Athletes' groin pain may be due to nerve entrapment in the external oblique aponeurosis. An awareness of this injury may reduce delays in operating leading to an earlier return to sport.

From the clinic traction, then mobilized from non-weight bearing to partial weight bearing, and is now fully recovered.Case 2 A 48 year old man presented after being involved in a crash with other riders and landing on his left side while his toes were strapped into his pedals. He presented two days after his injury with left hip pain, limited range of movement, and pain on bitrochanteric pressure. Plain x ray (Figure 3) showed an undisplaced posterior acetabular fracture. He was treated with three weeks' bed rest, then mobilised non-weight bearing, and he made a full recovery. Groin injuries are a common and often difficult diagnostic problem. This paper reviews six patients presenting with symptoms highly suggestive of the syndrome 'Gilmore's groin', but in whom the pathophysiology of the groin disruption and its surgical management differed from Gilmore's description. (Br J Sports Med 1995; 29: 206-208)

Shelf arthroplasty is briefly reviewed in historical perspective and the results in 45 hips (39 patients) which had undergone this procedure at the Royal Children's Hospital are presented. The majority of these patients were adolescents who had previously been treated for congenital dislocation or subluxation of the hip. The indications for operation and the operative technique are discussed. Clinical examination was carried out upon 33 of the 39 patients at an average of 11 years after operation. The results suggested that where pain had been an indication for operation almost 80 percent of the hips remained relatively free of symptoms at the time of follow-up and in those patients where acetabular dysplasia had been an indication, the coverage remained good and pain had not appeared. It is concluded that the shelf operation is useful for dealing with both pain and dysplasia in the adolescent.

We studied the long-term results of the Miller operation at a mean age of 13 years in 22 patients (38 feet) with persistently symptomatic mobile flat feet associated with an isolated naviculocuneiform break. At a mean of 12 years (3 to 27) after surgery, 84% of the feet had a satisfactory clinical result. We conclude that the Miller operation is a useful procedure for adolescent patients with persistently symptomatic flat feet with an isolated break at the naviculocuneiform joint.

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