Hip pain - a focus on the sporting population.

BACKGROUND: Patients complaining of 'hip' or 'groin' pain can present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for practitioners not only in primary care, but also those in specialist practice.

OBJECTIVE: This article outlines common patterns of groin and lateral hip pain, and provides a targeted clinical approach to treatment or referral.

DISCUSSION: Common causes of chronic groin pain include osteitis pubis, incipient hernia, adductor tendinopathy and intrinsic hip pathology. Tendinopathy of the hip abductor muscles is a common cause of lateral hip pain. While a careful history and targeted examination is essential, the frequently nonspecific findings add to the challenge of managing this group of patients. Treatment remains focused on relative rest, although other, more active modalities are discussed. Advances in hip arthroscopy have lead to further improvement in our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of intrinsic hip pathology.