Groin injuries are common in sports that involve rapid changes of direction, sprinting and kicking movements. Injuries affecting the hip adductor muscles, particularly the adductor longus, are among the most frequent causes of time loss in athletes. Imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound are widely used to diagnose and characterize these injuries, but the imaging features associated with adductor-related groin injuries in athletes have not been systematically summarized.

The objective is to systematically review the available evidence regarding imaging findings and structural characteristics of adductor-related groin injuries in athletes.

 

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect from inception to February 2026. Studies were included if they investigated athletes with adductor-related groin injuries and reported imaging findings using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound. Studies focusing exclusively on muscle strength, rehabilitation interventions or non-athletic populations were excluded. 

Data extraction included study design, population characteristics, imaging modality and main imaging findings. Due to heterogeneity across studies, a qualitative synthesis was performed.

 

Seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis. Most studies used MRI to assess structural characteristics of adductor injuries. Across studies, the adductor longus was consistently reported as the most frequently injured muscle. Imaging findings commonly demonstrated injury at the proximal tendon or musculotendinous junction, often accompanied by surrounding soft tissue involvement. MRI was also used to evaluate injury severity and assist clinical decision-making, including return-to-sport timelines.

 

MRI plays an important role in the diagnosis and characterization of adductor-related groin injuries in athletes. Current evidence primarily focuses on describing injury patterns rather than identifying structural risk factors. Further research is needed to investigate whether imaging-derived morphological characteristics of the adductor musculature may contribute to injury susceptibility in athletic populations.

Adductor longus, Athletes, MRI, Musculotendinous junction, Return to sport, Sports imaging, Systematic review.