.
The two dominant patterns of injury include lateral rectus abdominis/adductor aponeurotic injury just adjacent to the external inguinal ring and the midline rectus abdominis/adductor aponeurotic plate injury. Although some degree of pubic marrow enhancement is commonly reported, these findings do not predict which patients will benefit from surgery (2010). The role of imaging studies, specific surgical techniques, and preventative and postoperative rehabilitation protocols continue to evolve and will require additional research. A sports hernia occurs when there is a weakening of the muscles or tendons of the lower abdominal wall.
The problem with the abdominal wall in people with a sports hernia is not a muscle strength issue. Rather, the abdominal wall in a particular region is too thin, allowing the hernia to form. The sports hernia does not occur in the area of the large, thick part of the muscle. These are the symptoms to look for if you think you have a sports hernia, complaints of deep groin/ lower abdominal pain, pain that is exacerbated with sport-specific activities and relieved with rest, palpable tenderness over the pubic ramus, pain with resisted hip adduction, and pain with a resisted sit-up.
There are no treatments that have been shown to be effective for sports hernia other than surgery. Rehabilitation from surgery for a sports hernia usually takes about eight weeks. Not enough findings on prevention from this injury but most athletes return to their sports or activity after treatment and rehab from this injury. It is important that physical therapists be able to identify a sports hernia and refer the patient to the appropriate provider, to prevent extended pain and reduction in function.