Running biomechanics in football players with and without hip and groin pain. A cross-sectional analysis of 116 sub-elite players

Objective Examine whether football players with hip and/or groin (hip/groin) pain have impaired running biomechanics when compared to pain-free players, analysing men and women independently. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Biomechanics laboratory. Participants Seventy-eight (62 men, 16 women) football players with >6months of hip/groin pain and a positive flexion-adduction-internal rotation test and 38 (25 men, 13 women) asymptomatic players. Main outcome measures Pelvis angles and hip, knee, and ankle joint angles and moments were analysed during the stance phase of overground running at 3–3.5 m s−1. Continuous joint angle and moment data were compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic football players of the same sex using statistical parametric mapping. Joint moment impulses (area under the curve) were compared between groups using linear regression models. Results Symptomatic football players did not display significant differences in pelvis angles or lower-limb joint angles, moments, or moment impulses during the stance phase of running, when compared to asymptomatic players of the same sex. Conclusion Our large sample of football players with hip/groin pain who were still participating in competitive sport displayed similar running biomechanics to asymptomatic players. Impaired running biomechanics might exist in people with worse hip/groin pain, warranting future investigation.