Lower Body · Treatment

Groin Pain

Adductor strain, FAI, hip impingement and chronic groin pain — common in cricketers, footballers and runners. The fix is almost always in the glutes and core, not the groin itself.

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Typical programme

8–12 weeks

Session length

60 min

Recovery rate

88%

Understanding the condition

Groin pain in athletes — adductor strain, FAI and the structures that actually hurt.

Adductor strain, hip impingement (FAI) and chronic groin pain are some of the most misunderstood injuries we treat — common in cricketers, footballers and runners. Patients chase the painful spot for months. But the real problem is usually weak glutes and a core that cannot control the pelvis under load.

We assess the whole kinetic chain — hip, pelvis, trunk — to find what is actually overloading the groin. Then we build the strength and control that takes the strain off it, with a graded return-to-sport plan so you do not re-tear the moment you sprint or change direction.

Image — hip and adductor strength testing

Why it happens

The root causes we look for.

Adductor muscle or tendon strain

Grade I–III tears of the adductor longus or brevis, typically from high-speed cutting, kicking or forced abduction. The medial thigh aches at rest and sharpens with any leg-closing or rotational effort.

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI)

Cam or pincer bony morphology compresses the hip labrum during flexion and internal rotation. Deep groin pain on hip flexion, squatting and prolonged sitting.

Iliopsoas tendinopathy

The iliopsoas tendon becomes irritated at its insertion on the lesser trochanter, producing anterior hip and groin pain that worsens on resisted hip flexion and stair climbing.

Pubic symphysis stress reaction

Repetitive shear at the pubic symphysis from asymmetric loading (common in cricket and football) produces central, activity-related groin pain that worsens progressively through a session.

Referred pain from the lumbar spine

L1–L2 nerve root irritation can produce groin-region pain with no primary hip pathology — important to rule out because the treatment pathway is entirely different.

Symptoms we treat

Recognise any of these?

Sharp groin pain on kicking or cutting

Tightness deep in the hip

Pain on getting in/out of a car

Difficulty crossing legs

Pain on twisting movements

Weakness on single-leg balance

Our Approach

How we'll actually treat it.

WEEK 1

Differential diagnosis

Distinguish between adductor, hip joint, and pubic-symphysis driven pain.

WEEK 2–4

Calm the tissue

Manual therapy, gentle loading, and corrective movement drills.

WEEK 4–8

Build the chain

Glute strength, core control, hip mobility — the actual fix.

WEEK 8–12

Return to sport

Progressive loading, change-of-direction drills, return-to-play criteria.

Services Involved

The disciplines we'll combine.

Every programme braids two or three of our core services. Here's the typical pairing for this condition.

Physiotherapy

Hands-on clinical care — the backbone of every programme.

Fitness Training

Strength and conditioning programmed alongside your therapy.

Clinical Pilates

Mat and reformer pilates supervised by clinicians.

The results

Treatment that actually holds.

88% of our groin pain patients reach their stated return-to-sport or activity goal. Straightforward adductor strains typically take four to six weeks. FAI and chronic presentations run eight to fourteen weeks but reliably improve with structured loading.

88%

Recovery & satisfaction rate

8–12 wk

Typical return-to-sport window

8–12 weeks

Typical programme

60 min

Per session

Common questions

Your questions, answered.

Still unsure? Our clinicians answer the questions patients ask most. You can always call the HSR Layout clinic for a straight answer first.

Ask us directly

Complete rest is rarely the right answer. Graded loading from day three to five (depending on grade) consistently produces faster, more durable return to sport than full rest. We start you on pain-guided loading immediately and progress to sport-specific training as your strength and range recover — usually four to six weeks for a Grade I–II strain.

Often, yes. Physiotherapy targeting hip mobility, deep rotator strength and movement pattern retraining resolves symptoms in a significant proportion of FAI patients without surgical intervention. Surgery is a reasonable option when conservative management has been properly completed — not as a first resort.

Chronic groin pain almost always involves a combination of the original structure plus secondary inhibition of the hip rotators and lumbopelvic muscles, plus load management problems. Addressing all three layers is what gets it to actually resolve.

No — groin and hip pain is common in runners, swimmers (breaststroke), desk workers with hip mobility restrictions, and postpartum women. The structure causing it differs, but the principle — accurate diagnosis followed by targeted loading — applies equally.

Ready to start?

Let's get this handled.

Book a 60-minute assessment with one of our clinicians. You'll leave with a clear diagnosis, a written programme, and a realistic timeline.

Book assessment

What's included:

→ Full movement assessment
→ Diagnosis & root-cause analysis
→ Written programme with milestones
→ Cost & timeline upfront
→ Same-day hands-on treatment if appropriate