Before You Start… Remember
The inner thigh and groin areas are supported by muscles like the adductors, pectineus, iliopsoas, sartorius, etc. This is a sensitive area, so before you begin, it is important to consult your physiotherapist to discuss the suitability of the inner thigh exercises for you. Avoid doing any exercise if it causes pain or aggravates an injury. Seniors with improper balance and reduced fitness levels should always perform these exercises under an expert’s supervision to avoid muscle strain in the groin and thighs. Ensure you warm up properly for at least 10 minutes before doing any exercises.
Lisa, a blogger, shared how she experienced severe upper inner thigh and groin pain during the second semester of her pregnancy due to pottery. She talked to her doctor about it but was told it would get better post-delivery. However, she said, “It took 14 months postpartum for the pain to be mostly gone. It did lessen after delivery but I had to be extremely careful with what I did to avoid aggravating my legs (i).” With these points in mind, let’s begin with the exercises.
16 Best Groin Exercises To Ease Pain
1. Lying Groin Stretch
This stretch is important for rehabilitation. It helps release tension in the inner thigh region and enhances flexibility. Target– Adductor, hip flexors, hamstrings, and glutes.
2. Adductor Squeeze
This exercise helps strengthen the inner thigh muscles and improves stability in the hips and pelvis, aiding injury prevention and rehabilitation. Target – Adductors
3. Side Lying Groin Stretch
This exercise helps increase hip flexibility and range of motion while relieving tension in the inner thigh muscles. Target – Adductor, glutes, abductors, and hamstrings.
4. Lying Single Leg Adductor Stretch
This stretch targets the inner thigh muscles, enhancing flexibility and reducing tightness in the hips and groin. Target– Adductors, abductors, hip flexors, and glutes.
5. Lying Internal Adduction
This exercise targets the adductors through controlled inward movement, strengthening the inner thigh muscles and enhancing hip stability. Target – Adductors, abductors, glutes.
6. Seated Groin Stretch
This stretch helps improve hip and groin flexibility and relieves tension in the inner thighs. Target – Adductors, hip flexors, glutes, quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings.
7. Seated Forward Fold Stretch
This stretch increases flexibility and releases tension in the hips and spine, lengthening the hamstrings and lower back. How To Do Seated Forward Fold Stretch
8. Seated Hip Abduction
Target – Adductors, abductors, hip flexors, glutes, and hamstrings. This is one of the best core strengthening exercises, as it helps improve muscle endurance and stability.
9. Barre Leg Stretch
This exercise promotes improved balance and posture and lengthens the hamstrings, calves, and hips. Target – Adductors, hamstrings, hip flexors, and glutes.
10. Plie Squat
Target – Adductors, glutes, quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, and quads. Hip strengthening exercises like squats help improve the stability and strength of the muscles around the hips and build resistance.
11. Band Abduction
This exercise improves stability and activates the gluteal muscles by strengthening the outer thighs and hip muscles. Target – Adductors, hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
12. Hip Extension With Band
This stretch helps strengthen and stabilize the hips, lower back, and gluteal muscles. Target –Glutes and hamstrings.
13. Long Adductor Stretch
This exercise helps elongate the inner thigh muscles, promoting flexibility and reducing tension in the groin and hip area. Target – Adductors, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, quads, and calves.
14. Hip Flexor Stretch
This stretch increases the range of motion and flexibility in the hips and lower back while releasing tension in the hip flexors. Target – Hip flexors, hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, and lower back.
15. Anjaneyasana
It enhances lower body stability and balance while stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors. Target – Adductors, glutes, hip flexors, and hamstrings.
- Get into a plie squat pose and place your hands on your knees. 2. Turn toward your right, getting into a lunge pose. Place both the hands on your right knee. 3. Slowly place your fingertips on the floor for support and lower your hips. Your left leg will extend back as you do so. Gently place your shin and tarsal joint on the floor. 4. Place your hands on the knee again. Feel the stretch in your groin area. Push your hips down if the stretch is not enough. 6. Hold the pose for 30 seconds. Keep breathing. Do it on the other side as well.
16. Butterfly Stretch
This stretch improves flexibility and releases stress in the groin area by opening up the hips and inner thighs. Target – Inner thighs, hip flexors, and groin muscles. How long should you rest a groin injury? Depending on the severity of the injury, your doctor will tell you how much rest you require. Talk to your doctor about rehabilitation exercises for groin injuries or immediately if you sense any pain in your groin area. How do you stretch out a pulled groin muscle? If your groin muscle is pulled, take the help of a physiotherapist to help stretch it. Do not attempt to do it yourself without knowing which muscles you should target. Can you run with a groin injury? No, you should not run with a groin muscle injury. Take rest and attend physiotherapy sessions before you regain your strength and form. How to strengthen the groin muscles? The groin muscles are delicate and sensitive. You can strengthen them by doing yoga stretches and exercises, like seated adduction and abduction and lying and seated groin stretches. But you must consult your doctor and do these under the supervision of a certified physical therapist. How to get rid of groin pain? First, you must see a doctor to know why you are experiencing groin pain. If it is an injury, you must get medical treatment. During your recovery, you may do groin muscle strengthening stretches and exercises. You also need to rest to help the injury heal. How to open the groin for flexibility? Flexibility exercises for opening the groin are very important. Do leg exercises like barre leg stretches, lunges, extended side lunges, yoga asanas, and seated leg stretches to improve flexibility. Take the help of a friend to do standing leg extensions. How long does it take to heal a pulled groin? It takes 4-6 weeks to heal a pulled groin. You must rest unless your doctor says otherwise. Start doing groin muscles strengthening exercises and stretches only after your doctor gives you permission to start rehabilitation therapy. How do you fix a sore groin? Take rest and avoid getting involved in any pain-causing activity. Instead, wrap a towel around a few ice cubes and place them over the affected area 4 times a day. Is cycling good for groin strains? Although cycling while having groin strain should be avoided, it can help strengthen the muscles. However, excessive repetitive cycling movements while having a groin strain can aggravate the issue. Speak to your doctor for the ideal treatment option. You can start cycling as a preventive measure once your groin pain has subsided. Should you massage a pulled groin muscle? Massages, like a sports massage, can be beneficial in treating a pulled groin. However, it must be done under the supervision of a professional. Learn 7 easy stretches and exercises to help relieve groin strain pain. Get tips from this video on how to reduce discomfort and improve flexibility.
