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New Jersey Sports Medicine 'Sports Hernia' or 'Athletic Pubalgia' Treatment

The term 'Sports Hernia' refers to chronic groin pain in an athlete, the 'groin pull' that will not heal despite rest and therapy.  The term 'Sports Hernia' is a misnomer as a true hernia is not present, such as in an inguinal hernia, a condition in which the contents of the abdominal cavity, intestine or fat, may protrude through a hole or weakness in the abdominal wall.

The term 'Athletic Pubalgia' is another term used to refer to chronic tendon groin pain in the athlete, which may be due to tears and tendonopathy of the musculotendonous structures that insert on the pelvis, the adductor tendon
and the rectus abdominus tendon.  The term 'Inguinal Disruption' has also been used interchangeably to more accurately describe the condition.

While MRI is known to be a superior imaging tool in sports medicine, the 'sports hernia' or tear / tendonopathy of the adductor tendon, rectus abdominus, or conjoined tendon can be often missed on routine pelvis and hip MRIs.

MSK Ultrasound by Dr. Silberman at New Jersey Sports Medicine is a superior in office tool, less expensive, and rapid for diagnosing 'sports hernia'.














MSK Ultrasound by Dr. Silberman at New Jersey Sports Medicine also allows rapid diagnosis of injuries that may be cause of groin pain such as labral tears, hip osteoarthritis, and/or hip effusions.
























Often times, an athlete with a 'sports hernia' may also have other hip joint pathologies and sources for pain.  

Ultrasound guided injections of PRP (platelet rich plasma) can be performed at New Jersey Sports Medicine for both diagnostic test and therapeutic treatment.  Most orthopedic hip injections are offered under C-arm x-ray radiation guidance performed in a hospital or surgery center costly and expensive setting.  Dr. Silberman can perform hip and pelvis injections under ultrasound guidance at New Jersey Sports Medicine, rapidly and inexpensively.   Injections can be performed with lidocaine for diagnostic blocks, PRP or platelet rich plasma, dextrose for prolotherapy, or bone marrow aspiration for stem cells.

In more than 20 years of injecting tendons, Dr. Silberman has not once seen a case of an injection of PRP causing calcium to develop as some sports hernia surgeons have claimed.  While in the same time period, Dr. Silberman
has seen surgery for sports hernia cause painful calcific tendonitis, with referrals to Dr. Silberman to treat with injections.  Often the calcium deposit in the tendon is a result of the injury or insult to the tendon itself.











There are very few surgeons who claim to treat sports hernias and most of them do not accept insurance, making the non guaranteed treatment very costly.   PRP (platelet rich plasma injections) and Prolotherapy have been
reported in the literature to have successfully treated sports hernias.  At New Jersey Sports Medicine and Performance Center, Dr. Silberman has seen the same results in treating sports hernias.  Along with specialized therapy exercises which can be taught and hands on physical, massage, or chiropractic therapy, irreversible surgery should be the last resort for the treatment of sports hernias.  And when necessary, Dr. Silberman works closely with specialist surgeons who only treat groin injuries.


Prolotherapy for sports hernia in elite soccer and rugby athletes:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15827920

PRP for sports hernia in a professional hockey player:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4711326/