Zusammenfassung

Introduction: Adductor muscle strain or sportsman hernia (SH) is one of the most common disorders in cases who underwent heavy physical activity. An injection of corticosteroids is used to treat inflammation on the last step. Recently, physiotherapy (PT) considered as one of the most effective treatment for muscle strain. The aim of this study was the evaluation of the efficacy of steroid injection compared physiotherapy in adductor muscle strain. Materials and Methods: This cohort study was conducted on the patients who have presented to the physical medicine clinic of Baqiyatallah hospital with chronic groin pain definitely diagnosed SH. Other cause of unilateral groin pain was overruled, and the patients were divided into the two groups accidentally. Patients at the first group underwent 40 mg prednisolone injection and follow-up of 4 weeks later, and at the second group, the patients underwent PT containing stretching adductor muscle lasting 30 seconds 3 times per week for 2 weeks. Results: Seventy-six male patients with the mean age of 24.62 ± 3.49 including 24 athletes, 26 soldiers, and 26 martials were enrolled whom 37 of them divided into the first group and 39 into the second one. The mean ± SD of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before and after treatment in first group was 7.784 ± 0.492 and 3.340 ± 0.836, respectively and in second group equals to 8.008 ± 0.457 and 3.370 ± 0.297, respectively. These differences between and within groups were statistically significant. (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Both therapeutic protocols were effectively repressed the pain scores (VAS) although PT protocol was more effective than prednisolone injection. We suggest PT protocol as the first choice of SH treatment.