Cam morphology and inguinal pathologies: is there a possible connection?

G N Bisciotti,Z Vuckovic,R Zini,G Cassaghi,F Di Marzo,P Volpi,F Parra,A Corsini,M Petrera,M Panascì,A Auci

doi:10.1007/s10195-017-0470-y

Abstract

BackgroundTo analyse the prevalences of the cam and pincer morphologies in a cohort of patients with groin pain syndrome caused by inguinal pathologies.Materials and methodsForty-four patients (40 men and 4 women) who suffered from groin pain syndrome were enrolled in the study. All the patients were radiographically and clinically evaluated following a standardised protocol established by the First Groin Pain Syndrome Italian Consensus Conference on Terminology, Clinical Evaluation and Imaging Assessment in Groin Pain in Athlete. Subsequently, all of the subjects underwent a laparoscopic repair of the posterior inguinal wall.ResultsThe study demonstrated an association between the cam morphology and inguinal pathologies in 88.6% of the cases (39 subjects). This relationship may be explained by noting that the cam morphology leads to biomechanical stress at the posterior inguinal wall level.ConclusionsAthletic subjects who present the cam morphology may be considered a population at risk of developing inguinal pathologies.Level of evidenceLevel IV, Observational cross-sectional study.

Highlights

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition characterised by the presence of abnormal contact between the articular rim of the acetabulum and the proximal femur at the level of the femoral head-neck junction [1, 2]
Background To analyse the prevalences of the cam and pincer morphologies in a cohort of patients with groin pain syndrome caused by inguinal pathologies
The study demonstrated an association between the cam morphology and inguinal pathologies in 88.6% of the cases (39 subjects)

Summary

Introduction

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition characterised by the presence of abnormal contact between the articular rim of the acetabulum and the proximal femur at the level of the femoral head-neck junction [1, 2]. FAI was first described by Smith-Petersen in the 1930s [3,4,5] It was subsequently described in a more specific and detailed manner by Ganz in 1991 [6]. FAI presents in two main forms: the pincer and cam morphologies. The pincer morphology is characterised by over-coverage of the femoral head by the acetabulum, which leads to abnormal contact between the femoral neck and acetabular rim [1, 2, 7]. To analyse the prevalences of the cam and pincer morphologies in a cohort of patients with groin pain syndrome caused by inguinal pathologies. All of the subjects underwent a laparoscopic repair of the posterior inguinal wall

Methods

Results

Conclusion