Groin strains can be hard to shake. Once you get one, they often stick around longer than you expect. In this guest post, strength coach and physical therapist Sam Spinelli breaks down practical ways to resolve the issue.
HOW TO TRAIN AROUND A GROIN STRAIN
Groin strains are a common problem across many populations and sports that demand a lot from the groin, such as baseball, hockey, and soccer. The groin is made up of several muscles and is involved in many movements—hip flexion and extension, bringing the knee toward the midline, and internal and external hip rotation. Because of this, the groin can be stressed during these movements and also during their opposite movements.
For example, the adductor brevis, a upper groin muscle, helps with adduction, internal rotation, and hip flexion. If it is strained, performing those movements can challenge the muscle. Conversely, hip abduction, external rotation, and extension lengthen the muscle, and excessive lengthening can worsen the tissue damage.
The first step is to calm things down. The goal is to help the involved muscles express their natural range of motion with ease, not to force tissue lengthening.
GET LONG
Getting long means helping the involved muscles tolerate their full range of motion. It’s not about forcing the tissue to lengthen right away, but about allowing it to move through its natural range with less resistance.
We use a progression:
– Foam rolling to briefly reduce tissue tone
– Less dynamic movements that involve fewer joints and provide support
– More dynamic movements that transfer to daily life and sport
As you move into the building phase, the focus shifts to exercises that make the tissue more resilient, starting with getting long and then getting strong.
SOFT TISSUE – ADDUCTORS
– Split stance adductor mobilization
– Frog
– Frog 2.0
– Lateral lunge
– Cossack lunge
– Cossack squat
GET STRONG
A stronger muscle can handle more stress. So we work to build the groin muscles as well as the abdominals. The groin muscles originate in part from a common area shared with some abdominal muscles, which can create balanced or imbalanced force. Imbalance is a common cause of recurring issues, so it’s addressed here. We begin with less dynamic movements to target the groin, then gradually add more dynamic movement and load. For the abdominals, we train them in both isometric and isotonic formats to build static strength and pelvic control.
ADDUCTOR STRENGTHENING
– Side-lying adduction
– Feet-elevated side plank – top leg only
– Feet-elevated side-lying adduction
– Lateral lunge – dumbbells
– Lateral lunge – 1 rack
– Band-resisted lateral lunge
ABDOMINAL STRENGTHENING
– Reverse crunch
– Hanging knee raise
– Hard-style plank
AN EXAMPLE INTRODUCTORY SESSION
– Split stance adductor mobilization x10 x3 sets
– Side-lying adduction x10 x3 sets
– Frog x10 x3 sets
– Reverse crunch x10 x3 sets
As you start to build strength and comfort, you can progress to:
MODIFIED LOWER BODY LIFT (RFESS, deadlifts, etc.)
– Lateral lunge – dumbbells x6 x3 sets
– Hard-style plank – 3 (10s) x3 sets
– Feet-elevated side plank – top leg only x3 (10s) x3 sets
– Hanging knee raise
WRAP UP
Over time, you should continue progressing to more advanced movements that involve power, agility, and greater motor control of positioning. Move well, lift smart, stay healthy.
