There's nothing worse than cruising at a smooth, speedy pace or finding your running rhythm on trail and you feel it.
A twinge.
But the twinge doesn't go away.
The alarm bells don't stop going off.
But you can't think of anything different or weird that you might have done.
You took a step and TWANGE!
Sometimes the pain stays in your inner thigh and other times you start to feel it traveling up into your groin.
Either way, it's an unwelcome guest.
And it can linger much longer than you'd like it to if you don't get to work on it right away.
Hi! I'm Doctor Marie Whitt and I'm a practicing physical therapist. And this was actually my first running injury that sent me to physical therapy when I was 16.
Let me give you the 4 exercises I would start you on if you came to me with a similar story and groin issue.
Because yes, cutting the run short and taking an extra rest day can be helpful.
And starting exercises next is even better.
Let's hop in.
4 Strength Exercises for Runners Struggling with Groin Pain or Injuries
Circuit:
2-3 sets each // LIGHT & medium weights
Up-Down Planks
12 Reps ea side
Curtsey Lunges
8-12 Reps ea side X weight optional
Copenhagen Planks -modified as needed
hold starting at 10 secs and work up to 45secs. (but take your time!)
Lateral Lunge with Sliders
8-12 reps (work up to this exercise and higher reps!)
Physical Therapist Recommended Groin Strengthening Exercises for Runners
Up-Down Planks
I know what you're wondering: "how does this help my groin?" Lemme tell you...
THE SECRET: this was the exercise that brought me back to life after tweaking my groin on a wet, leafy trail one fall. When you PUSH UP with the arm OPPOSITE the side of the groin strain, you'll feel how your core has to engage. You might feel a little discomfort-it's ok as long as it's not pain. But this exercise with gently recruit your adductors/inner thigh muscles, reteaching it out to communicate with your core during your running stride.
Let me try to explain on a little deeper level. Imagine your running stride: if you were to stride forward with the injured side, which arm comes forward? That's right: the opposite arm. That arm is pushing forward into space and your core has to engage diagonally across your body for that push stability and forward motion. Too much? You'll feel it once you do the exercise ;)
Curtsey Lunges
These are fun and should leave you feeling accomplished.
PRO TIP: I like throwing these into the mix right away. When you stand on the injured leg and perform the curtesy lunge, you're asking your adductor/inner thigh muscles to work in a safe, stabilizing position while in a single leg position. If you haven't noticed, single leg exercises are kind of important for running. ;) You shouldn't feel too much if any discomfort here.
The best part? You can add heavier and heavier weight to this exercise and eventually even add a hop to turn it into a plyometric
Copenhagen Planks -modified as needed
BE NICE to yourself here. These are hard on a good day.
THE TRUTH: these are just plan hard. And that's ok. Don't beat yourself up and listen to your body. Try these first with your TOP KNEE BENT. Why? This shortens what we call the lever arm, requiring less work to be done by the injured tissues (aka it's easier). First focus on building time in this bent knee position, working from 10-40 secs. Once this gets easier, your strained groin muscles will probably be more willing to progress to the famous long-leg version.
Tips for the full version: again start small with 10 sec holds and work up as able. There's no need for pain here: hard is ok, even a little discomfort, but no shooting pain!
Lateral Lunge with Sliders
this is another one of those you gently progress
THE REASON: eventually we need to strengthen our inner thigh muscles in elongated, or stretched positions. I realize we don't run sideways and we're hardly in extreme end ranges like this. However, we know from scientific research, you are less luckily to re-injure a tissue if it' strong through it's entire range or motion. Because who wants to deal with this again?
Start without the slider first, standing on the injured leg and reaching out and back with the "good" leg. Eventually, switch, standing on the "good" leg, and place a slider under the foot of the injured leg. The first few slides you do not need to put a lot of weight on the sliding leg! As you get more comfortable and want to strengthen the adductor muscles, gradually place more and more weight on the traveling sliding leg.
Need slider recommendations? On carpet, I use a piece of printer paper or a paper plate. On hard work surfaces, I use a sock or a cleaning rag. Work smarter, not harder ;)
WRAPPING UP
Are these the ONLY exercises you're going to need to come back from a groin strain/pull or pain?
Not quite.
These exercises are a fantastic place to start, especially if things are still feeling tender. Proceed cautiously-it's ok for your muscles to feel sore like they worked hard. But back off and don't fall into the "more is better" trap if you're experiencing continued sharp or shooting or aggressive twinging either during or after the exercises.
It's also OK for these to be hard!
Too often we think that if an exercises is immediatly hard we've failed or we're bad at it.
Not at all.
Think of these as more of a place to start, immediate action steps so you don't fall into the "I'll never run again because I'm always injured!" slump.
Trust me; I was there.
So what should your long term plan be?
If you've been around here a few times, you know the answer: consistent, regular strength training 2-3x a week.
Especially for inner thigh muscles that connect in your groin, your adductors, those muscle benefit the most from single leg strengthening exercises in addition the ones above.
So if you're looking for more strength workouts specifically designed for runners looking to up their strength game to stay injury free and run better, faster, stronger, check out my FREE strength guide for runners here.
And until next time, running fit fam...
Dare to Train Differently,
Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit
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