Groin Pain
What is groin pain?
Groin pain refers to pain on the inside of the thigh and is most commonly due to a muscular, ligament or tendon strain. This condition affects predominantly males and is associated with sports involving kicking and changes of direction.
How do I know if I have groin pain?
Signs and symptoms of a groin pain may include:
- Pain/ tenderness on the inside of the thigh
- Popping or snapping feeling during time of injury
- Pain when crossing the leg
- Pain with kicking or forceful movements which bring the leg across the body’s midline
How is groin pain diagnosed and managed?
It is usually diagnosed through a physical examination carried out by a Doctor or Physiotherapist. It is also quite common for specialists to do a bedside ultrasound scan or for patients to be sent for an MRI to determine the nature of the injury. Depending on the structural cause of your groin pain, your specialist will recommend the appropriate treatment for you. Groin pain injuries are rarely surgically treated and usually would improve with conservative therapies such as medications and Physiotherapy.
How can Physiotherapy help?
The Physiotherapist will carry out an assessment of your hip, lower back and lower limbs. This would include an assessment of the range of movements in your hip and test the strength and flexibility of the muscles on the inner side of your thigh. The role of the Physiotherapist is to identify problem areas in the groin so that treatment can be targeted and effective.
Treatment may include but is not limited to:
- Advise and education pertaining to your condition
- Soft tissue therapy
- Movement with mobilisation
- Heat therapy
- Electrotherapy
- Dry needling
- Shockwave therapy
- Taping to offload groin structures
- Movement training
- Returning to sport training
- Personalised home exercise program
When should I worry about groin pain?
In most cases, groin pain is usually caused by minor disturbances in the muscles, ligaments or tendons. However, should the following symptoms arise, it would be advisable to visit a medical specialist.
- Numbness or tingling around the saddle region
- Severe pain
- Pain with coughing/sneezing
- Palpable deformity along groin muscle/inner thigh