Groin pain while running is a common problem for runners and athletes in sports involving running, twisting, or quick direction changes like football, soccer, hockey, and basketball. The groin is a complex area with many bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves working together. This pain can disrupt your training and performance, but understanding its causes and how sports physiotherapy can help is key to getting back on track safely and quickly.
Key Takeaways
- Groin pain while running is often caused by muscle strains, hip issues, or biomechanical imbalances.
- Early physiotherapy intervention can reduce pain and speed up recovery.
- Personalised treatment and exercise programs help prevent re-injury.
- MGS Physiotherapy offers tailored, hands-on care for a safe return to running.
Introduction to Groin Issues
Groin issues are common among runners and athletes involved in sports requiring running and sudden direction changes. The groin area consists of key muscle groups, including the adductor muscles along the inner thigh, hip flexor muscles at the front of the hip, and abdominal muscles that stabilise the pelvis. These muscles work together to support movement but are prone to injury during intense exercise or abrupt movements.
Groin strains, one of the most common injuries in sports, particularly in hockey and soccer, happen when muscles or tendons are overstretched or torn, causing sharp pain, tenderness, and limited leg movement. Early recognition of groin pain symptoms is crucial for effective treatment and faster recovery. Understanding these muscle groups and injury causes helps you stay injury-free and maintain consistent training.
Common Causes of Groin Pain While Running
Groin pain can stem from various underlying issues. A groin strain is a common type of muscle strain in runners and athletes, often resulting from overstretching or overuse of the muscles in the lower body. Here are some of the most common causes:
Adductor Strain
The adductor muscles are one of three muscle groups connecting the lower belly to the thigh. Overstretching these muscles can result in a groin strain or, in severe cases, a torn muscle.
This type of muscle strain is common in sports that require rapid movements or when you suddenly change direction. If you feel pain or experience pain during an activity, you should stop and seek advice from a medical professional. Some rehabilitation stretches or exercises may be performed with knees bent or legs straight, depending on the protocol.
Hip Flexor Strain
The hip flexors, including the rectus femoris, are key hip muscles that help lift your knee and stabilise your pelvis. Muscle weakness in the hip muscles can contribute to injury and increase the risk of muscle strain. Strains in these muscles can occur with sudden acceleration or high-intensity running.
Hip Joint Issues
Conditions like femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) can cause pain that may feel like a sharp sensation during running or when bending. Maintaining the alignment of the legs in a straight line is important for hip health and to prevent running pain.
Hernia or Sports Hernia
Sports hernias often affect people who play sports that require them to change direction suddenly. These injuries frequently involve the rectus abdominus and the pubic symphysis, both of which are important for pelvic stability.
Referred Pain
Pain can also be referred from the pelvic bone or lower back. If underlying issues are not addressed, chronic strains or multiple groin strains can develop, increasing the risk of more serious injuries.
Groin pain while running can involve many muscles of the lower body, including the hip abductors. Maintaining hip strength and flexibility is key to preventing running pain and severe strain. Some injuries may heal in a few weeks, but severe or chronic strains may take longer and require further evaluation.
1. Adductor Strain
An adductor strain is one of the most frequent causes of groin pain in runners. The adductor muscles run along your inner thigh and help stabilise your legs during movement. Overuse, sudden increases in training intensity, or insufficient warm-ups can lead to small tears in these muscles, causing pain and tightness. Groin pulls typically result from exerting oneself harder than usual, especially during sports that require running, jumping, or sudden direction changes.
Certain adductor stretches are performed with the legs straight to effectively target the muscle group.It is important not only to stretch adductors, but to learn how to strengthen them through range in orderto reduce pain and injury
2. Hip Flexor Strain
Your hip flexors, particularly the iliopsoas muscle, play a major role in lifting your knee while running. The rectus femoris is another major hip flexor, also part of the quadriceps group, and is heavily involved in running movements. If they become overloaded due to poor biomechanics, weak core stability, or overtraining, you may experience sharp or aching pain in the groin area. Some hip flexor stretches are performed with the knees bent to better isolate the muscle.
3. Hip Joint Issues (Femoroacetabular Impingement)
Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) happens when extra bone growth around your hip joint causes the bones to rub or pinch during movement, leading to discomfort or pain in your groin. This usually results from the hip bones having an unusual shape, like what’s called CAM or PINCER morphology, which can make certain movements painful or stiff. FAI is caused by abnormal contact between the hip bones, often due to differences in their shape, such as CAM or PINCER morphology. Runners with FAI often report stiffness, reduced hip mobility, and pain that can feel like a sharp sensation during certain movements, especially running or bending. Maintaining a straight line with your legs during running can help reduce the risk of impingement.
4. Hernia or ‘Sports Hernia’
Unlike traditional hernias, a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia) involves a tear or strain of the soft tissue in the lower abdomen or groin area without a visible bulge. The rectus abdominus and pubic symphysis are often involved in sports hernias, as these structures play a key role in pelvic stability and are susceptible to injury during intense physical activity. These injuries frequently occur in the lower belly region, where the muscles connect the lower abdomen to the upper thigh. Sports hernias often affect people who play sports that require them to change direction suddenly, such as sprinting or interval training.
5. Referred Pain from Other Areas
Sometimes, groin pain isn’t due to issues in the groin itself. Referred pain can also originate from the pelvic bone, especially if there are stress fractures or other injuries in the hip and pelvis area. Tightness or dysfunction in your lower back, pelvis, or hips can cause referred pain to the groin area. If underlying issues are left untreated, they can lead to chronic strains or even multiple groin strains over time. You may experience pain in the groin area even if the root cause is elsewhere.
6. Stress Fractures and Running
Stress fractures are a serious cause of groin pain while running, often developing from repetitive impact rather than a single injury. The femoral neck stress fracture and pubic bone are common sites near the groin where these fractures occur. Symptoms include persistent thigh pain, muscle spasms, or a dull ache in the groin that can progress to severe pain during or after running. You might also experience difficulty walking or bearing weight on the affected leg. Ignoring these symptoms can lead to a complete fracture, requiring extended recovery time.
Osteitis pubis, another overuse injury, can also develop in runners who continue training despite groin pain. Treatment typically involves rest, applying a cold compress or ice pack to reduce swelling and improve blood flow, and using a compression bandage if needed. Working with a physical therapist ensures gradual rehabilitation to restore hip strength and mobility. Early diagnosis is crucial to prevent worsening injury and enable a safe return to physical activity.
Diagnosing Groin Issues
Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step to treating groin pain effectively. A healthcare professional—such as a physical therapist or sports medicine specialist—will review your medical history, ask about your symptoms and activity level, and perform a physical exam.
They’ll check for tenderness, swelling, or bruising in the groin and may use tests like the squeeze test to pinpoint muscle strains. Sometimes, imaging like X-rays or MRIs is needed to rule out serious issues like stress fractures or to better understand the injury. A clear diagnosis helps guide the right treatment plan, so you can heal safely and get back to running with confidence.
Why Early Physiotherapy is Essential for Groin Pain
Ignoring groin pain while running can worsen the injury, leading to chronic discomfort and longer recovery times. Early intervention can reduce recovery time to just a few weeks for mild injuries. Seeking early assessment and treatment from a sports physiotherapist offers many benefits:
1. Faster Recovery
Sports injury physiotherapy focuses on addressing the root cause of your pain. Through manual therapy, targeted exercises, and movement retraining, physiotherapists can accelerate your healing process, allowing you to return to running sooner.
2. Pain Reduction
Hands-on treatments such as soft tissue release, joint mobilisation, and dry needling (where appropriate) effectively reduce pain and muscle tension. This helps restore normal movement patterns and decreases compensatory strain elsewhere in the body.
3. Improved Mobility and Strength
Groin pain often stems from biomechanical imbalances, such as tight hip flexors or weak glutes. Physiotherapy addresses these factors through personalised exercise programs to improve hip stability, flexibility, and running form.
4. Prevention of Re-Injury
One of the greatest benefits of physiotherapy is injury prevention. Your physiotherapist will guide you on proper warm-up routines, strength training, and running technique adjustments to reduce future injury risks.
The MGS Physiotherapy Approach
At MGS Physiotherapy, we understand that groin pain can significantly affect your training goals and daily activities. Our experienced physiotherapists provide:
Tailored Treatment Plans
No two runners are the same. Your physiotherapist will thoroughly assess your movement patterns, strength, and flexibility to create a treatment plan suited to your needs and goals.
Hands-On Manual Therapy
We utilise manual therapy techniques to relieve muscle tension, improve joint mobility, and restore optimal biomechanics for running.
Personalised Exercise Programs
Strengthening and mobility exercises are a core part of rehabilitation. Your program will focus on hip stability, core strength, and gradual return-to-running drills.
One-on-One Care
We value quality time with each client, ensuring you receive dedicated attention during every session for optimal recovery outcomes.
Hip and Groin Strengthening
Building strength in your hip and groin muscles is essential for preventing and recovering from groin injuries. The adductor, hip flexor, and abdominal muscles work together to stabilise your pelvis and legs during running. When these muscles are weak or imbalanced, it can lead to poor movement and extra stress on your groin, increasing injury risk. Strengthening your core and glutes also supports recovery. Simple exercises like squats, lunges, and planks can make a big difference. A physical therapist can create a personalised plan to help you move better and stay injury-free.
Running Technique and Groin Pain
Your running technique can have a significant impact on your risk of developing groin pain. Common issues like overstriding or landing too heavily on your heels can place unnecessary stress on the groin area and surrounding muscles. Running on hard or uneven surfaces can also increase the likelihood of groin strains. To minimise your risk, focus on maintaining a midfoot or forefoot strike and avoid taking strides that are too long.
Gradually increasing your training intensity and mileage allows your muscles to adapt and helps prevent overuse injuries. Strengthening your hip and groin muscles as part of your routine can further support proper movement patterns. If you’re unsure about your running form, working with a sports physio or running coach can provide valuable feedback and help you develop a technique that keeps you running strong and pain-free.
Returning to Running Safely
Returning to running after groin pain should be gradual. Monitoring for running pain during your return is important to avoid setbacks. Your physiotherapist will guide you through progressive loading, running drills, and technique retraining to build confidence and prevent setbacks.
If you experience persistent groin pain while running, it’s important to seek professional assessment. Early physiotherapy intervention not only speeds up recovery but also empowers you to run stronger and more efficiently in the long term.
CALL NOW TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT