What muscles are in your groin?
There are 5 key muscles associated with the groin complex and essentially can be involved with an adductor strain; Adductor Brevis, Adductor Longus, Adductor Magnus, Gracilis and Pectineus.
Footballers are an example of athletes who are plagued with groin strains due to their powerful multidirectional movements and repetitive skilful leg movements during training and competitive events.
The best groin strain stretches
These groin muscles are located high up and on the inside of the thigh. They attach directly to the pelvis and the inguinal ligament therefore during movement of the thighs, whilst playing sport, come under massive forces of contraction.
The repetitive nature of hip movements in training and competition creates constant tension where the groin is located.
The best exercises to strengthen your groin
Dynamic groin stretches have been proven to help isolate the groin complex and prepare the muscular cells for competition.
You may have seen athletes swinging their legs forward and backwards and from side to side whilst holding onto their teammates to warm up these muscles.
Off the field, most players have a series of Yoga type stretches they perform in order to elongate these muscles to reduce the tension and increase their flexibility.
How long does a groin strain take to heal?
Groin strains are frustrating and can take a long time to heal therefore it's important to avoid these types of injuries with correct pre-habilitation exercises and even to wear compression garments (iGD Ductor Shorts, for example) to help avoid flare-ups.
A chronic groin issue means no explosive movements from anywhere between 3 and 6 months. Any surgical intervention can even increase this period to up to a year out of competition due to the length of rehabilitation it takes to become fully fit again.