Debilitating groin injuries, many of which are serious, have become one of the major problems for GAA players who regularly put themselves at risk by returning to the field of play too soon, one of the world’s top sports physicians has told a captive Killarney audience.
Expert studies focusing on high-level footballers reveal a relatively high recurrence rate – close to 50 per cent – for groin injuries and the initial difficulty frequently develops into a chronic situation.
Respected Australian sports and exercise expert Dr Peter Brukner said there is a worrying trend of sports people returning to action prematurely.
He told the annual conference of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists in Killarney that despite groin injury being one of the most common presentations in sports medicine, it is poorly understood and was causing major problems.
Research conducted by the GAA and UCD found that pelvis and groin problems account for 9.4 per cent of all injuries affecting Gaelic footballers and 10.4 per cent of all ailments reported by hurlers.
More than half of the injuries resulted in the player being sidelined for more than a week with 41 per cent of groin injuries classified as moderate and 12 per cent as severe.
“Groin injury is extremely common in all sports which involve high intensity speeds and are of a twisting and turning nature, such as hurling and football.
“Despite advances in knowledge, the diagnosis and management of groin injury and pain can still present a major challenge to sports physicians and chartered physiotherapists treating it,” said Dr Brukner.
He told delegates that studies focusing on top-level footballers have found a relatively high recurrence rate for groin injuries, ranging from 31 to 50 per cent.
While the traditional treatment prescribed is often a period of rest, active rehabilitation provides more than 10 times the likelihood of a pain-free successful return to sport.
“Chartered physiotherapists have a significant role to play. They can work with the athletes to ensure that any exercise is performed without pain, identify and reduce the sources of increased load on the pelvis and improve pelvic stability and strengthen muscles,” De Brunker said.
Kerry-based chartered physiotherapist Christina Foley said prevention is critical to the management of groin injury in high velocity sports.
“Unfortunately, many GAA players tend to play on multiple teams and therefore increased demands are placed on the body which essentially just breaks down, leading to injury. It is important to monitor training load overall in players,” she told the conference.
The GAA’s medical, scientific and welfare committee, in conjunction with a working medical group, has developed a specific pre training warm-up programme aimed at improving neuromuscular control and reducing injury risk to GAA players.
