TY - JOUR

T1 - Past-season, pre-season and in-season risk assessment of groin problems in male football players

T2 - A prospective full-season study

AU - Esteve, Ernest

AU - Casals, Marti

AU - Saez, Marc

AU - Rathleff, Michael Skovdal

AU - Clausen, Mikkel Bek

AU - Vicens-Bordas, Jordi

AU - Hölmich, Per

AU - Pizzari, Tania

AU - Thorborg, Kristian

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Objective: We assessed past-season, pre-season and in-season risk factors to investigate their association with an in-season groin problem in male amateur football players. Methods: Past-season groin-pain information and pre-season short-lever and long-lever adductor squeeze strength were obtained at baseline, together with anthropometrics (weight, lower limb lever length) and player age. In-season hip-related and groin-related sporting function was monitored every 4 weeks using the Sports and Recreation (Sport) subscale from the Hip And Groin Outcome Score questionnaire (HAGOS (Sport)). Groin problems, including time-loss groin injuries and groin pain irrespective of time loss, were collected over a 39-week competitive in-season. We estimated relative risk (RR), and 95% credibility interval (ICr) from logistic regressions fitted in a Bayesian framework. Results: Players (n=245) suffering from groin pain during the past-season had 2.4 times higher risk of experiencing a groin problem in the new season (2.40 RR; 95% ICr 1.5 to 3.7). This risk was reduced by 35% (0.65 RR; 95% ICr 0.42 to 0.99) per unit (N·m/kg) increase in the long-lever adductor squeeze test. Player age, short-lever squeeze test and the HAGOS (Sport) scores were not associated with the risk of a groin problem. Conclusions: Past-season groin pain increased the risk of a groin problem in the new in-season. This risk was reduced by higher pre-season long-lever adductor squeeze strength. Past-season groin-pain information and long-lever adductor squeeze strength can be quickly obtained during pre-season to identify players with an elevated risk of in-season groin problems. This may be key to reduce these problems in the new season.

AB - Objective: We assessed past-season, pre-season and in-season risk factors to investigate their association with an in-season groin problem in male amateur football players. Methods: Past-season groin-pain information and pre-season short-lever and long-lever adductor squeeze strength were obtained at baseline, together with anthropometrics (weight, lower limb lever length) and player age. In-season hip-related and groin-related sporting function was monitored every 4 weeks using the Sports and Recreation (Sport) subscale from the Hip And Groin Outcome Score questionnaire (HAGOS (Sport)). Groin problems, including time-loss groin injuries and groin pain irrespective of time loss, were collected over a 39-week competitive in-season. We estimated relative risk (RR), and 95% credibility interval (ICr) from logistic regressions fitted in a Bayesian framework. Results: Players (n=245) suffering from groin pain during the past-season had 2.4 times higher risk of experiencing a groin problem in the new season (2.40 RR; 95% ICr 1.5 to 3.7). This risk was reduced by 35% (0.65 RR; 95% ICr 0.42 to 0.99) per unit (N·m/kg) increase in the long-lever adductor squeeze test. Player age, short-lever squeeze test and the HAGOS (Sport) scores were not associated with the risk of a groin problem. Conclusions: Past-season groin pain increased the risk of a groin problem in the new in-season. This risk was reduced by higher pre-season long-lever adductor squeeze strength. Past-season groin-pain information and long-lever adductor squeeze strength can be quickly obtained during pre-season to identify players with an elevated risk of in-season groin problems. This may be key to reduce these problems in the new season.

KW - Bayesian inference

KW - Groin injuries

KW - Groin pain

KW - Hip strength

U2 - 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102606

DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102606

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33692032

AN - SCOPUS:85102388582

VL - 56

SP - 484

EP - 489

JO - British Journal of Sports Medicine

JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine

SN - 0306-3674

ER -