The Outcomes of Various Surgical Treatments for Sports Hernia Repair in Athletes: A Critically Appraised Topic

Clinical Scenario: Various surgical methods of treatment for sports hernias (athletic pubalgia) have been researched and tested. Surgical methods such as adductor tenotomies, hernia repairs, and rectus abdominis-adductor longus (RA-AL) aponeurotic plate repair have been tested and evaluated to measure their effectiveness on sports hernia recovery. Focused Clinical Question: What are the outcomes of the different surgical sports hernia repair methods on athletes? Summary of Key Findings: The authors of two high-quality studies determined that athletes who obtain either adductor longus tenotomy with or without a concomitant sports hernia repair or RA-AL aponeurotic plate repair improve symptoms and either have a positive correlation with returning to play or have no change. A lesser quality study determines that surgical procedures for sports hernias have a high success and return to play (RTP) rate. Clinical Bottom Line: The evidence found in this study suggests that surgical sports hernia repairs have either a positive or no change effect on athletes. However, more research is needed to fully determine the outcomes of surgical sports hernia repairs, as sports hernias are a newly discovered problem. Strength of Recommendation: Grade C evidence exists that surgical sports hernia repairs are positively correlated with a positive outcome.