Groin Pull Essentials

A groin pull, or groin strain, is a partial tear of the small fibers the make up your adductor muscles. The adductors are a group of three muscles that are located on the upper, inner thigh. They stretch from the groin down the thigh to the inside of your knee. Your adduct muscles are responsible for pulling your legs together. Because most activities do not use these adductor muscles as much as the quadriceps and groins, they can be relatively inflexible and weak. Like any muscle pull, groin pulls range from mild to severe. A mild groin pull is usually the result of a muscle strain, whereas a severe pull is usually a muscle tear.

Most commonly, muscle strains and tears of all types occur because of what is called an eccentric contraction. Imagine contracting (tensing) your muscle in one direction while simultaneously it is being forced in the opposite direction by some outside stimulus, force, or resistance (e.g., a weight, contact with another player, impact with the ground). When the outside force battles against the inside force, tears in the fibers of your muscles can result.

Mild to severe groin pulls are extremely common in all sports that involve sudden movements or bursts of speed that strain the adductors or activities that cause the adductors to elongate abruptly which causes the muscles to stretch beyond their normal range.

For more information on detailed symptoms related to groin pull read: Groin Pull Symptoms

Common sports where groin pulls occur include:

martial arts
hockey
skiing
football
basketball
running
track and field events
rugby
tennis
field hockey
soccer