Australian football players experiencing groin pain exhibit reduced subscale scores of Activities of Daily Living and Sport and Recreation on the HAGOS questionnaire: A case-control study

OBJECTIVES: To report normative responses to the HAGOS questionnaire for Australian football players and to determine whether any of the HAGOS questionnaire sub scales can differentiate players with and without groin pain.

DESIGN: Case-control.

SETTING: Clinical setting.

PARTICIPANTS: Professional (n = 66) and semi-professional (n = 9) Australian football (AF) players with current groin pain (n = 16) and controls (n = 57) without current groin pain.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The HAGOS subscales were compared between players with and without groin pain using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test with effect sizes (ES) calculated. Floor and ceiling effects were examined. A post-hoc factor analysis was undertaken.

RESULTS: Participants with current groin pain showed lower Physical Function of Daily Living (PFDL) and Physical Function in Sport and Recreation (PFSR) subscale scores (p < 0.05, ES: 0.77 and 0.90 respectively). Any groin pain (current and/or historical) lowered the Pain and Quality of Life (QOL) subscale scores (p < 0.05, ES: 0.38 and 0.72 respectively). Factor analysis showed 8 significant factors with one main factor identified representing items describing forceful activities (Eigenvalue = 18.02, Proportion = 0.49).

CONCLUSIONS: The HAGOS can distinguish AF players with current groin pain in the PFDL and PFSR subscales but not in the other four subscales. Any current or historical groin pain lowers scores on the QOL and Pain sub scales.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Aetiology, Individual Case-Control Study, Level 3b.