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Groin Pain During or After Running

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Runners who experience groin pain after running have likely torn a ligament, tendon, or muscle. The groin is a complex network of tendons, muscles, and ligaments that attach to the pelvis and stabilize the hips and legs with side to side motion.

In SOME select cases, it’s less serious and simply a symptom of a stride imbalance, usually due to tight hips.

While groin injuries are more common in sports like soccer, which requires frequent, sudden movements, runners are also susceptible to groin pain due to a number of reasons, including overuse and improper training.

Groin pain can present both while running and after running. It occurs in all levels of runners, from beginners to elite athletes. And I know you want to run through pain because runners are tough and maybe it will go away…don’t.

Be smarter.

The good news is that groin injuries in runners are typically minor and with the proper care and recovery, you can be back on the road in no time.

Left untreated, however, you’re heading for a bigger issue and a much longer recovery.

Symptoms of a Groin Strain

The most common reason for a groin strain is a tear in a ligament, muscle, or tendon of the adductor muscles, which run along the upper inner thigh. The pain may appear suddenly build up slowly over time.Groin pain running

Common symptoms of a groin strain include:

  • Pain the lower abdomen that radiates into the upper and inner thigh
  • Testicular pain in men
  • Perineal pain (the area in between the genitalia and the anus)
  • Pain in the upper, inner thigh exacerbated by running or changing direction
  • Pain with sneezing, coughing, or engaging the abs
  • Pain felt after running, especially the following morning

Causes of Groin Pain after Running

Adductor strains are somewhat common in trail runners or road runners who head out for a trail run for the first time. Runners used to road running who head out for a trail run may experience adductor pain afterward.

For the typical runner, groin pain is caused by a number of factors, the most common being:

Weak hips and glutes
Runners are notorious for not supplementing their running with strength and this is what leads to injuries!

This causes imbalances in our hips and glutes that affect our gait. Weak glutes force your hips to sort of drag your leg forward instead of pushing off from the forefoot.

Overstriding
Overstriding during speed workouts can lead to groin injuries. Runners tend to think that long strides mean faster pace, however, all it really does is slow you down and lead to injury. The extended leg is straight and stiff and affects the body’s ability to cushion the force from landing.

Lack of recovery
I’ve discussed at length the importance of incorporating rest and recovery days into training plans. Not allowing your muscles to rebuild after hard efforts is a common mistake a lot of runners make and it leads to tired and inflamed muscles.

Tight hips
Sitting at a desk all day long does a number on our bodies, especially on our hips. Incorporating daily stretches to negate the effects of sitting all day will loosen tight hips and correct poor posture.

Overtraining
Increasing your pace or distance too quickly without a proper base leads to many injuries in runners. This is why it is so important that 80% of your weekly running effort is easy, with one to two days of hard work.

Is it Ok to run with a groin strain?

Initially, groin pain seems minimal, and pretty easy to run through, however, running through the pain probably isn’t the best approach. Continuing to run will only cause further damage and that can sideline you for weeks rather than days.

If the pain persists for more than a few days, then it’s time to treat it like an injury.

Groin Pain After Running

What Helps Groin Pain from Running?

Groin problems can be finicky and persistent, and you want to stop them as soon as you notice the pain to prevent a full-blown injury.

  • Rest
  • Check your stride
  • Improve your hip flexibility
  • Improve your hip strength
  • See a physical therapist or sports dr

STEP 1 – Rest
If you’re in the very beginning stages of a groin injury, rest for a few days. If the pain does not subside after rest, then consider a visit to see your doctor.

How long does it take a groin strain to heel?

If you’ve hit the point of going from mild discomfort to pain and it’s a muscle strain, then those often take up to 6 weeks to heel. At this point you absolutely want to connect to a good sports doctor to develop a plan and make sure that is what’s happening.

You will need to stop running.

But that doesn’t mean you have to lose fitness.

There are a lot of things you can be doing during this time from upper body to mobility. A physical therapist will also help you decide exactly which hip, core and glute movements you can do to help resolve and prevent the issue going forward.

Does stretching help a groin strain?

Light stretching can indeed help it to feel better, but you must stop if you reach the point of pain. And more importantly you can’t rely on stretching alone.

This is a sign from your body that you need to improve your strength and flexibility.

STEP TWO – Add Strength
Groin pain is often caused by imbalances in the glute, hip flexors, and pelvic muscles, which manipulate your running gait.

This video from Dr. Jo demonstrates several exercises that target the right muscles. I also have a ton of resources for hip and glute strength:

  • Pelvic Floor exercises – this is a key place to start
  • Glute Bridge
  • Glute Activation Exercises
  • Resistance band workout for hips and glutes
  • Hip strengthening for weak hips
  • Correcting tight hips

STEP THREE – Return to running slowly
Yes, a slow return to running is frustrating, but remember that being sidelined is even worse!

Follow a training plan built for new runners, like a run/walk approach, to get a solid base.

Preventing Groin Pain

A runner with strong hips and glutes will have fewer injuries. Too often we fail to activate our glute muscles, which are key for efficiency and proper gait.

Dedicating some time to pre-hab will help keep groin pain and other common running injuries at bay.

Preventative exercises don’t require a lot of additional time and effort and make a huge difference when it comes to reducing the likelihood of injuries.

Here are a few of my go to routines:

  • Best Running Injury Prevention Exercises
  • 5-Minute Dynamic Stretching Warm Up
  • Hip Strength Exercises

I also include several videos that show you exactly how to do these moves on my YouTube channel.

Have you experienced groin pain after or while running?

How did you change your routine to prevent it from occurring again?

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Posted by amanda Categories: injury

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Amanda Brooks is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and long time distance runner with a passion for every facet of running, which leads her to do more reading, research and running than necessary. Find all the tips, tricks and tools you need from this running coach for your best injury free running. Read More…

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Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might alr A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might already know what’s best for you, but aren’t doing it consistently. That’s the only way we really make changes.
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A PLAN can help, but I often don’t think that’s step one to making lasting change.
//
HABITS AND ROUTINES✴️
-Eliminate the need to make decisions.
-Which reduces brain fatigue.
-Which increases your chance of success.
//
TINY HABITS✴️
This is the smallest step you can take towards your goal. Often so small it seems insignificant, but is easy to make it a habit.
🌟
That leads you to another tiny habit, then another and suddenly it’s just your lifestyle.
👆👆👆
When people ask how I easily kept off 35lbs for over 15 years, while enjoying pizza, taking rest days and not obsessing about food.
👇👇👇👇
When people ask how I stay motivated to run year round and rarely race. Tiny habits.
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Day one isn’t eat perfect or run for an hour.
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Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
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Day 30 is then more like after I drink my glass of water, I do 5 push ups. After I put on my running clothes, I do a 5 minute warm up.
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SLOW PROGRESS IS BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS, it builds momentum and is sustainable.
❔❔❔
Have you ever practiced creating tiny habits???
1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR? M 1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR?
Mine... satisfying.
😊
1900 miles blows away previous years.
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(swipe to see...because yes I love tracking.) Unfortunately I’m not positive what it was 2001-2007 because I wrote it on calendars.
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SATISFYING
🥰I needed the long miles early on to process my business being thrown for a loop. Bye bye book tour and partnerships.
😊I needed it after that to get away from the news and pretend I wasn’t spending all day alone. Then as my business shifted again to keep ideas flowing.
🌲I loved the time outside to think, get lost in a comedy podcast or audiobook. Otherwise I’m at home working!
🤩Without a single race, I still checked a big goal off my list of running an ultra distance (solo was very interesting!).
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I’ve seen some posts that make it seem like we’re wrong for talking about what we achieved this year.
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It was a HARD FCKIN year for everyone, but guess what lots of years are. And not every year is great even without a pandemic.
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For all the lows this year, I also worked my ass off to make some really good things happen. And I’m extra proud of that.
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So let’s hear your word for fitness in 2020??
⬇️
Hard, easy, strong, powerful, consistent, cleansing, relaxing, nature, grace, grit, grind, triumph, building...
HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot r HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot right?! Figuring out what to do with it, color it don’t color it, keep it healthy, breakage from ponytails, long, short. And yet a good hair day😃 🔥 🌟
//
POLL:
🥰Love your hair
🤪Frustrated with your hair
1️⃣Natural curls
2️⃣Stick straight
👇👇👇
Curly friends: share your favorite tips!!
Long hair friends: what helps you keep it healthy?
👆👆👆
//
At 7 I could sit in my hair it was so long.
At 10 we started perms.
At 16 I had a full mane of hair I loved.
At 20 I learned I have naturally curly hair 😂after years of perms as a kid.
At 25 I was going blonde blonde blonde.
At 29 I began losing hair and it got so brittle I had to chop it off, due to the hormone issues.😭
At 35 my hair started to recover (as did my body), but never like that mane I loved as a teen.
At 39 I got my first curly haircut! I’m still figuring it out, but was amazed at how it looked.
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I don’t wear much make up, but I do admit to really caring about my hair and it was a tough time when it felt so unhealthy.
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I’m still struggling to figure out this new curly style 😂but keep hearing from other curly girls ya just gotta stick it out. So we’ll see.
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#curlygirlmethod #hairtalk
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just enjoy a day off? Don’t you feel guilty about the time apart?
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Yes.
It makes me happy.
No, if I’m happy our time together is better.
👇👇👇
MY VIEW IS THIS...
❌If you aren’t working out because of food guilt
❌If you aren’t missing big moments because you must workout
✅If you enjoy it and it improves your day
✅THEN GO FORTH and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for improving your mental and physical health.
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❓Do you have guilt or get guilted about workouts for n holidays?❓
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This has been my lifestyle so long that our families just know to expect that I’m gonna sweat. And of course, I’m lucky David wants this lifestyle too.
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BUTTTTT I remember those first trips to David’s family, where it really threw them for a loop. They still find it weird, but I sneak out before everyone gets up or have gotten them to do family things like the rec center.
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My best advice when asked has always been to try and calmly explain why it matters to you and then just go. They get over it or used to it.
🎁 🎄🕎
TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder this holiday season that we all need to be loved differently...and pizza transcends all.
//
🍕Do you have a favorite local pizza place?🍕🍕
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Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
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Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
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#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
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Website written, managed and maintained by Amanda Brooks, a certified running coach and personal trainer. Any advice should be taken as general information and not a personalized plan. All opinions, tips and reviews are based upon her personal life experience and the experiences of those she has coached. View our full privacy and review policy.

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