Prevalence of hip and groin pain across eras amongst former elite Gaelic footballers and hurlers

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Date
2022-03-16
Authors
O'Mahony, Brian
King, E.
Falvey, Éanna
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Irish Medical Organisation
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Abstract
Introduction: Gaelic football and hurling are the most commonly played amateur sports in Ireland with elite level athletes participating at inter-county level. Over time, the intensity and frequency of inter-county training has approached levels of professional sports. Previous studies have not assessed differences in hip and groin injury between eras. We aimed to examine differences in hip and groin injury, incidence of surgery and Hip and Groin Outcome Scores between elite GAA players of different eras and duration of intercountry career. Methods: Members of the squads from the 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2006 hurling and football All-Ireland Finals provided data on age starting intercounty career and previous hip and groin injury and surgery. 372 players were surveyed in total. The hip and groin outcome score (HAGOS), a validated questionnaire assessing hip and groin problems suffered was also assessed. Results: There were significant differences in four of the six HAGOS categories between eras with lower scores in 2006 group and in those who were younger starting their intercounty career. In addition, those with younger start and those who played in more recent times had higher rates of groin surgery (23.9% of 2006 cohort, N = 17). As expected, older players had higher rates of total hip replacement (19.7% of the 1976 cohort, N = 12). Conclusion: This study highlights the influence of early playing career at elite level on hip and groin injury and that those playing in more modern times had higher incidence of groin surgery and lower HAGOS scores.
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Keywords
Hip , Groin , Surgery , GAA , Gaelic football , Hurling , Elite athletes , Training
Citation
O'Mahony, B., King, E. and Falvey, E. (2022) 'Prevalence of hip and groin pain across eras amongst former elite Gaelic footballers and hurlers', Irish Medical Journal, 115(3), P559 (8pp). Available at: https://imj.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Prevalence-of-Hip-and-Groin-Pain-Across-Eras-Amongst-Former-Elite-Gaelic-Footballers-and-Hurlers.pdf (Accessed: 20 May 2022)
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