Abstract

Athletic pubalgia is commonly seen in sports that require athletes to perform repetitive kicking, cutting, pivoting and sharp turns such as soccer, cricket, rugby, ice hockey etc. It is caused by immoderate and disproportionate application of shear forces through the common attachments (pelvic) of the abdominal muscles and hip adductors. At present, there is no unanimity of opinion about the constituents of this diagnosis. Since it is not easy to define a clear diagnosis that is based on physical examination, methods such as ultrasonography and MRI are commonly used to rule out the existence of other conditions. Though surgeries are better than traditional treatment, laparoscopic surgery has a shorter recovery time as compared to open surgeries. This article summarises the present data regarding anatomy, biomechanics, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, conservative treatment, preoperative and post-operative rehabilitation of athletic pubalgia. The information obtained from such a research work will help in understanding pathogenesis in a better way, build-up evidence-oriented screening and check for better surgical methods and effectively manage both post-surgical and conservative rehabilitation.

Keywords: Abdominal Muscles · athletes · laparoscopy · physical examination · running

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