A sports hernia, also known as athletic pubalgia, occurs when the muscles in the lower abdomen tear or rip causing pain in the lower abdomen and groin areas. Pain from this type of injury usually begins rather slowly at first and increases in intensity as time passes. Sports hernias are more commonly found in men as opposed to women, and often occur with soccer, ice hockey, rugby, field hockey, tennis and track athletes.
Even those who consider themselves to have strong abdominal muscles are subject to sports hernias, as the problem does not lie in the strength of the muscles, but with the individuals' abdominal wall. The abdominal wall in a particular area may be too thin, which allows the hernia to form in that location, as hernias do not generally occur in areas of large, thick muscle. Another possibility is that strong, tight hip flexor muscles actually tilt the pelvis forward, causing the lower abdominal wall muscles to stretch which leads to small tears or rips in the muscle and/or tissue.
Often sports hernias are confused with and misdiagnosed as groin strains. Diagnosis is difficult and is often determined by your health history and a physical examination. Tests may be performed to rule out other causes for the groin pain, but there are no tests that can be used to detect a sports hernia. However, simple methods, such as asking the patient to perform an activity like sit-ups, may be asked to determine if movement increases pain. If the patient's pain intensifies during this activity, the likelihood of a sports hernia increases.
As stated above, pain from a sports hernia generally begins slowly with an ache in the lower abdomen and/or groin region. Other symptoms that may accompany a sports hernia are experiencing pain in only one side of the abdomen or pain which worsens with sudden movements such as kicking, sprinting, coughing or sneezing.
Rest is the number one treatment for sports hernias and is usually partnered with using an ice pack on the injured area 3 to 4 times a day for 20-30 minute periods and anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for symptoms to go away, however, the longer you continue participating in activity the longer it is going to take you to heal.
If the above treatments do not alleviate the symptoms of a sports hernia, surgery may be needed to repair the weakened abdominal wall. Studies have shown that between 65% and 90% of athletes who undergo surgery are able to return to their regular athletic activity after surgery within about six weeks. However, everyone recovers from injury at a different rate and your individual return to activity will be determined by how soon your abdominal muscles recover and not by how many days or weeks it has been since your injury occurred.
Even though men typically suffer from sports hernias more than women, Dr. Albin strongly recommends all athletes, no matter what the sport, practice exercises which increase flexibility and strengthen pelvic muscles regularly so as to avoid sports hernias all together.
