Episode Summary
Learn how clinicians distinguish the many causes of athletic groin pain, from adductor and iliopsoas problems to intra-articular hip disorders like FAI syndrome. You’ll also uncover which tests and risk factors truly matter, where imaging helps, and why a full clinical picture is essential for accurate diagnosis.
Diagnostic testing for athletic groin pain is presented with a clear focus on distinguishing groin-specific causes from other hip regions. The main framework begins with prevalence and setting: acute cases in athletes often involve soft-tissue problems such as adductor or iliopsoas-related pain, while chronic cases seen in orthopedic practice more often involve intra-articular pathology, including femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) syndrome.
The teaching then moves through risk factors, including adductor weakness, prior injury, training load, adductor squeeze pain, and possible hip range-of-motion limits, while noting that evidence for internal rotation restriction is mixed. A step-by-step diagnostic process is outlined: identify red flags, triage, screen nearby regions such as the lumbar spine and knee, then assess whether the hip is the likely source.
Key groin pain categories from the Doha agreement are reviewed: adductor-related, iliopsoas-related, inguinal, pubic-related, and intra-articular or hip-related pain. Learners are shown which clinical findings, palpation methods, resisted tests, stretches, and imaging tools are most relevant. The limitations of special tests such as FADIR are emphasized, along with the need to combine history, examination, and imaging rather than relying on any single test.
