The groin muscles are fragile and delicate. They run from the interior thighs and run upward to the pelvic bone. The merged movement of these muscles helps in activities, such as jumping, walking, and side to side movements. Strenuous exercise or damage to the groin muscles causes stiffness and pain. Yoga stretching and light workout can reduce pain and improve flexibility.
The inside groin and thigh parts are supported by muscles such as iliopsoas, pectineus, adductors, and sartorius, etc. This part of the body is sensitive, so before you start, it is essential to discuss with a physiotherapist to discuss the suitability of the workout for you. Skip doing any workout if it causes you pain or injury. Aged people with improper stabilized and decreased fitness levels should always do these exercises under expert supervision to skip muscle tension in the thighs and groin.
Lying Groin Stretch
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This exercise targets on hip flexors, adductors, and glutes.
How To Do?
- Lie down on a mat and support yourself using a pillow or exercise block.
- Balance your knees bent and feet level on the floor and near together.
- Breath out and gently draws your legs at distance. Feel the stretch and stay in this move for 30 seconds.
- Avoid overstretch and hold it at one point where you feel stretch and not the pain.
- You may keep your hands on your knees to gently push down to the knees to stretch groin muscles.
- Breath out and get knees together. Perform 3-sets of 5-reps.
Adductor Squeeze
This workout target adductors.
How to do it?
- Lie down over back on a mat. Keep hands along the sides of the body.
- Keep knees pointing up and grab a softball in between knees.
- Gently squeeze the ball to contract adductor muscles. Hold it for 10-seconds and release.
- Take a breath while you perform this workout.
- Do 3-sets of 4-reps.
Side-Lying Groin Stretch
It targets glutes, adductors, and hamstrings muscles.
How to do it?
- Lie down over the left side.
- Support head using left hand during keeping both legs straight.
- Gently raise your right leg in the air as much as you can.
- You may also manage your knee with your right hand.
- Hold on to this pose for 3-seconds to feel the stretch and perform 2-sets of 10-reps.
- Lie down on the other side and stretch the left leg.
Lying Single Leg Adductor Stretch
This exercise focus on abductors, glutes, and hip flexors muscles.
How to do it?
- Lie down conveniently on a mat, your head over a pillow.
- Place knees flexed, feet flat and near together on the floor.
- Lower down one knee using the other knee in the beginning point.
- Hold the position for 3-5 seconds and gently lift it back to the beginning point.
- Do the similar to the other leg and perform 2-sets of 5-reps.
Lying Internal Adduction
This exercise target glutes and adductors.
How to do it?
- Lie down over the right side with ease on a mat.
- Your head should be on a pillow. Keep your left hand in front of you over the mat.
- Bent left knee and keep left foot over the floor back your right leg.
- Gently raise your right leg. Hold this pose for 3-seconds and gently keep your right leg back over the floor.
- Perform 10-times before doing the same using the other leg.
Seated Groin Stretch
This exercise focus on hip flexors, adductors, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, and quads.
How to do it?
- Sit over a mat and flex your knees so that your heels are near to your body.
- Manage back straight and lower knees to reach the floor.
- You may also flex your back a little and use elbows to keep the pressure on the knees in a downward direction.
- Release the muscle tension slowly and do it again a few more times to increase groin muscles strength. Do 2-sets of 10-reps.
Seated Forward Fold Stretch
Its focus on hamstrings, glutes, and calves’ muscles.
How to do it?
- Sit over a mat and stretch your right leg diagonally. Twist other leg and get it near the inner thigh-groin area.
- Rotate shoulders back, stretch the spine, and turn the torso slightly to the right.
- Keep right fingertips over the floor near the leg.
- Keep left palm on the outward calf part of the right leg and feel the stretch in the hamstring, hips, calves, and groin part.
- Hold this position for 5-seconds and slowly release. Perform the similar with another leg also.
Seated Hip Abduction
Its focus on abductors, hip flexors, hamstrings, and glutes.
How to do it?
- Stay comfortably over a bench or chair. Place feet at shoulder-width apart and keep a resistance band below the knees.
- Twist arms over the chest, place spine straight, and shoulders pinched back, and look straight ahead.
- Open legs out against the resistance of the band. Also, it opens feet but skips moving them from their pose.
- Get the legs back to the starting point.
Barre Leg Stretch
This workout focus on hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, and Adductors.
How to do it?
- Remain almost a barre bar. Change the height to a low position if your groin region is firm or you are recuperating from a new injury.
- Hold the bar with one hand and keep one leg on it. Put the leg extended.
- Flex toward the stretched leg to sense the stretch. Skip overstretching and hold it for 3-seconds and free yourself.
- Perform 3-times for each leg.
Plie Squat
It targets glutes, adductors, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quad muscles.
How to do it?
- Remain with your hands kept on the facade of your thighs, close to your groin.
- Keep your feet wide separated, so your toes are pointing outward on one or the other side.
- Flex knees gently and push hips out. Keep weight on heels and lift hands straight in the front direction. Your palms should face down.
- Hold for one moment and get back to starting position by pushing heels to straighten legs.
- You may also perform this workout using weights in your hands to raise the intensity and do one set of 8-reps.
Band Abduction
Its focus on hip flexors, adductors, glutes, calves, and hamstrings.
How to do it?
- Stand straight by keeping feet kept together. Place a resistance band near ankles.
- Hold a steady thing with hands for balance. You can also perform this without any support, depending on your fitness level.
- Putting your left leg strongly on the floor, lift the right leg over your side, stretching as much as possible.
- Take a pause and get back the leg to its starting position, releasing the resistance band tension.
- Keep the right leg firm, lift the left leg to the sides, and extend the band and back to the starting point.
- Repeat this workout multiple times to strengthen your groin knees and groin muscles. It also prevents the falling in knees while running and squatting. Perform 2-sets of 8-reps.
Hip Extension With Band
Its focus on hamstrings and glutes muscles.
How to do it?
- Wrap the resistance band near the right ankle and tie the other end to a table leg.
- Stand straight with knees flexed a little, hands-on waist, shoulder pinched back, and face the table.
- Pull the leg back opposite to the resistance provided by the band.
- Return the leg to begin point.
- Perform this using the left leg also. Perform 2-sets of 8-reps.
Long Adductor Stretch
It targets hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, calves, glutes, and quads.
How to do it?
- Sit on a yoga mat using legs stretched in front of you.
- Open up right leg till it is about 45 degrees with your left leg.
- Open left leg by getting it to the side, at about 45-degrees from the starting position.
- Use hands to push both legs back and slowly open up the legs a bit more.
- Flex body in the front direction and keep forearms over the floor in the front direction.
- Count to five before getting the body back upward and perform it 3-times.
Anjaneyasana
It focuses on glutes, adductors, hamstrings, and hip flexors.
How to do it?
- Get into a plie squat position and keep hands on knees.
- Twist toward the right, getting into a lunge pose. Keep both the hands over the right knee.
- Slowly keep fingertips on the floor for balance and lower hips. Your left leg will stretch backward as you do this. Slowly keep shin and tarsal joint on the floor.
- Keep hands on the knee again. Feel the stretch in the groin part and push hips down if the stretch is not sufficient.
- Hold this pose for 30-seconds and keep breathing.
Hip Flexor Stretch
Its focus on hamstrings, Hip flexors, calves, glutes, lower back, and quads.
How to do it?
- Stand right over a mat. Keep right leg front and go downward till left knee meets the mat. Keep both palms on the right knee, point left toes outward, and push the right knee using palms. At the same time, draw the upper body back and feel the stretch in the inner thighs, quad, glutes, and abs.
- Keep this pose for 5-seconds and then get back upward.
- Do this for another left leg.
Expert’s Answers
How long should you rest after a groin injury?
Depending on the severity of your injury, your doctor will suggest to you how much rest you need. Talk to your physician instantly if you feel any pain in the groin part.
How do you stretch out a pulled muscle or groin?
If your groin muscles are pulled, then take the help of your physiotherapist to stretch them. Do not try to do it yourself without knowing which muscle you need help with.
Can you run while groin injury?
No, you should not run with an injury in the groin muscle. Take enough rest and have an appointment with a physiotherapy session before you regain your strength.
How to increase groin muscle strength?
The groin muscles are sensitive and delicate. You can strengthen them by performing necessary yoga stretches and workouts, like seated adduction and abduction and lying and seated groin stretches. But you must talk to the doctor and do these under the supervision of a certified physical therapist.
How to relieve groin pain?
Initially, you should find why you are feeling pain in the groin. If it is an injury, you must get help from medical treatment. During healing, you may perform groin muscle strengthen stretches and exercises. You also need to rest to heal the injury heal.
How to increase groin flexibility?
The opening groin is important to improve flexibility. You may perform barre leg stretches, stretched side lunges, lunges, yoga asana, seated leg stretches. Take the help of any friend to perform a standing leg extension.
How many times does it take to heal a pulled groin?
It takes 4-6 weeks to heal a pulled groin. You must rest unless your physician says otherwise. Being doing growing muscle strength and stretch only after your doctor permits you to begin rehabilitation therapy.
How To Avoid Groin Strains?
Take precautions while doing groin strains while doing vigorous activities. It is especially essential if you have already had a strain on your groin or suffering from muscle deficiency in this part.
If you have taken a break from a sport, slowly begin once you continue the activity. Gradually lift the strength and duration of workouts. It helps you gain the flexibility and strength needed to support healthy patterns of movement. You may like to increase your range of motion and resistance in the lower body. Always include a warmup and cooldown in your exercise.
Another way to skip groin injuries is to keep the core engaged and strong. A weak core has been shown to influence individuals to pains in the groin.
When To Get Medical Help
Check with a doctor if you feel pain in the groin that is not getting better with home treatment, which includes taking a break from activity. Your physical therapist or doctor will ask about symptoms and possible causes of injury. They will do a physical analysis that allows them to determine the location of injury and pain. It may involve moving adductor muscles and testing the range of motion of the leg. Some cases also need an X-ray or MRI.