How to Rehabilitate a Groin Pull
Rehabilitate an adductor strain using progressive isometric squeezes, active mobility rock-backs, side-lying raises, and modified Copenhagen holds.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Exercise mat
- ✓ Foam roller
- ✓ Yoga block
- ✓ Flat workout bench
- ✓ Digital timer
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Athletic grip socks or bare feet
- ✓ Non-slip flooring
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Stop immediately if sharp or radiating pain exceeds 3 out of 10 on a visual pain scale.
- • Do not perform ballistic or bouncing stretches on an acutely strained adductor muscle.
- • Ensure the bench or support surface is completely stable and weighted before loading.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (5 Steps)
Perform Supine Adductor Isometric Squeezes
Lie flat on your back on the mat with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. Place a foam roller or yoga block vertically between your knees. Squeeze the block inward with moderate effort for 5 seconds, then relax for 5 seconds across 10 repetitions.
- • User is supine with feet flat on the mat hip-width apart.
- • Block is compressed between inner knees without pelvic shifting.
- • Arching the lower back off the mat during the squeeze.
- • Squeezing aggressively to the point of sharp pain.
Execute Half-Kneeling Adductor Rock-Backs
Assume a quadruped position on all fours, then extend your injured leg straight out to the side with the entire foot flat on the floor. Keep your hands planted beneath your shoulders and your spine neutral. Slowly rock your hips back toward your supporting heel until you feel a gentle groin stretch, hold for 2 seconds, and return.
- • Extended leg is fully straight with the inner border of the foot grounded.
- • Pelvis rocks rearward along a straight horizontal plane without twisting.
- • Allowing the extended leg's foot to roll off the floor.
- • Rounding the lower back excessively when rocking backward.
Perform Side-Lying Adductor Leg Raises
Lie on the side of the injured leg with your body in a straight line. Cross your top uninjured leg over the bottom leg, placing that foot flat on the mat in front of your bottom knee. Slowly raise the bottom straight leg 4 to 6 inches off the floor, pause for 1 second at the top, and lower down with control for 12 reps.
- • Bottom leg remains straight and elevates parallel to the floor.
- • Torso remains stacked vertically without rolling backward onto the glutes.
- • Rolling the pelvis backward to recruit hip flexors instead of adductors.
- • Flicking the bottom leg up quickly using momentum.
Hold a Modified Copenhagen Plank
Lie on your side perpendicular to a flat workout bench. Place the knee and shin of your top (injured) leg on top of the bench while your bottom elbow is propped on the mat directly under your shoulder. Lift your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line from shoulder to knee, keeping the bottom leg hovering underneath. Hold for 15 to 20 seconds.
- • Straight line visible from the top shoulder through the torso down to the supported knee.
- • Hips elevated fully off the floor without sagging.
- • Letting the hips sag toward the ground.
- • Placing only the foot on the bench instead of supporting the entire knee and shin.
Execute Slow Lateral Lunges
Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and hands clasped at your chest. Take a wide step out to the side with the injured leg, landing flat and shifting your weight back into that hip while keeping the trailing leg straight. Lower until your thigh is parallel to the ground or at a pain-free depth, then press forcefully through the heel to return to standing.
- • Stepping knee aligns directly over the middle toes with hips shifted back.
- • Trailing leg remains straight with the entire foot planted on the floor.
- • Allowing the working knee to collapse inward past the big toe.
- • Rising onto the toes of the working leg instead of keeping the heel grounded.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Squat University — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Flat workout bench? Sturdy living room couch or low ottoman
- No Yoga block? Folded firm pillow or soccer ball