Pillars
Prior to the study, the scientists established three pillars to assess progress in rehabilitation: 1) clinically pain free, 2) completing a sports specific on field training without any pain; and 3) completing a regular training without any pain. See the frame for criteria for the first two pillars. Of the 81 athletes who started the rehabilitation programme, 61 (75 percent) reached all criteria of ‘clinically pain free’. The others returned to the field while in pain or stopped the rehabilitation programme due to other obligations or surgery, for example. Fifty athletes (62 percent) completed the criteria for ‘controlled on-field training’. Contact by phone every two weeks showed that 75 athletes (93 percent) eventually returned to the training field of their club.
Non-medical factors
Not all athletes completed the full rehabilitation programme, a portion of them returned to full training at their club while not being completely pain free. According to the authors, this shows that not only medical factors play a role in deciding to resume sports. Sports and commercial factors – such as the moment in the season or the importance of an approaching match – influence the decision to return to the field.
Recurrences
Six out of 81 athletes (8 percent) suffered a recurrent groin injury the first year after the rehabilitation programme. In five of them this was in the first two months after complete return to sports. According to the authors, it seems that their structured rehabilitation programme can protect athletes from recurrences: in earlier studies, scientists found a recurrence percentage of 18 percent in the first two months after groin injury. Further research is needed to verify this.