Tips to Help Avoid Groin Pulls

What is a Groin Pull?

The groin is made up of five different adductor muscles in the inner thigh which play a key role in hip and leg mobility and are specifically used during leg adduction and externally rotates and flexes the thigh.  A groin pull, also known as a groin or adductor strain, is a tear in the muscle fibers that make up this muscle group. This injury can usually resolve itself with enough rest and ice.

Unfortunately, some adductor strains are more severe than others. Moderate to severe strains will require a more thorough treatment plan than just taking a few days off from activity. Even mild adductor strains may worsen or become chronic if the proper steps aren’t taken to ensure a smooth recovery.

There are several other symptoms to watch out for besides groin pain if you think you have an adductor strain. Below are several other signs of a potential adductor strain:

• Swelling or bruising in the inner thigh
• Difficulty walking or running
• Reduced range of motion
• Decreased leg strength
• Pain that is felt in the inner thigh, especially when moving the leg

Adductor strains can disrupt your favorite activities and even upset your daily life. Understanding the root causes of these strains can help you prepare and prevent future injury.

What Causes an Adductor Strain?

Although a groin injury can happen to anyone, groin pulls frequently occur in athletes. Adductor strains and other groin injuries are especially common in soccer players and hockey players, resulting in approximately 9% to 18% of all injuries in soccer players.

If a groin injury occurs in an athlete, it often happens during sudden movements like kicking or pivoting. Falls, lifting heavy objects, stress from over-exercising, previous injury to the groin, and/or lack of proper conditioning can also contribute to an increased likelihood of getting an adductor strain.

Exercises To Help Prevent Groin Injuries

If you want to avoid an injury during your workouts or avoid an adductor strain in the future, improving flexibility and strength can go a long way in building your body’s resistance to injuries. Here are a few stretches and strengthening exercises you can try to develop your adductors and help reduce your risk of injury.

*Disclaimer: Always consult with your doctor before starting any exercise program.  If you experience any numbness, tingling, or reproduction of your symptoms, please contact your doctor.

1. Hip Glute Bridge with Adduction

• For this exercise, you will need the foam roller or pillow.
• Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat.
• Place the foam roller or the pillow right between your knees.
• Get into a pelvic tilt position, and this is going to be the starting position for each of these reps. What that means is your low back should have a little bit of spacing between it and the ground, and if so, you want to rotate your pelvis back to flatten your low back onto the ground.
• To make sure you are doing this right, you can place your fingertips right inside of your hip bones and rotate back, and you should feel a little bit of activation underneath your fingers.
• Squeeze your knees into the foam roller or pillow, as well as your glutes while holding that pelvic tilt and raise your hips up towards the ceiling slowly and controlled.
• Hold at the top slightly, and then slowly lower back down.
• When you lower back down, go back to neutral and then find pelvic tilt again.
• Squeeze your knees into the foam roller, and then squeeze your glutes and raise up to the ceiling.
• Perform 3 sets of 10 – 15, with a 5 – 10 second hold at the top.

2. Hip Side Lying Adduction Isometric