OBJECTIVE: To compare the magnetic resonance imaging findings of the pubis of professional soccer players, without history of or clinical groin pain, and non-athletes, also without symptoms, determining the prevalence of changes compatible with pubic overload. METHODS: Nineteen professional soccer players without complaints of groin pain and seventeen non-athletes, also asymptomatic, underwent pubic magnetic resonance images. Exam findings were analyzed for the presence of degenerative changes, medullar edema and tendinopathy, comparing both groups. RESULTS: High prevalence of bone edema, tendinopathy and degenerative findings in the pubic symphysis was seen in athletes, with statistically significant higher odds ratios and relative risk for the population studied. CONCLUSION: Professional soccer players are at a higher risk for developing changes in the pubic region, evidenced in magnetic resonance images, when compared to non-athletes. Those findings are not necessarily related to groin pain, and are probably related to intense stress.
Pubalgia; Athletes; Osteitis; Magnetic Ressonance; Pubis; Soccer Players
