What we Treat / Groin Strain

A groin strain is a common injury to the muscles of the inner thigh. The groin muscles, known medically as the “adductor muscle” group, consist of six muscles that span the distance from the inner pelvis to the inner part of the femur (thigh bone). These muscles pull the legs together, and also help with other movements of the hip joint. The adductor muscles are important to many types of athletes including sprinters, swimmers, soccer players, and football players.

A strain of the groin muscles will result in pain and weakness in the region. This particularly affects a person’s ability to explosively change direction and markedly reduces penetration and strength of the kicking action.

Usually the Groin muscle is forcibly stretched beyond its limits and the muscle tissue becomes torn. A tear in the Groin muscle is referred to as a Groin strain and depending on its severity it is classified as a first, second or third degree strain.

The immediate treatment of a Groin muscle injury consists of the RICE protocol - rest, ice, compression and elevation. It is important that this is done correctly and our Physios can advise you on this. This is aimed at reducing the bleeding and secondary tissue damage within the Groin muscle. After the early stages have been spent resting, more active rehabilitation can be started.

Gentle resistance exercises using resistance bands and stretching are important as they help to align the scar tissue which forms during the healing process. By aligning the scar tissue along the normal lines of stress the tensile strength of the healing Groin muscle is enhanced. At first gentle resistance is provided by our Physios, but as the muscle gets stronger then resistance bands can provide more of a challenge. The sets and repetitions are gradually increased and eventually Core strengthening can be started. We can guide you through this.