Epidemiology of Hip and Groin Injuries in Collegiate Athletes in the United States

Abstract

Background:Hip and groin pain is a common complaint among athletes. Few studies have examined the epidemiology of hip and groin injuries in collegiate athletes across multiple sports.Purpose:To describe the rates, mechanisms, sex-based differences, and severity of hip/groin injuries across 25 collegiate sports.Study Design:Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods:Data from the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 academic years were obtained from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA ISP). The rate of hip/groin injuries, mechanism of injury, time lost from competition, and need for surgery were calculated. Differences between sex-comparable sports were quantified using rate ratios (RRs) and injury proportion ratios (IPRs).Results:In total, 1984 hip/groin injuries were reported, giving an overall injury rate of 53.06 per 100,000 athlete-exposures (AEs). An adductor/groin tear was the most common injury, comprising 24.5% of all injuries. The sports with the highest rates of injuries per 100,000 AEs were men’s soccer (110.84), men’s ice hockey (104.90), and women’s ice hockey (76.88). In sex-comparable sports, men had a higher rate of injuries per 100,000 AEs compared with women (59.53 vs 42.27, respectively; RR, 1.41 [95% CI, 1.28-1.55]). The most common injury mechanisms were noncontact (48.4% of all injuries) and overuse/gradual (20.4%). In sex-comparable sports, men had a greater proportion of injuries due to player contact than women (17.0% vs 3.6%, respectively; IPR, 4.80 [95% CI, 3.10-7.42]), while women had a greater proportion of injuries due to overuse/gradual than men (29.1% vs 16.7%, respectively; IPR, 1.74 [95% CI, 1.46-2.06]). Overall, 39.3% of hip/groin injuries resulted in time lost from competition. Only 1.3% of injuries required surgery.Conclusion:Hip/groin injuries are most common in sports that involve kicking or skating and sudden changes in direction and speed. Most hip/groin injuries in collegiate athletes are noncontact and do not result in time lost from competition, and few require surgery. This information can help guide treatment and prevention measures to limit such injuries in male and female collegiate athletes.

High prevalence of hip and groin problems in professional ice hockey players, regardless of playing position

“…North American studies report groin injuries to be common in ice hockey [ 5 , 15 ]. In the National Hockey League (NHL), approximately 10% of all hip and groin injuries are reported to be intra-articular [ 8 ], and high numbers of ice hockey players undergo arthroscopic surgery for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) [ 19 , 22 ].…”

“…In the existing literature, hip and groin injuries in professional ice hockey are defined as incidence of time loss or medical attention injuries [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 28 ]. This definition may, however, underestimate the burden of hip and groin problems in ice hockey, where injuries often present as longstanding overuse problems, not necessarily leading to time loss [ 15 ]. It has been suggested that the reporting of prevalence as opposed to incidence may be a more appropriate measure to report overuse injuries [ 2 , 4 ] and that hip and groin pain should be investigated beyond the time loss definition of injury [ 29 ].…”

Functional movement screen and Y balance tests in adolescent footballers with hip/groin symptoms

“…Hip/groin pain is common in footballers, as football is characterised by quick accelerations and decelerations as well as sprinting, jumping, turning and kicking, which create high loads and torsional forces on the hip (Saw and Villar, 2004). A recent epidemiological study by Kerbel et al (2018) found that the overall hip/groin injury rate amongst athletes was above 53 per 100,000 athlete-exposures and that football had the highest rates of hip/groin injuries. The prevalence of hip/groin symptoms was high amongst elite, sub-elite and amateur players, with 59% of male and 45% of female football players at difference levels of player reporting at least one episode of hip/groin symptoms in a study by Harøy et al, (2017).…”

Hip and Groin Injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Soccer Players

“…1,8,30 In addition, Langhout et al 17 have shown that players with existing or prior hip/groin injuries have decreased range of motion 28 and that players with prior injuries are more likely to be reinjured. 12 Previous studies have shown that comprehensive warm-up programs can decrease the total number of injuries, severe injuries, and overuse injuries in female soccer players 26 and that conditioning and strengthening programs may improve hip strength and lead to lower rates of injury. 9,11,29 In their study on female NCAA soccer players, Ness et al 18 identified that strengthening programs can improve both lower extremity balance and hip strength.…”

“…[4][5][6]31 Although professional male soccer players have a higher rate of groin injuries compared with professional female players, 6,19,22,25 female soccer players still experience a high rate of hip and groin injuries. 12,15,16 Of all injuries sustained by female collegiate soccer players, hip and groin injuries have previously been shown to account for approximately 5.1% of injuries sustained during competition and 10.0% of injuries that occur in practice and are a source of increased time lost from sport. 23 Differences in the injury type between sexes have been observed.…”