The concept of sports hernia is far beyond the real hernia. When there is a disruption or tearing in the groin’s tendons and muscles of athletes, it is known as Sports hernia or Gilmore’s Groin or Sportsman’s Hernia. The injury may be any of these types:
Conjoined tendon tear
Oblique aponeurosis external tear
When conjoined tendon gets separated from the tender pubic tubercle
When conjoined tendon gets separated from inguinal ligament
Several patients have concomitant tear or injury to adductor muscle
Who are affected by Sports Hernia?
It is commonly seen among athletes who are playing for those kinds of sports that involve twisting movements or excessive strain in the groin. Football is one such sport where you can notice both these symptoms. Even the players who are into ice hockey also face this problem as running is too frequent in it. Men face this more while compared to females.
Symptoms to be Observed for Sports Hernia
It is tough to look for accurate symptoms but commonly there are certain features that could be observed. They are:
Pain arrives after 10-20 minutes when you get into any activity
You feel pain in the groin after physical activities like sprinting, turning, running and twisting.
Exercise leads to soreness and stiffness which lasts for more than 24 hours.
Apart from exercise whenever you get out from a car or bed it is causing discomfort and pain.
The normal cold symptoms like sneezing, coughing etc may lead to pain in the delicate part-groin too!
The symptoms of sports hernia never occur at a slow rate. Slowly the feeling of this pain and discomfort develops among the athletes.
How to Diagnose the Condition?
A diagnosis could be only concluded when the entire medical history or the present medical examination reports are examined by the doctor. Diagnoses is a complex process and an athlete undergoes continual pain for months, sometimes even years. The consulting doctor may find inguinal tenderness in patient but often tissue bulge is not seen.
During the diagnose process the doctor may ask the patient to perform certain exercises to learn the intensity of the pain.
Pelvis scan or X-ray may be asked to perform so that the patient could get the clear picture excluding the issues related to pubic bone inflammation or hip.
Treatment for Sports Hernia
If a patient is still practicing vigorous exercise then the situation may turn worse. Physiotherapy is the first treatment provided to such patients as it provides strength to the pelvis and groin muscles. Simply keeping the groin muscles on rest for few months could help to a great extent.
If such treatment may not function than surgery is suggested for groin strengthening. Specialized investigation is performed before operation so that the other possible causes for groin pain could be excluded.
Surgery may become a compulsion for energizing and strengthening the inguinal wall. The athletes who are too competitive may prefer to opt for surgery immediately as they do not like the idea of living with this problem for long.
Successful Surgery Results:
Every patient and doctor wishes for a successful surgery and it is only possible if the diagnosis is accurate and the repair is meticulous. In the case of sports hernia also the surgeon opts for the same. It is also advised to the patient to have adherence towards rehabilitation program before surgery. It controls pelvic muscles’ abrupt turnings and twisting movements. It also develops strength, stability and flexibility in pelvic muscles gradually. According to the graph, these surgeries have high success rates. Within a month or half the patient come back to his normal life after undergoing this surgery.