Classification

Causes of groin pain

No formal classification exists, but it is commonly classified by underlying cause:

1. Acute/traumatic

• Acute pain brought about by a specific mechanism of injury

• Muscle strains, contusions, hip subluxation or dislocation, intra-articular pathology (labral tear, chondral injury, ligamentum teres lesion, and others), or fracture.

2. Chronic/overuse

• Characterised by insidious onset of pain frequently seen in high demand or competitive athletes

• Muscle- and/or tendon-related, bursitis, inguinal-related (also known as incipient hernia, athletic pubalgia, or sports hernia), osteitis pubis, snapping hip, stress fracture. View image

3. Degenerative

• Osteoarthritis.

4. Congenital/anatomical

• Slipped capital femoral epiphysis, hip dysplasia, femoroacetabular impingement.

5. Referred pain syndromes

• GI (e.g., appendicitis, diverticulosis, inflammatory bowel disease)

• GU (e.g., UTI, prostatitis, nephrolithiasis)

• Neuroradicular (e.g. sacroiliac joints, lumbar disc pathology).

6. Other

• Nerve entrapment (obturator nerve, lateral femoral cutaneous nerve).