It has become a challenge for a lot of athletes and physicians when it comes to making diagnosis of groin pain experienced by athletes. Before, most of the groin pain experienced by athletes were diagnosed to be only muscle strains. As time has passed, research was then made on the real source of groin pain and it shows that different conditions on muscle injuries, cartilage damage, nerve issues and urologic conditions show the same symptoms. One of the hardest issues to diagnose is the thing that’s called sports hernia.
Sports hernia actually occurs if you feel that the tendons or muscles of the lower abdominal wall is present. This is the part of the abdomen that’s on the same region to where the inguinal hernia occurs and this is known as the inguinal canal. If ever there’s an inguinal hernia, a weakening on the abdominal wall will allow the hernia to be felt. On sports hernia, the problem would be on the weakening of the same abdominal wall muscles, but the hernia will not be visible.
Its Symptoms
Sports hernia usually starts with a slow aching pain that you will feel in the lower abdominal region. The symptoms could worsen through certain activities like running or simply bending forward. It could also lead to the experience of increased symptoms when coughing or sneezing. A sports hernia is usually common in athletes who need to maintain a bent forward position. This however may still be experienced by other athletes such as football players.
Its Diagnosis
Sports hernia diagnosis could actually be determined according to the patient’s history, the diagnostic tests made and also on the physical examinations implemented. Before, the use of MRI tests are implemented to look for any signs of sports hernia. Research shows that MRI is able to show some characteristic findings. Because of this, MRI is used to aid in confirming diagnosis.
Its Treatment
There are actually few treatments that show to be truly effective on sports hernia than just surgery. Due to this, the initial treatment when it comes to sports hernia had been conservative for the hopes that the symptoms are going to resolve. The strengthening of the pelvic and the abdominal musculature shows to be also effective sometimes for relieving symptoms.
If ever such measures are not able to relieve the symptoms of sports hernia, surgery is being recommended to help repair the weakened area of the abdominal wall. Studies actually show that there are about 50% more athletes who could return to the activities after undergoing sports hernia surgery. The rehabilitation from surgery of sports hernia mostly takes about eight weeks.
