An Exercise-based Rehabilitation Program for a Recreational Long-distance Runner With Long-standing Groin Pain

NCT07750327 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: 68969/07-07-2026
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Groin injuries are among the most common injuries in sports that require changes of directions, shooting, passing etc, and are presented both as acute and long-standing. Although there are many exercise-based rehabilitation programs for long-standing groin pain in athletes, there is still the need for a more flexible pain-guided program based on specific progression and return to sport criteria. In addition, there is no much focus on less demanding sports such as track and field. The current study introduces a pain-guided rehabilitation program for a long-distance runner with long-standing groin pain.

Conditions

Groin Pain

Keywords

groin pain; rehabilitation; exercise training; distance running

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Return to sport time

  The time to return to sport is defined as the total number of weeks recorded from the date of the first rehabilitation session to the day the athlete fulfils the return to sport criteria.

  Return to sport time is determined as the time (number of days) from the first rehabilitation session to the day the athlete fulfils the return to sport criteria. The estimated time of the rehabilitation completion is up to 12 weeks.

• Adductor muscle strength

  Maximum eccentric and isometric adductor muscle strength will be assessed with a mid-range unilateral supine isometric adduction test and an outer-range unilateral supine eccentric adduction test, following standardized procedures which have demonstrated good intra-tester reliability \[EHAD ICC 0.91 (0.70-0.98), SEM: 6.3%, IHAD ICC 0.78 (0.30-0.95), SEM: 7.3%\]. Strength values will be normalized to the athlete's body weight and recorded as Nm/kg.

  Eccentric and isometric adductor muscle strength will be tested on weekly basis from baseline to the completion of the treatment. The estimated number of testing sessions throughout the intervention is 12.

• Tissue tolerance

  Tissue tolerance is defined as the maximum adductor strength generated when the athlete reaches a pain level of 2/10 of the NPRS, and will be assessed with the use of a bilateral squeeze test at 0° of hip and knee flexion. Strength values will be normalized to the athlete's body weight and recorded as Nm/kg.

  Tissue tolerance will be evaluated on weekly basis from baseline to the completion of the treatment. The estimated number of testing sessions throughout the intervention is 12.

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Hip-related quality of life

  Hip-related quality of life will be evaluated baseline and at the end of the rehabilitation. The estimated time for the intervention completion is 12 weeks.

• Athlete's recovery perception

  Subjective overall recovery perception will be evaluated on a weekly basis. Although the overall duration of the intervention cannot be defined due to the criteria-based nature of the progression, the estimated time for completion is 12 weeks.

Study Arms (1)

A single treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: A pain-guided rehabilitation program

Interventions

A pain-guided rehabilitation program OTHER

A pain-guided unsupervised rehabilitation program

A single treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Male or female long-distance runner
• Long-standing groin pain (≥ 6 weeks)
• ≥ 18 years

You may not qualify if:

• \- Neurological or musculoskeletal condition which do not allow the athlete to perform the strength testing and the program intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of West Attica: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of West Attica

Athens, Athens, 12243, Greece

Location

Related Publications (20)

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Study Officials

• George Gioftsos, Physiotherapy

  University of West Attica

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhDc, MSc, OMPT

Model Details: Single-case experimental study

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 21, 2026
• First Posted: August 6, 2026
• Study Start: July 22, 2026
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 10, 2026
• Last Updated: September 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: Beginning after study publication
• Access Criteria: IPD and supporting information (raw data) will be available after request from the lead author

Locations

GR (1)