About groin pain

The adductor muscle group comprises six main muscles between the pelvic bone and the femur, called the adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, obturator externus, gracilis and pectineus. Their main function is to move the thigh and hip towards the body, also known as adduction. 

Adductor strains are caused by movements that require your muscle to lengthen and contract at the same time, which leads the muscles of the inner thigh or hip to overstretch and tear. They’re commonly sustained during sports or exercise when you make sudden movements such as kicking, as well as twisting to change direction while running or jumping. They can also occur during a range of other activities that subject your groin to intolerable forces.

However, groin pain can also be a symptom of a wide range of underlying conditions that require treatment, including bone fractures, hernias, hip conditions, nervous system conditions, urological conditions, gastrointestinal conditions, and gynaecological conditions. Because there are so many conditions that can cause groin pain, it's important you get checked out by a specialist if you're experiencing it.

At HCA UK, we can diagnose your condition and recommend the most effective treatment.

What's the process for diagnosing groin injuries?

First, you'll tell your consultant how your injury happened, what symptoms you're experiencing and whether you've had any similar injuries in the past. Your consultant will then perform a physical examination to test your groin's range of motion, find out which movements are painful and better pinpoint the exact location of your injury. They’ll also examine the surrounding areas, including your leg, hip and back.

They will ask you questions to learn more about your condition, including what the pain feels like, what makes it worse and better, whether it radiates to other areas, how it affects your movement, and whether you feel pain when coughing or sneezing.

Next, they might need to carry out some tests to better get to the root of the problem. These could include a CT scan, MRI scan, X-ray or ultrasound of your groin and pubic areas. These tests will be conducted by an expert radiologist to ensure the utmost precision and accuracy.

Your consultant will use all the information gathered through this process to rule out the different possible causes of your groin pain and arrive at a diagnosis for your condition.

What are the different categories of adductor strains?

Groin strains are usually divided into three degrees of severity:

• Grade one: Mild pain, loss of strength and movement
• Grade two: Moderate pain, loss of strength and movement, as well as some tissue damage
• Grade three: Severe pain, loss of strength and function due to a complete tear of the muscle.

Further groin strain treatments

Depending on the severity of your groin strain, your specialist may recommend physiotherapy to help you recover from your injury more quickly. This would involve a trained physiotherapist guiding you through gentle stretching and strengthening exercises that restore mobility and promote healing.

If your groin injury is recurring or chronic, further treatment may be needed to address the root cause, such as weakness or instability in nearby muscle groups. Your specialist may suggest an ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into your groin if the injury is being caused by adductor tendonitis. This is an anti-inflammatory medicine that helps relieve pain. Using ultrasound allows for the injection to be placed with greater accuracy, improving effectiveness and reducing the likelihood of side effects occurring. It’s important to note that your consultant would only ever recommend this treatment option in addition to a physiotherapy programme, rather than as a replacement.