Groin Strain (Adductor Strain)
A groin strain usually occurs with high speed activities such as kicking, change of direction or sprinting.
A groin strain is a muscular tear or rupture to any one of your groin muscles – usually one of the hip adductor muscle group.
Your body has five adductor muscles: adductor brevis, longus, magnus, pectineus and gracilis. Any of these groin muscles can be strained but the most common is the adductor longus.
What are the symptoms of Groin Pain?
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Pain and Tenderness with palpation of the groin muscles
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Tightness and Muscle Spasm of your groin muscles.
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Pain with stretching of your groin muscles.
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Pain when squeezing your fist between your knees (contraction of your groin muscles)
Do I really have a Groin Strain?
It is important to accurately diagnose the source of your groin pain.While groin pain most commonly is associated with a groin (adductor) strain, you can also experience groin pain from other origins such as:
- Adductor Tendinopathy
- Osteitis Pubis
- Hip Labral Tear
- Femero-Acetabular Impingement (FAI)
- Hip Arthritis
- Trochanteric Bursitis (Bursitis Hip)
- Poor Hip Control
A thorough examination from your Leading Edge Physiotherapist can usually accurately identify the source of your groin pain. If required, you may be referred onto our network of sports physicians or Orthopaedic Surgeons for further assessment – MRI and ultrasound investigations can be useful to specifically identify the location and extent of groin injury.
How bad is my Groin Strain?
Depending On Their Severity, Groin Strains Are Graded 1, 2, Or 3.
- Grade 1 strains are a mild injury.
- Grade 2 strains are a moderate severity injury, which may moderately affect your sporting performance and ability to walk.
- Grade 3 strains are severe and will affect your ability to run, jump and hop. These injuries may require surgical intervention.
Injury up high in the adductor muscles will often lead to inflammation of the groin or a tendinopathy after the initial injury has healed. It is not unusual to have a combination of groin muscle strain and the other similar injuries listed above (tendinopathy, hernia, osteitis pubis etc).
Accurate assessment and appropriate management of your groin injury is vital in preventing long term, debilitating groin pain.
I think I have strained my groin, what do I do now?
As soon as possible, and for 72 hours after injury, use the RICE method:- Rest - Take it easy and only move within your limit of pain.
- Ice - As soon as possible, and for 20 minutes every two hours, apply ice or a frozen gel pack wrapped in a damp towel. This helps to control bleeding and pain and reduces secondary tissue damage.
- Compression - Firmly bandage the injury. This helps to control swelling.
- Elevation - As much as possible, elevate your injury higher than the level of your heart to reduce swelling.