{"id":4939,"date":"2025-03-27T08:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/?p=4939"},"modified":"2025-03-27T08:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:22:00","slug":"groin-pain-in-footballers-its-not-just-pubalgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/2025\/03\/groin-pain-in-footballers-its-not-just-pubalgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Groin Pain in Footballers: It&#8217;s Not Just Pubalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">There are certain words every football coach dreads, and \u201cpubalgia\u201d is definitely one of them. When a player starts complaining about groin pain, the first reaction is often: \u201cLet\u2019s hope it goes away with some rest.\u201d But here\u2019s the problem: groin pain isn\u2019t just a minor nuisance, it doesn\u2019t go away with rest, and most importantly, it\u2019s not always the same thing.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Under the label of \u201cpubalgia\u201d lie multiple conditions\u2014some related to muscular overload, others to joint issues or even nerve problems. There can be many different causes of groin pain! The risk, then, is lumping everything into a single category and mismanaging the recovery process.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Coach\u2019s Key Role: Stop, Ask, and Listen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The coach is primarily responsible for the health of their players. When a player reports groin pain, it\u2019s the coach\u2019s job to help ensure a proper diagnosis is made. Without a specialist medical evaluation, the risk of mismanaging the recovery process is extremely high.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not all groin pain is the same. It can stem from muscle-tendon overload (such as the adductors, rectus abdominis, or iliopsoas), hip joint or bone issues, or even inguinal hernias. Without a proper diagnosis, there\u2019s a risk of treating the wrong area or not being specific enough in the approach.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complete rest is not the solution. The pain may subside, but if the underlying causes aren\u2019t addressed, the problem will return once the player is back on the field. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Forcing a return by \u201cplaying through the pain\u201d is a mistake. Recovery must follow a specific path based on functional milestones, not the team\u2019s schedule. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The solution? Targeted and personalized therapeutic exercise <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Often, the issue involves chronic overload of the adductors (<em>adductor-related Groin Pain<\/em>). For this type of groin pain, there are scientifically validated protocols designed to reduce pain and prevent future episodes. The most well-known is the Adductor Strengthening Protocol, also referred to as the \u201cCopenhagen Protocol,\u201d which has been proven to significantly reduce the risk of injury in athletes.  <\/p>\n\n<p>The 2019 scientific paper by Har\u00f8y and colleagues is freely available for download here:<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/bjsm.bmj.com\/content\/bjsports\/53\/3\/150.full.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read the paper<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Adductor-Strengthening-Programme.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4933\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of an exercise from the Copenhagen Protocol:<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L6qfTLKhjnk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Watch the video<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>However, this type of exercise must be introduced at the right stage of recovery and under the guidance of a professional. If performed too early or with excessive load, they can actually worsen the condition. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The team doctor and the football coach are allies in safeguarding the players\u2019 health.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>It\u2019s not the coach\u2019s role to decide when a player can return to the field after an acute or chronic injury. A progressive and structured approach is essential\u2014one that begins with a medical diagnosis, continues with active rehabilitation under the physiotherapist\u2019s guidance and medical supervision, and ends only when the player is truly ready and receives the final \u201cgreen light\u201d during a medical check-up. <\/p>\n\n<p>What should a coach do?<\/p>\n\n<p>\u2705 Report the issue to the team doctor immediately and never minimize the pain.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u2705 Rely on professionals for both diagnosis and the recovery plan.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u2705 Ensure a gradual, controlled, and stress-free return\u2014without rushing it for team needs.<\/p>\n\n<p>Groin pain doesn\u2019t mean stopping forever\u2014it means stopping at the right time to come back stronger. A healthy player is one who can give their best: prevention and smart recovery are the true keys to success. <\/p>\n\n<p>Those who manage these issues well reduce the risk of recurrence and keep their players on the field longer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__avatar\"><img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87abf6691775f7382608b4404173cee2cfd9f6382c318e2dff4eeb488103abcc?s=48&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/87abf6691775f7382608b4404173cee2cfd9f6382c318e2dff4eeb488103abcc?s=96&#038;d=mm&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-48 photo' height='48' width='48' \/><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">Dr. Marco Gastaldo<\/p><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are certain words every football coach dreads, and \u201cpubalgia\u201d is definitely one of them. When a player starts complaining about groin pain, the first reaction is often: \u201cLet\u2019s hope it goes away with some rest.\u201d But here\u2019s the problem: groin pain isn\u2019t just a minor nuisance, it doesn\u2019t go away with rest, and most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":4937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246,247],"tags":[248,401,339],"class_list":{"0":"post-4939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news-from-the-centres","8":"category-torino-en","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-groin-pain-en","11":"tag-groin-pain-syndrome"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4939"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4942,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions\/4942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isokineticmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}