ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2017 June;176(6):322-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.16.03369-6

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Osteopathic manipulative treatment in soccer players with chronic groin pain: a pilot study

Laura NOLLI, Silvia BARAGGIOLO, Marco PAGANI, Daniele ORIGO, Andrea BERGNA, Luca VISMARA ✉

SOMA – Istituto Osteopatia Milano, Milan, Italy

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of preventive an curative osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) on chronic groin pain in the short and medium term in a group of football players. The groin pain is common in a football players and its symptoms like pain and discomfort causes functional capacity reduction. Evidence and guideline for the treatment of this pathology are poor in literature.
METHODS: Patients: the athletes considered were twenty-three male semi-professional soccer players (mean age 26±4.10 years); seventeen of them had already had a physioterapic intervention uselessly while six players underwent OMT after a period of 2 to 3 weeks of activity restriction without successful results. They have been selected according to previously published criteria. Evaluation: was evaluated palpatory pain, VAS at rest and during sport activity, Osteopathic evaluation and personal evaluation. Treatment protocol: patients were treated for 6 sessions of 45 minutes whit an 8-days interval between each session with a final evaluation at four months. Subject continue their sport activity despite pain. Outcome measure: the result was evaluated in a blind trial by an external evaluator at the end of each session and four months after the completion of the treatment.
RESULTS: The number of patients scoring pain zero on the VAS scale has increased during the treatments. Four months after the treatment 21 individuals (91%) scored 0 on the VAS scale at rest; as for the pain perceived during sports, 15 players (65%) scored 0 on the VAS scale. At the end of OMT and without the suspension of the sport, the clinical picture has improved in almost all of the group; furthermore at 4 months, in 44% of individuals the problem has completely resolved without having to cease activity. All patients perceived improvement in symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: After 6 OMT treatments we observed that the pain perceived by the soccer players both at rest and during the specific sports activity dropped significantly. In almost half of the study sample, the pain disappeared completely and they do not have to stop their sport during the treatment phase.

KEY WORDS: Groin - Soccer - Manipulation, osteopathic