Runners who feel pain in the inner thigh are suffering a groin strain or pull, which is an injury common among runners and people who play sports that require lots of running like soccer or racquet sports. A groin injury can range from a complete rupture to slight strain of the muscles attaching the pubic bone to the thigh bone. This injury specifically affects a person's adductor muscles on the inside of his thigh, according to "The Stretching Handbook."
Causes
Pain in the upper inner thigh area is caused by tensing up the abductor, or inner thigh, muscle, which is involved in turning the toe in. Overworking this muscle can be painful. Runners often feel such pain after running on snow or on fall leaves, because the streets are slippery and they are tensing up to keep their balance. Others tense these muscles because their feet aren't properly balanced. Overworking these musclse can result in a groin pull, advise Murray F. Weisenfeld and Barbara Burr in "The Runners' Repair Manual: A Complete Program for Diagnosing and Treating Your Foot, Leg and Back Problems."
Symptoms
The symptoms of inner thigh strain can be felt in many ways, and pain might be mild, according to "Sports First Aid," by Melinda J. Flegel. The pain can just show up during a person's run. Sometimes, however, it's felt when moving the thigh toward the other leg, when moving sideways or with pivoting maneuvers.
Prevention/Solution
Not warming up and doing an inadequate amount of stretching after a run can lead to groin strains or pulls, as can overtraining, advises Runnersrescue.com. Wearing the right shoes also can help combat pain in the inner thigh. Runners should avoid shoes with a heel that's much wider at the bottom because this affects the movement of the runner's heel and ankle. Some runners whose feet are not balanced correctly need a wedge under the inner side of the heel to alleviate the strain that's placed on their inner thigh muscles. Other runners might require orthotics, advise Burr and Weisenfeld.
Considerations
Women can experience inner thigh pain due to an ischeal fracture. The ischeum is part of a person's pelvis. The pain from this fracture begins high on the inner thigh, so women who injure it often think they've suffered a groin pull. After a few days the pain presents just under the groin at the bottom of the pelvic bone. This injury requires treatment by an orthopedist, advise Burr and Weisenfeld.
Expert Insight
If a runner suffers a groin pull he needs to stop or reduce his running until the pain goes away. After the pain stops, he needs to do stretching such as the butterfly and strengthening exercises such as inner thigh lifts for a week. To do the butterfly, a runner sits with her feet together, back straight and elbows on the inside of her knees. She slowly pushes down on the inside of her knees with her elbows, advises Runnersrescue.com. The inner thigh lift is done by lying on the unaffected side, tightening the thigh muscle on the leg that's strained and slowly raising it off the floor. After the week of stretching and strengthening, she can begin running gently, up to a mile a day, and must continue to do stretching and strengthening exercises. If pain returns, the runner should take a few days off from running but continue the exercises. This recovery may take quite a bit of persistence, advise Burr and Weisenfeld.
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