Erasmus+
“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein”
Groin injuries in soccer – Prevention Strategies
Upon completion of this module the reader will be able to:
- Understand basic anatomy of the groin area.
- Understand groin pain epidemiology in soccer
- Understand the mechanisms for the groin in soccer
- Determine common risk factors that can lead to groin pain.
- Incorporate exercises to prevent groin pain
Review the «Anatomy and Functional of the groin area» topic and the «Injury prevention strategies» topic first. Read the description of “The groin injuries in soccer – Prevention strategies” and the corresponding presentation and then follow the proposed videos for some ideas of “Hip groin injury prevention exercises”. End the session with the “Bibliography and the additional learning materials” and assess your understanding with the “groin injuries in soccer” quiz.
Τhe proposed preventive strategies for groin area injuries include four phases and they propose specific preventive exercises :
Phase I : Muscular conditioning to restore dysfunctional movement patterns that can impede performance
1a. Inhibition: Inhibit through foam rolling the over-activate muscles: adductors, illiopsoas & hamstrings.
1b.Muscle lengthen: Specific lengthening exercises with static or neuromuscular stretches for adductors, illiopsoas & hamstrings.
Phase II: Muscular performance: Modifying strength and conditioning movements
Specific activation exercises through strengthening exercises or positional stabilization exercises for the gluteus, adductors, illiopsoas, quads & hamstrings. Core strength.
Phase III: Functional exercise: Building efficient movement patterns
Starting with proper athletic position, always warm up before playing, perform different Squats and walking Lunges. Do balance, agility-changing direction and jumping and landing exercises.
Groin injuries in soccer – Prevention Strategies
Injury epidemiology
Sports-related groin pain is a common clinical entity, accounting for 12–16 % of soccer injuries. It is particularly prevalent in soccer involving rotation and cutting movements. It is often associated with prolonged time away from sport and therefore it is considered a significant problem in professional sport.
Mechanisms of injury
There are numerous causes of pain in the groin area, many of which, are not originate from the musculoskeletal system. Even when examining the groin muscle-related injuries, groin pain can be created from various muscles. In the traditional view, the common adductor–rectus abdominis origin forms a critical anatomic and biomechanical axis, acting as dynamic stabilizers of the pubic symphysis. Any disorder of either the common adductor–rectus abdominis origin or the pubic symphysis, as may occur with athletes exposed to repetitive microtrauma, predisposes the other to failure. Typically, the adductor longus fails first, resulting in an overwhelmingly increased load on the smaller rectus abdominis tendon. This mechanism may originate from injury of various muscles, often distinguished as “adductor-related”, “iliopsoas-related”, “inguinal-related” (“sports hernia”) and pubic-related groin pain. Further, groin pain can also be caused by morphological abnormalities of the hip, labral tears and chondral injuries (often described as “hip-related”).
Groin injuries in soccer prevention exercises based on previous phases:
Phase I : Muscular conditioning to restore dysfunctional movement patterns that can impede performance
Phase ΙI : Muscular performance – Modifying strength and conditioning movements patterns.
Phase III: Functional exercise :Building efficient movement patterns
Bibliography and the additional learning materials
- First try to increase your hip and abdominal muscle flexibility using stretches
- Stretch the hip adductors, the iliopsoas and the rotators of the hip
- Perform daily core muscle training
- Improve mobility of the hip and the pelvis
- Strengthen all your muscles through a full range of motion
- G Koulouris. Imaging Review of Groin Pain in Elite Athletes: An Anatomic Approach to Imaging Findings. AJR 2008; 191:962–972
- Serner A, van Eijck CH, Beumer BR, et al. Study quality on groin injury management remains low: a systematic review on treatment of groin pain in athletes. Br J Sports Med 2015;49:813.
- Verrall GM, Slavotinek JP, Fon GT. Incidence of pubic bone marrow oedema in Australian rules football players: relation to groin pain. Br J Sports Med 2001;35:28–33.
- Waldén M, Hägglund M, Ekstrand J. The epidemiology of groin injury in senior football: a systematic review of prospective studies. Br J Sports Med 2015;49:792–7.
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Erasmus+
“This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
