Groin pain can be complicated to diagnose and treat. Athletes and weekend warriors are often misdiagnosed with a sports injury when they could have an injury of the groin.
Diagnosing groin pain in athletes can be difficult, and often two or more injuries may coexist. Getting an early diagnosis and proper treatment is essential, so the injury does not become chronic and career-ending.
The most common groin injuries seen in athletes are painful, soft-tissue injuries in the groin area, like sports hernias. Sports hernias can result from repetitive or explosive motions that require pelvis twisting. These injuries are common among athletes who play football, soccer, and hockey. Without treatment or proper diagnosis, this injury can result in debilitating pain that can keep players on the sidelines.
Adductor tendinopathy is another common cause of groin pain in athletes. Suddenly changing direction causes rapid hip adduction and stress on the tendons. Adductor tendinopathy injuries are typical among soccer players, dancers, and hockey players. Athletes describe the pain as severe, located in the groin region or medial thigh area, that gets worse with activity. Adductor strains can cause chronic pain, with time off for many athletic activities.
Dr. Srino Bharam at the Hip Preservation and Groin Center is a pioneer in the treatment of groin injuries, seeing athletes commonly misdiagnosed in this field of orthopedics. Dr. Bharam continues to develop new and effective treatments for adductor injuries through research and education.
Conservative approaches to adductor injuries can include rest, and physical therapy. Serious cases of adductor injuries may require surgery. Dr. Bharam and his team, using minimally invasive techniques, have done groundbreaking work to repair separations of adductor muscles. In fact, Dr. Bharam continues to present research findings on adductor surgery at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, with recent publications in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the official publication of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Dr. Srino Bharam at the Hip Preservation and Groin Center is considered a pioneer in the treatment of groin injuries, seeing athletes commonly misdiagnosed in this field of orthopedics. Dr. Bharam continues to develop new and effective treatments for adductor injuries through research and education. Dr. Bharam is recognized as a master instructor of Hip Arthroscopy by the Arthroscopy Association of North America.
Dr. Bharam is one of America's top orthopedists, consecutively voted by peers as Castle Connolly’s Top Doctor. He is a physician consultant for the National Hockey League Players Association, where he continues to help treat sports injuries throughout Manhattan and New Jersey. If you are an athlete with groin pain, Dr. Bharam can accurately diagnose your groin condition as an orthopedic expert in this field.
AUTHOR:Srino Bharam MD, MBA is a board-certified, fellowship-trained sports medicine orthopedic surgeon and professor of orthopedic surgery specializing in the treatment of athletic injuries of the hip and groin. Dr. Bharam has over 20 years of experience in treating injuries and conditions of the hip with the goal of restoring athletes and patients to an active lifestyle.
