Management of groin hernias detected by ultrasound: a comprehensive study.

Intra-articular and extra-articular causes of hip and/or groin pain often coexist making diagnosis of a specific primary source of hip and/or groin pain difficult. In recent years clinical entities have been defined for the most common extra-articular causes of groin pain. Although extra-articular sources of groin pain may not be the primary cause of pain in many patients with suspected intra-articular hip joint pathology, there is emerging evidence to suggest that successful management of patients with intra-articular causes of hip and/or groin pain requires concomitant treatment of potential clinical groin entities. This chapter provides a clinical guide to systematically examine clinical groin entities including other potential causes of extra-articular hip and/or groin pain, such as sacroiliac pain and referred pain from the low back.

To examine the prevalence of different causes of groin pain in athletes using the recent Doha consensus classification of terminology and definitions of groin pain in athletes. Descriptive epidemiological study. Multidisciplinary sports groin pain clinic at Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar. The clinical records of 100 consecutive athletes with complaints of groin pain who attended the multidisciplinary sports groin pain clinic between January and December 2014 were analyzed. The causes of groin pain were categorized according to terminology and definitions agreed upon at the Doha consensus meeting on groin pain classification in athletes. The classification system has 3 main subheadings; defined clinical entities for groin pain (adductor-related, iliopsoas-related, inguinal-related, and pubic-related groin pain), hip-related groin pain, and other causes of groin pain in athletes. The majority of athletes were male (98%) soccer players (60%). Multiple causes for groin pain were found in 44% of the athletes. Adductor-related groin pain was the most prevalent defined clinical entity (61% of athletes), and pubic-related groin pain was the least prevalent (4% of athletes). Adductor-related groin pain is the most commonly occurring clinical entity in this athlete population in mainly kicking and change of direction sports and frequently, multiple causes are found. This is the first study to use the Doha agreement classification system and highlights the prevalence of adductor-related groin pain and that often multiple clinical entities contribute to an athlete's groin pain. Consequently, prevention programs should be implemented with these factors in mind.

Editorial Commentary: The Cause of Groin Pain Is Difficult to Determine: The Elusive “Nether-Nether Region”

The Doha agreement classification is used to classify groin pain in athletes. We evaluated the inter‐examiner reliability of this classification system. We prospectively recruited 48 male athletes (66 symptomatic sides) with groin pain between 10–2017 and 03–2020 at a sports medicine hospital in Qatar. Two examiners (23 and 10 years of clinical experience) performed history taking, and a standardized clinical examination blinded to each other's findings. Examiners classified groin pain using the Doha agreement terminology (adductor‐, inguinal‐, iliopsoas‐, pubic‐, hip‐related groin pain, or other causes of groin pain). Multiple entities were ranked in order of perceived clinical importance. Each side was classified separately for bilateral groin pain. Inter‐examiner reliability was calculated using Cohen's Kappa statistic (κ). Inter‐examiner reliability was slight to moderate for adductor‐ (κ = 0.40), inguinal‐ (κ = 0.44), iliopsoas‐ (κ = 0.57), and pubic‐related groin pain (κ = 0.12), substantial for hip‐related groin pain (κ = 0.62), and slight for “other causes of groin pain” (κ = 0.13). Ranking entities in order of perceived clinical importance improved inter‐examiner reliability for adductor‐, inguinal‐, and iliopsoas‐related groin pain (κ = 0.52–0.65), but not for pubic (κ = 0.12), hip (κ = 0.51), and “other causes of groin pain” (κ = 0.03). For participants with unilateral groin pain classified with a single entity (n = 7), there was 100% agreement between the two examiners. Inter‐examiner reliability of the Doha agreement meeting classification system varied from slight to substantial, depending on the clinical entity. Agreement between examiners was perfect when athletes were classified with a single clinical entity of groin pain, but lower when athletes were classified with multiple clinical entities.

Groin pain is a common complaint amongst sportsmen and women accounting for nearly 10% of all sports related injuries.This article focuses on non-bony causes of groin pain in sportsmen, particularly upon the condition commonly known as 'sportsman's hernia' or 'sportsman's groin'.It also highlights a new concept for the cause of groin pain in that the authors consider that many elite athletes with groin pain have pain arising from their inguinal ligament attachment.A new procedure known as the Lloyd Release Procedure has been specifically developed to treat this cause of groin pain.By performing a laparoscopic release of the inguinal ligament and reinforcing the groin with a mesh also placed laparoscopically, nearly all athletes are rendered pain free and most players can resume their activities within weeks.In a prospective study on over 140 elite athletes undergoing the Lloyd Release Procedure more than 90% of sportsmen returned to their normal sporting activities within four weeks of surgery.

Pubic apophysitis in elite Australian Rules football players: MRI findings and the utility of VIBE sequences in evaluating athletes with groin pain

Aim There is a discrepancy between the high frequency of chronic post-operative pain reported in questionnaire-based studies after groin hernia surgery and the clinical experience of many surgeons in which it is infrequent that patients return after surgery because of chronic post-operative pain. This is supported by the Swedish Hernia Registry, where the proportion of patients who are re-operated for chronic post-operative pain is 0.02-0.03% for open methods and less than 0,01% for laparo-endoscopic methods. The aim of this study is to find the incidence of non-surgical causes of chronic groin pain and other patient-reported outcomes after inguinal hernia surgery. Material and Methods Prospective cohort observation study of patients evaluated for suspected inguinal hernia-related symptoms at a hernia clinic in Sweden during 1 year. Patients completed validated pain forms before surgery and 6 and 12 months after surgery. Patients were assessed preoperatively about the possible causes of groin pain according to a checklist. For this purpose, a questionnaire of inguinal hernia-related symptoms was used. Patients with moderate or severe chronic groin pain after surgery were offered to participate in a clinical examination where the pain was evaluated for probable cause according to a checklist. Results 574 patients were included in the study, of which 372 were operated on and answered the post-operative questionnaires. Preliminary results on surgical and non-surgical causes of chronic groin pain after hernioplasty and other patient-reported outcomes will be presented at Hernia 2021 EHS-AHS Joint Congress. Conclusions Proportion of patients with chronic groin pain related to groin hernia surgery and other non-surgical pathologies will be reported.

Background:Two of the most common causes of groin pain in athletes are femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and athletic pubalgia. An association between the 2 is apparent, but the prevalence of radiographic signs of FAI in patients undergoing athletic pubalgia surgery remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of radiologic signs of FAI in patients with athletic pubalgia.Hypothesis:We hypothesized that patients with athletic pubalgia would have a high prevalence of underlying FAI.Study Design:Case series.Level of Evidence:Level 4.Methods:A retrospective review of all patients evaluated at our institution with athletic pubalgia who underwent surgical treatment (ie, for sports hernia) from 1999 to 2011 was performed. The radiographs of patients with athletic pubalgia were reviewed for radiographic signs of FAI. Alpha angles were measured using frog-leg lateral radiographs. Pincer lesions were identified by measuring the lateral center-edge angle and identifying the presence of a “crossover” sign on anteroposterior radiographs. Phone follow-up was performed 2 years or more after the initial sports hernia surgery to evaluate recurrent symptoms.Results:Forty-three patients underwent 56 athletic pubalgia surgeries. Radiographic evidence of FAI was identified in at least 1 hip in 37 of 43 patients (86%). Cam lesions were identified in 83.7% of the population; the alpha angle averaged 66.7° ± 17.9° for all hips. Pincer lesions were present in 28% of the hips. Eight patients had recurrent groin pain, 3 patients had revision athletic pubalgia surgery, and 1 had hip arthroscopy.Conclusion:The study demonstrates a high prevalence of radiographic FAI in patients with athletic pubalgia.Clinical Relevance:Underlying FAI may be a cause of continued groin pain after athletic pubalgia surgery. Patients with athletic pubalgia should be evaluated closely for FAI.

An estimated 700,000 groin hernia repairs are performed in the United States each year. Studies have shown that up to 50% of patients who undergo groin hernia repair are affected by persistent pain beyond the first few days after surgery. At 2 to 5 years after either open or laparoscopic, mesh or without mesh, 10% to 12% of these patients will have persistent and disabling pain. If the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastric, or genitofemoral nerves are injured below the transversalis muscle layer, the traditional external, open approach to nerve resection will not help these patients. The traditional internal, laparoscopic, approach to the retroperitoneum can be used for nerve resection, but identification of the correct nerve is difficult. Therefore, we have developed a 2-team, dual approach, combining open and endoscopic approaches to solve this problem. A retrospective review of the electronic medical records was performed to identify all patients who underwent a dual approach for groin denervation after persistent postherniorraphy pain. This dual approach included an external incision paired with a laparoscopic, retroperitoneal approach to identify and/or transect the ilioinguinal, iliohypogastic, lateral femoral cutaneous, and genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve. Inclusion criteria are persistent groin pain with alleviation after preoperative nerve block and either a failed attempt at an external approach groin denervation or pain after a primary laparotomy/laparoscopy procedure. Thirteen patients met the inclusion criteria. All patients underwent a dual approach, and nerves were identified and confirmed in both the external groin and laparoscopic approaches. When placed on a scale from excellent/good to fair/poor relief of pain, 10 patients (77%) described excellent/good relief and 3 (23%) continued to have persistent pain. A combined open surgical procedure, to identify the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, and a laparoscopic procedure in the retroperitoneum have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach to identify correctly the nerve to be resected to relieve disabling groin pain.

Iliopsoas Tendonitis Following Total Hip Arthroplasty: How effective are selective steroid injections in treating this uncommon cause of groin pain?

Groin and hip pain due to fractures at or near the pubic symphysis.

Persistent pain is a known side effect after TEP inguinal repair disabling 2-5% of patients. A standardized diagnostic work-up so far is not available. MRI is a diagnostic tool in the work-up of inguinal hernias. In the present study the yield of MRI in evaluating chronic pain after TEP hernia repair is addressed. In our database patients receiving an MRI scan for groin pain lasting more than 3 months after TEP inguinal hernia repair were identified. A checklist with potential pathologic findings was filled out for each groin by two blinded observers. Findings in painful, pain-free and unoperated groins were compared and statistical analysis done based upon their relative incidences. Cohen's kappa coefficients were calculated to determine interobserver agreement. Imaging studies of 53 patients revealed information regarding 106 groins. Fifty-five groins were painful after the initial operation, 12 were pain-free postoperatively and 39 groins were not operated. None of the predefined disorders was observed statistically more often in the patients with painful groins. Only fibrosis appeared more prevalent in patients with chronic pain (P = 0.11). Interobserver agreement was excellent for identifying the mesh (κ = 0.88) and observing bulging or a hernia (κ = 0.74) and was substantial for detecting fibrosis (κ = 0.63). In 40% of the patients, MRI showed a correct mesh position and observed nothing else than minor fibrosis. A wait and see policy resolved complaints in the majority of the patients. In 15 % of the patients, MRI revealed treatable findings explanatory for persisting groin pain. For patients with post-TEP hernia groin pain, MRI is useful to confirm a correct flat mesh position and to identify possible not operation-related causes of groin pain. It is of little help to identify a specific cause of groin repair-related pain.

Athletic groin pain requiring surgery remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. This systematic review aims to identify the most common causes of groin pain in athletes requiring surgery. Additionally, it aims to further characterise their susceptible athlete profiles, common physical examination and imaging techniques, and surgical procedures performed. This will enable the orthopaedic sports medicine clinician/surgeon to best treat these patients. The electronic databases MEDLINE, PubMed and EMBASE were searched from database inception to 13 August 2014 for studies in the English language that addressed athletic groin pain necessitating surgery. The search was updated on 4 August 2015 to find any articles published after the original search. The studies were systematically screened and data were abstracted in duplicate, with descriptive data presented. A total of 73 articles were included within our study, with data from 4655 patients abstracted. Overall, intra-articular and extra-articular causes of groin pain in athletes requiring surgery were equal. The top five causes for pain were: femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) (32%), athletic pubalgia (24%), adductor-related pathology (12%), inguinal pathology (10%) and labral pathology (5%), with 35% of this labral pathology specifically attributed to FAI. Given the complex anatomy, equal intra-articular and extra-articular contribution, and potential for overlap of clinical entities causing groin pain leading to surgery in athletes, further studies are required to ascertain the finer details regarding specific exam manoeuvres, imaging views and surgical outcomes to best treat this patient population.

BackgroundHeterogeneous taxonomy of groin injuries in athletes adds confusion to this complicated area.AimThe ‘Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes’ was convened to attempt to...

Recurrent Hematomas Within the Iliopsoas Muscle Caused by Impingement After Total Hip Arthroplasty