ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2023
Clinical examination for athletes with inguinal-related groin pain: interexaminer reliability and prevalence of positive tests.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03842826 (Inter-examiner Reproducibility of Clinical Examination Tests for Athletes with Longstanding Groin Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Inter-examiner Reproducibility of Clinical Examination Tests for Athletes with Longstanding Groin Pain
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hip and groin pain in physically active adults with a focus on terminology, clinical examination and imaging: A formal ESSKA-EHPA-ESMA Consensus.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Article
- Clinical examination of musculoskeletal groin pain: a simple protocol for hernia surgeons (Groin-MAP).Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2026Article
- Groin Pain Syndrome: Analysis of Surgical and Nonsurgical Outcomes Between Athletes and Nonathletes With "Sports Hernia" Using a Standardized Management Algorithm.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Neuropathic causes of groin pain in athletes: understanding nerve involvement.International orthopaedics · 2025Review
- Inguinal-Related Groin Pain and/or Disruption in Athletes: Current Understanding, Assessment and Management Strategies.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2025Review
- A New Clinical Examination Algorithm to Prescribe Conservative Treatment in People with Hip-Related Pain.Pain and therapy · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate the interexaminer reliability of abdominal palpation and resistance tests in athletes with longstanding groin pain, and to identify the prevalence of positive clinical tests in athletes classified with inguinal-related groin pain. Methods: Male athletes (18-40 years) with longstanding groin pain were prospectively recruited between March 2019 and October 2020 at a sports medicine hospital. Two examiners performed history taking and standardised clinical examination (including abdominal palpation, scrotal invagination and abdominal resistance tests) blinded to each other's findings. Interexaminer reliability was calculated using Cohen's Kappa statistic (κ). Examiners classified groin pain using the Doha agreement meeting terminology. A differentiation was made between 'defined inguinal-related groin pain' (according to recommended definition criteria) and 'likely inguinal-related groin pain' (expert-based application of the Doha agreement classification when not all recommended criteria were present). Results: Overall, 44 athletes were included (61 symptomatic sides). Interexaminer reliability of inguinal palpation pain provocation tests varied from fair to moderate (κ=0.35-0.49). Reliability of posterior wall structure palpation (firm/soft) was slight (κ=0.01), and posterior wall bulging (yes/no) fair (κ=0.29). Reliability for abdominal resistance tests varied from fair to substantial (κ=0.35-0.72). In athletes classified with defined inguinal-related groin pain, recognisable injury pain on palpation during scrotal invagination when athletes performed a Valsalva manoeuvre was the most prevalent positive palpation test (79%). Abdominal resistance tests were positive in 21%-49% of these cases. Conclusion: The interexaminer reliability for clinical examination tests used to classify inguinal-related groin pain in athletes varies from slight to substantial. There is no single perfect clinical examination test. Trial registration number: NCT03842826.
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