Movement Variablity Of Pre- Elite Australian Football Athletes With And Without A History Of Groin Pain

Introduction: The prevalence of, and complications associated with, groin injuries in Australian Football establishes it as one of the most debilitating overuse injuries a player can sustain. Overuse injury has been associated with decreased movement variability, and Australian Football is a game with highly repetitive movements such as cutting and running that have been linked with groin injury (Davies, Clarke, Gilmore, Wotherspoon, & Connell, 2009; Hiti, 2011). Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether movement variability during an unanticipated cut task differed between athletes with and without a history of groin injury. Methods: Seventeen male Australian Football players either with a history (HISTORY; n=7) or without a history (CONTROL; n=10) of a groin injury performed 10 successful trials of an unanticipated cut task with a defensive opponent. During each trial, the participants' ground reaction forces three-dimensional kinematics, and surface electromyography were recorded with additional inclusion of an isokinetic hip muscular strength test.Results: Participants with a HISTORY displayed decreased movement variability within the kinematics of the ankle, knee and T12-L1 joints, and ankle, knee and hip joint moments compared to the CONTROL group. Nevertheless, the HISTORY group displayed increased movement variability within the kinematics of the hip and L5-S1 joints, increased body mass, and decreased hip adduction muscular strength compared to CONTROL group. Conclusion: Increased movement variability within lumbopelvic kinematics and decreased hip adduction muscular strength in participants with a history of groin injury support current groin rehabilitation methods of addressing lumbopelvic instability. Our results also highlighted decreased movement variability within the ankle, knee, L5-S1 and T12-L1, which clearly identifies the need for clinical management of the lower limb and thoracic segment to improve functional movement patterns.