Adductor (Groin) Strain

What Is It?

The adductors are the inner-thigh muscles that pull the leg toward the midline. The adductor longus, near its origin on the pubic bone, is the usual site of a “groin pull.”

A strain means muscle fibers were overstretched. We grade strains I–III: Grade I — mild, microscopic fiber injury; Grade II — moderate, a partial tear with strength loss; Grade III — severe, complete disruption.

How It Happens

Cutting, side-to-side movement, skating strides, or a forceful kick — classic in hockey, soccer, and football.

What It Feels Like

Inner-thigh or groin pain with pushing off, side-lunging, or squeezing the legs together; tenderness high on the inner thigh.

How Long Recovery Takes

• Grade I: 1–2 weeks
• Grade II: 3–6 weeks
• Grade III: 8+ weeks; chronic groin pain lasting beyond that deserves evaluation for athletic pubalgia (“sports hernia”) or hip joint problems

Treatment

Almost all muscle strains heal without surgery. For the first 72 hours: relative rest, ice 15–20 minutes several times daily, compression, and gentle motion — complete rest slows healing. Then a progressive program: pain-free motion → isometrics → strengthening → eccentric loading (strengthening the muscle while it lengthens — the phase that prevents re-injury) → sport-specific work.

Progressive adduction strengthening (ball squeezes → Copenhagen adduction exercise) with core stabilization; the Copenhagen program roughly halves groin-injury risk in field athletes.

Returning to Sport

Return when strength is at least 90% of the other side, motion is full and pain-free, and you can perform your sport’s movements at full speed without hesitation. Returning before the muscle is re-strengthened is the main cause of re-injury.

Preventing the Next One

Preseason adductor strengthening and gradual buildup of skating/cutting volume.

When to Call Us

Groin pain with coughing or sneezing, pain radiating into the lower abdomen, or numbness — these point away from a simple strain.