GROIN INJURIES

● Provide baseline information at the start of the season, which can then be used as comparative data if the player should get injured or undergoes routine testing throughout the season ● Demonstrate bilateral differences between hip and lower limb muscle groups. Any significant differences should be con- sidered in relation to the player’s injury record, playing position and dominant leg ● Demonstrate significant hip strength patterns in relation to so-called normative data of the general population. For exam- ple, table 2 demonstrates strength order in relation to the hip joint. The more recent study (13) involving professional soccer players demonstrates the need to be sport- specific when utilising normative data. As the functional aspect of soccer requires a greater percentage of hip flexion in kicking the ball and lateral rotation to control and pass the ball with the instep, the specific strength order reported for soccer players is the ‘norm’ for this occupational group.

2. Flexibility It is often suggested that one of the pre- disposing factors in musculoskeletal pain is the lack of joint flexibility and surrounding

soft tissue structures, particularly in soccer players. At the hip joint, lack of range may lead to excessive stress or strain at the symphysis pubis and lumbo-sacral junc- tion. Hypermobility may also bring identi- cal problems due to lack of active control throughout the available passive range.

A higher incidence of injury has been reported in individuals with a greater degree of lateral rotation than medial rota- tion at the hip joint. Different prophylactic programmes may be necessary for the dif- ferent age, sex and skill groups, which par- ticipate in soccer the world over. To pro- duce these though more adequate methods of research and standard definition of all variables is required.

References (for 1&2 see page 32) 3. Vingard E, Alfredsson L, Goldie I. Sports and osteoarthritis of the hip. An epidemiologic study. American Journal of Sports Medicine 1993;18:694-697 4. Malchya P & Lovell G. Inguinal surgery in ath- letes with chronic groin pain: The ‘sportsman’s’ hernia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery 1992;62:123-125 5. Fevre DJ. Collision Sports: Injury and Repair Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, 1998 6. Hodges PW & Richardson CA. Inefficient mus-

cular stabilization of the lumbar spine associat- ed with low back pain - a motor control evalua- tion of transversus abdominis. Spine 1996;21:2640-2650 7. Wohlfahrt D, Jull G, Richardson C. The rela- tionship between the dynamic and static func- tion of the abdominal muscles. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 1993;39: 9-13. 8. O’Sullivan P, Twomey L, Allison G et al. Altered patterns of abdominal muscle activation in patients with chronic low back pain. Australian Physiotherapy 1997;43(2):91-98 9. Jull G, Richardson C, Hamilton C et al. Towards the validation of a clinical test for the deep abdominal muscles in back pain patients. Manipulative Physiotherapists Association of Australia, Ninth Biennial Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, 1995 10. Hodson A. Too much Too Soon. Football Association, England, 1994 11. Knapik JJ, Bauman CL, Jones BH et al. Pre- season and strength imbalances associated with athletic injuries in female collegiate athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 1991;19:76-81 12. Cahalan TD, Johnson ME, Liu S, Chao EYS (1989) Quantitative measurements of hip strength in different age groups. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 1989;246:136-145 13. Fevre DJ. The relationship between concen- tric isokinetic muscle strength and the frequen- cy of injury in the lower limb of professional soc- cer players. MSc thesis Manchester Metropolitan University, 1998

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