This is the type of injury that is best assessed and managed as soon as possible – early treatment of adductor related groin pain is best. Your Hip Pain Professional can provide a thorough examination and look for reasons underlying your condition. They will then develop a personalised recovery plan for you and put strategies in place for minimising the chances of reinjury.
Treatment almost always begins with some good advice and a targeted exercise program. Most people will get an excellent outcome with this approach. Early treatment is likely to lead to more rapid and complete recovery. For those that do not recover with education and exercise, there are extra options.
If you want to know more about what Adductor related groin pain is, its usual symtoms and possible causes make sure you check out our first in this two part blog series “What is Adductor Related Groin Pain and What is the Cause (Adductor Tendinopathy, Adductor Tear).” Click here to read more.
Gaining an understanding of what the problem is and how to stop provoking it, is the first important step. This is often called ‘load management’. Your Hip Pain Professional can identify specific aggravating factors and provide individualised advice. Things you do regularly may be making the situation worse. For example, stretching for adductor tendinopathy is usually not recommended.
A specific and individualised exercise program is the other main aspect of treatment. Improvements can occur quickly, particularly if you have caught the problem early. If you have had the condition for a long time, progress may be slower. In either case, it is a good idea to continue an exercise program for at least 3-6 months. This will allow time to see the full effect of treatment. A slowly progressive loading program can be undertaken for not only the adductor muscles, but to improve strength and control around the whole hip and pelvis and throughout the lower limbs. As the pain reduces and strength improves, more sport-specific or demanding drills are introduced.
An exercise program can have many benefits such as:
Cortisone (corticosteroid) injections usually only provide short term relief. Cortisone, particularly repeated injections, may also reduce health of non-bony structures such as tendons. So, it is usually best to commit to an education and exercise approach first. Injections are rarely useful in isolation. Results are usually best when combined with load management and exercise.
Surgery is a last resort and is usually only considered after 12 months of other treatments.
A recent review found there is only low-quality evidence that surgery is superior to non-surgical treatment (rehabilitation) and a high risk of bias (i.e., potential for the information to be misleading) amongst papers looking at surgery (King). When studies have looked at whether athletes get back to sport more quickly after surgery compared to rehabilitation without surgery, there is little difference in the timeframes. This means that non-surgical rehabilitation should always be the first option for treatment of adductor-related groin pain.
Visit our Pain Locator Map to learn more about soft tissue related pain in different regions around the hip and pelvis, or other causes of groin pain.
Your Hip Pain Professional can:
Search For A Hip Pain Professional Here.
References
Adductor Muscles, Adductor Related Groin Pain, and Inguinal Related Groin Pain: Learn more about the specific muscles in this region including of the inner thigh and lower abdominals and their involvement with pain in the area.
Pubic Symphysis Pain, Pubic Related Groin Pain and Pelvic Girdle Pain learn what these terms mean and about the structures involved and how can a health professional can help.
Authors
This blog was written by Dr Alison Grimaldi and Kirsty McNab, physiotherapists who have over 50 years of combined professional clinical experience, dealing with patients suffering from a wide range of hip and pelvic conditions.
Dr. Alison Grimaldi BPhty, MPhty(Sports), PhD is Practice Principal of Physiotec Physiotherapy, an Australian Sports Physiotherapist and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, author and global educator.
Kirsty McNab BSc Hons, MPhty(Sports), is Practice Principal of Physiologix and a highly experienced Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist having worked extensively with elite athletes, the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, and Tennis Australia.
