Original CommunicationLaparoscopic surgery for chronic groin pain in athletes is more effective than nonoperative treatment: A randomized clinical trial with magnetic resonance imaging of 60 patients with sportsman’s hernia (athletic pubalgia)
Section snippets
Patients and methods
This study was conducted between January 2007 and December 2009 in 3 hospitals. Most patient participants included athletes at an elite level in national leagues or nonprofessionals who participated regularly in heavy training. Specifically, the 60 study participants included 31 national-level soccer players, 10 runners, 5 ice hockey players, 5 cross-country skiers, and 9 individuals who engaged in various sport activities. The athletes were referred to this trial from sports clinics and
Results
Patient characteristics and the mean pain scores were similar in the operative and conservative groups (Table I). Pain scores were much greater during exercise than at rest in both groups. No patients were lost during 12 months of follow-up (Fig 1). All athletes had obscure chronic groin pain rostral to the inguinal ligament with a clinical diagnosis of sportsman’s hernia. The area of pain was either near the pubic insertion of inguinal ligament, nonspecifically in the lower abdominal wall, or
Discussion
The results of this controlled clinical trial demonstrate clearly that an endoscopic, preperitoneal hernioplasty was more effective than nonoperative treatment for sportsman’s hernia with groin pain in athletes. Operative treatment allowed excellent immediate and long-term relief of pain with low morbidity and fast recovery to full sports activity. To our knowledge, there have been only 2 previous, randomized treatment trials of chronic groin pain in athletes published in the literature. The
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Successful treatment for sports hernia by total extraperitoneal repair with intraperitoneal examination: Report a case
2022, Annals of Medicine and SurgeryHigh Return to Play Rate and Reduced Career Longevity Following Surgical Management of Athletic Pubalgia in National Basketball Association Players
2021, Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and RehabilitationA Systematic Review Shows High Variation in Terminology, Surgical Techniques, Preoperative Diagnostic Measures, and Geographic Differences in the Treatment of Athletic Pubalgia/Sports Hernia/Core Muscle Injury/Inguinal Disruption
2021, Arthroscopy - Journal of Arthroscopic and Related SurgeryCitation Excerpt :There was no need for funding or a third party to obtain any of the collected data. Risk of bias was assessed according to The Cochrane Collaboration’s risk-of-bias tool22 for 2 randomized studies,23,24 which incorporates an assessment of randomization, blinding, completeness of outcome data, selection of outcomes reported, and other sources of bias. The Modified Coleman Methodology Score (MCMS)25 was used to evaluate study methodologic quality.
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