Groin Pain
Question:
I keep getting a reoccurring muscle ache between my knee and groin on the inside. I stop running for a couple of days and it eases but after a couple of runs it comes back again. Please advise, I am not sure what it is?
Sarah
Fareham
Answer:
Dear Sarah
Most of the inside region of the thigh between the groin and knee contains the adductor muscles, it may be that you are overloading one or more of these. There are many other causes of pain in this region, including back and pelvic problems.
We generally see people with pain in this area have either poor biomechanics of the foot or a loss of control around the pelvis. Often both problems go hand in hand.
The loss of control around the pelvis is due to poor activation in the gluteal (buttock) muscles along with the core stabilisers. This causes a’holding on’ with the adductors to try and stabilise the hip, thus overloading the muscle and tendon and causing pain.
Resting for a couple of days allows the tissue to settle down but does not rectify the problem so pain will always return once you start exercising again.
You need a proper examination where an experienced physiotherapist can check how you walk and run, and whether you have good functional control of the central musculature. A podiatrist’s view would also be worth seeking for a biomechanical assessment. These are not generally problems that you can run off. They tend to get worse so get it seen to now.
Kind regards
Angela Benjamin
