Groin Pain

Adductor muscle injuries

The adductor muscles are the group of muscles on the inside of your thigh. These muscles are also responsible for bringing your leg inward toward the other leg, and also help to stabilise your pelvis and leg. Muscle strains are encountered more frequently in sports like hockey, soccer and rugby, where athletes use strong contraction of these muscles for quick direction changes, twisting, turning, sprinting or kicking. This strain is where the muscle or its tendon is stretched or torn.

With an acute adductor muscle strain, you will experience immediate pain along the inside of your thigh and up to your pelvic and groin area. Injury may be accompanied by a sensation of tearing or pulling and will most often result in swelling and bruising. Walking, running, or lifting your knee might be difficult and cause pain.

Muscle strains are graded depending on the severity of the injury:

⦁ Grade 1 injuries are characterized by damage to a small number of muscle fibres. You will have some localised pain but no loss of muscle strength or function.

⦁ Grade 2 injuries involve more muscle fibre damage. If a muscle or tendon is partially torn, there will be pain, swelling, bruising and associated muscle weakness.

⦁ Grade 3 injuries are where the muscle or tendon is completely torn, and you won’t be able to use your leg as usual.

During the first 48 to 72 hours after an acute adductor muscle strain, you need to apply the RICE principles of Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation to manage the pain and to limit the amount of swelling and bruising. Your physiotherapist can guide you through this regime and also provide advice regarding the use of crutches and anti-inflammatory medication if needed.

Early movement is crucial for the proper healing of a muscle strain. Our main aims of treatment for you will be to promote healing of the damaged muscle, to restore your movement, strength, stability and endurance and help you return to your sport or other activities. First few treatment sessions will focus on symptoms management and may include the following:

Ultrasound and Electrotherapy, encourage tissue healing and help to relieve pain

Massage, release muscle spasm and loosen scar tissue that may form

Movement exercises to maintain your mobility, to stretch and strengthen your muscles

Taping, assist with reducing swelling and bruising and to provide external support to your healing muscle

Advice on how to continue with alternative training to maintain your fitness as you recover from your injury

It is crucial for you to follow your rehabilitation program until the end. Returning to sport or activity too quickly may result in re-injury. The goal of our rehabilitation for you is to gradually get you back to your sport and activities safely and prevent further injury or subsequent muscle strains. Therefore, we develop a holistic program for you and guide you through each stage of rehabilitation.

Other causes of groin pain

Referred pain

Location of pain does not always relate to the structure that is causing the pain. Sometimes groin pain may be coming from your lower back, your sacroiliac joints, or surrounding muscles. Physiotherapists at Just Physio will always perform a thorough physical assessment after obtaining a detailed history from you regarding the onset, nature, and behaviour of your symptoms. This enables us to determine what is really causing your pain so that we can provide the best, most effective, and targeted treatment to address the cause of your problem.

• Thigh pain
• Muscle injuries (quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors)
• Nerve injuries
• Referred pain
• Bursitis
• Compartment syndrome