Abstract
Groin pain is common in athletes. Yet, there is disagreement on aetiology, pathomechanics and terminology. A plethora of terms have been employed to explain inguinal-related groin pain in athletes. Recently, at the British Hernia Society in Manchester 2012, a consensus was reached to use the term inguinal disruption based on the pathophysiology while lately the Doha agreement in 2014 defined it as inguinal-related groin pain, a clinically based taxonomy.This review article emphasizes the anatomy, pathogenesis, standard clinical assessment and imaging, and highlights the treatment options for inguinal disruption.
Highlights
Groin injuries are commonly seen in athletes and account for up to 6% of all athletic injuries [1,2,3]
Significant pain and disability in inguinal region during and after athletic activities have been reported and many terms have been employed for this condition, such as sportsman’s hernia, sports hernia, inguinal hernia, incipient hernia, cryptic hernia, Gilmore’s groin, hockey player’s syndrome, groin pull, sports groin, chronic symphysis syndrome, athletic pubalgia
A consensus has been achieved to rename this entity as inguinal disruption [6] while lately a clinically based taxonomy defines it as inguinal-related groin pain [7]
Summary
Groin injuries are commonly seen in athletes and account for up to 6% of all athletic injuries [1,2,3]. The inguinal canal contains the spermatic cord alongside with the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve (motor function to the cremaster muscle and sensory to the scrotum) and the ilioinguinal nerve (cutaneous nerve, sensory to the groin) in males and the round ligament, the genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve (sensory to the labia) and the ilioinguinal nerve (cutaneous nerve, sensory to the groin) in females. It is an oblique canal, about 4 cm long and has two openings: the internal (deep) and the external (superficial) inguinal ring [8]. The posterior abdominal wall at the inguinal canal is considered weaker in males due to testicular descent from the abdominal cavity to the scrotal cavity during the embryological formation
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