Groin injuries in women's premier league football in Norway: A two‐season prospective cohort study describing clinical and imaging characteristics

Abstract

ObjectiveTo describe the prevalence, incidence, and burden of groin injuries in the Norwegian women's premier football league and to describe their clinical and imaging characteristics.MethodsDuring the 2020 and 2021 seasons, players in the Norwegian women's premier league reported groin injuries weekly, using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC‐H2). We calculated weekly prevalence, incidence, and burden of groin injuries. The team physical therapists classified the player‐reported injuries based on the Doha classification system. Injuries with more than 3 days' time loss or reported in 2 consecutive weeks were eligible for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).ResultsOn average, 3.9% (95% CI: 3.4–4.4) of players reported a groin injury at any time; of which 78% caused time loss. The incidence rate was 1.6 injuries/1000 h (95% CI: 1.3–2.0) and their burden was 11 days lost/1000 h. The physical therapists examined 67 of 124 player‐reported groin injuries (53%). Adductor‐related injury was most common (55%) followed by iliopsoas (15%) and rectus femoris‐related (12%). Pubic‐related injuries caused most time loss (median: 24 days, IQR: 5–133). In this study, 42 injuries were investigated with MRI; 8 (19%) showed no changes, 6 (14%) an acute musculotendinous lesion, and 32 (76%) a nonacute finding (e.g., central symphyseal disc protrusion, tendinopathies).ConclusionThe incidence rate and burden of groin injuries were high. Adductor‐related injuries were most common, but pubic‐related injuries caused most time loss. Most MRI examinations demonstrated nonacute findings.