Ilioinguinal nerve entrapment: a little-known cause of iliac fossa pain.

The ilioinguinal nerve entrapment syndrome is an abdominal muscular pain syndrome, characterized by the clinical triad of muscular type iliac fossa pain with a characteristic radiation pattern, an altered sensory perception in the ilioinguinal nerve cutaneous innervation area, and a well-circumscribed trigger point medial and below the anterosuperior iliac spine. Relief of pain by infiltration of a local anaesthetic confirms the diagnosis. This report describes retrospectively the clinical picture of ilioinguinal nerve entrapment in 32 mainly non-surgical patients. In 14 cases a definite diagnosis was established and in 18 patients the diagnosis was considered probable. The mean delay in diagnosis was 12.8 months. Better knowledge of this syndrome may avoid invasive investigations and be cost saving.