Muscles referred to as part of the groin are one of five adductors that stretch from the pelvic bone to the thigh bone or knee, according to the Sports Injury Clinic. When groins are pulled, strained or ruptured, doctors and sports medicine professionals first recommend rest and treatment before light stretching and a battery of exercises to help the groin heal itself.
Symptoms
Groin strains are muscle tears, ruptures or pulls to the muscle group. Symptoms range from tightness and slight pain for Grade 1 strain to sharp pains, tightness and swelling in a Grade 2, to a Grade 3 strain with severe pain, substantial swelling and the inability to squeeze your thighs together.
Specific Groin Stretches
Sports Medicine Specialists, a Texas sports medicine practice, recommends a two-phase rehabilitation. Within the first 48 hours, begin gently stretching the groin in the supine and sitting position. The supine stretch starts on your back with your soles together and your knees bent outward. Relax the muscles and let the stretch work the groin muscle. The sitting stretch works much in the same way, but instead of lying on your back you should sit up. With your heels and soles touching and your hands holding your feet, gently pull yourself forward until you feel the stretch.
Reach and Lunge
Also in the first phase of the Sports Medicine Specialists program are three reaches. The lunge stretch begins with you kneeling on your left knee with the foot turned inward. Then, bend the right knee 90 degrees and place your hand on the floor to the inside of your upper body. Shift your hips downward, which stretches the right groin. Flip the directions to stretch the other side. The sit-and-reach involves sitting on the flood with your legs opened to the same width as your shoulders. Straighten your back, reach across your body with your left hand to the right foot and hold the stretch before switching to the other side.
Leg Raises
The leg raise is a good measure of the muscle's strength and flexibility. It's also the first step in Phase 2 of SMS's rehab program. SMS and the University at Buffalo's University Sports Medicine practice advise using a battery of positions, including adduction, in which you lie on your uninjured side with your legs straight and lift the inured leg; abduction, in which you lie on your injured side with your uninjured leg folded over and lift your injured leg; supine, in which you sit back, leaning on your elbows, with your left knee bent and lift your injured leg; and prone, in which you lie on your stomach and lift your straightened leg..
Hip Exercises
Also part of SMS's Phase 2 is working the hips. University Sports Medicine starts with the hip flexion. While standing with your back against a door or wall, hold your leg straight, slowly swing your leg out and then repeat with the other leg. The hip extension is the opposite movement. Face the door, straighten your leg and pull it backward. Repeat the motion with your other leg. The abduction and adduction work the groin muscle as well. While standing in a doorway, straighten your injured leg and swing it outward to your side. This is the abduction exercise. The adduction involves your straightened leg swinging inward and crossing over your the foot of your healthy leg.
