ADDUCTOR STRAIN
- Groin pain?
- Did you feel a pop when it happened?
- Can’t raise your leg?
The adductor group of muscles is complex.
They flex the hip, they extend the hip, and they can even rotate it.
They are a group of muscles able to do all of these functions, and that is why when you injure one of them, it is an absolute must to rehab it.
What is an Adductor Strain?
An Adductor Strain is a strain to the adductor muscle or tendon.
The adductor is only one muscle from a collection of muscles from the hip. Most commonly, you will have a strain of the adductor longus or adductor magnus.
What is a strain? A strain is a low-grade muscle tear. A Grade I tear to be exact.
Treat it as a tear using the PRICE method.
What causes an Adductor Strain?
An Adductor Strain can be caused by overuse or over demand. Overuse is making a muscle do more than it physically can if it is in normal health, and biomechanics are perfect.
An analogy for over demand is this:
Remember the old martial arts movies?
Usually, someone punches through a plank of wood, right? There was nothing wrong with this wood (if used as wood is usually), but in this case, it got punched. Notice they never punched the wood from the top down. That’s because the wood plank is stronger that way.
In over demand cases, the muscle is not being allowed to be in its most strong state, and it breaks as a result.
Adductor Strain Rehab
Rehab of an Adductor Strain is a little different than that of other hip injuries. Since it is a low-grade tear, it needs more TLC in the form of deep tissue work before exercise rehab.
Weeks 1-3 are a great time for deep tissue work to help keep the scar tissue at the proper length. Typically receiving care 1-2 times per week.
Week 3 and onward are a great time to incorporate some adductor specific rehab. Training the core and pelvic muscles is important from week 2 until you are feeling better provided you do not feel an extra strain while performing the exercises.
You can use a lacrosse ball or foam roller to perform some self-myofascial work if you do not have access or time to see a trained professional.
Adductor Strain Treatment Options
Here are some other treatments that can assist you in recovering from an Adductor Strain:
- Active Release Technique
- Deep tissue massage
- Anti-inflammatory injections
- Prolotherapy
- Chiropractic adjustments or mobilizations
- Strength training/rehab
- PRICE therapy
- Running gait training
Just like many of the other groin pain diagnosis, strength training, and endurance core work tend to have the fastest and longest-lasting effect for active people. For non-active people, many of the passive therapies are good enough, such as massage, Active Release and joint mobilizations.
