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Hi Folks…
Does anyone out there have any success stories about how to treat a groin pull???
A few months ago, I started to get some soreness in my right side groin area and it gradually got worse. I’ve seen a couple doctors (one of them an orthopedic sports specialist) and had an MRI. Yes, I have a groin pull and the MRI shows no damage. The sports doctor thought it might be a “sportsmans hernia” because I had some lower abdominal tenderness. He said, “take it easy for a while and see how it goes”. That pain went away and by and large, the soreness is contained to the area where the adductor (inner thigh) leg muscle attaches to the lower part of the pelvis (pubic bone).
OK fine. Now what??? The darn thing still hurts like the devil even when I do the prescribed rest, massage, heat packs etc. It gets better for a couple days then, if I do even a moderate krav session, it flares-up again.
I’ve researched it on the net and get the same information (Rest, Ice, Massage, Gradual Exercise etc). I have no problem seeing doctors but, waiting weeks for an appointment is a real hassle. I could probably skip paying hundreds of dollars in insurance co-fees and just ask folks for practical advice based on real experience.
For those of you who’ve been through this, please let me know how it all turned-out. If you could tell me how you treated it and what kind of “therapy” you did, I would really appreciate it…
Thanks
Ray
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
this will not make you feel any better, but i had a groin pull that hurt for over a year, because i just wouldn’t lay off my training long enough for it to heal. the treatments are as you described. this is why in baseball, pitchers sometimes are out for an entire season. very tough injury to heal. i suppose if you went into a body cast, and didn’t move your lower body it might progress quicker, but that certainly isn’t an option. one thing that helped me allieviate some discomfort was acupuncture. i also believe it helped the healing process. if you’re still going to train, i’d lay off the kicks for quite some time. other than that, there’s not much else you can do. good luck.
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
I would put your membership on hold for a month or two, and let the thing start healing for real. The problem is that right when you think it’s OK, you are at the highest risk for reinjury. Most injuries (sprains, strains, breaks) take 6-8 weeks to heal. 6 weeks is kind of the magic number as far as your body is concerned. Take a hiatus and get better, then come back better than ever.
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Groin injuries are almmost as slow healing as hamstring injuries (mines’ ongoing since last may)
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
I agree with the above comments. I’ve pulled my groin muscle about 3 times from playing soccer (with the same symptoms: lower ab pain and groin pain), and really the only way to treat this is to rest it. It took about 2-3 months for it to heal properly to the point where I could start exercising again. The more you train on it the more you’ll irritate it, and it will never heal.
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Thanks Folks. You confirmed my suspicions.
I’m going to see a different sports doctor tomorrow -one that primarily serves athletes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll recommend a good exercise/therapy routine. I’ll keep you informed of his advice.
Like everyone else here, I’ve had my share of sprains doing Krav over the past year but, nothing has been this irritating (or shall I say outright painful) and slow healing. I was hoping to take my test to get into Level 3 in April but, I’ll adjust my thinking accordingly and will do some other exercise that doesn’t strain the adductors or lower core muscles.
FYI: Just before this happened, I was out of Krav for a couple weaks dealing with a nasty flu and bronchitis. I think I jumped back in too fast. The strain occured gradually and I had some warning signs like mild aching in the hips/flexors and a slight tenderness on those ligaments in the crotch that connect the inner leg muscles to the pubic bone. I got 4 weeks into the 12 week fight class and the groin thing started bugging me badly. The constant bobbing-weaving really strained the legs and lower core and that was the icing on the cake. [Despite that, I finished fight class and it was A-OK! thumbsup]
-Just thought I’d pass that along to put on your radar.
Once again, thanks…
Ray
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Had a groin pulled in BJJ my partner heard the snap and I knew it would be light duty for at least 6 weeks. I’m 51 and have been training all my life with minimal down time .Too much down time and I become loco.Don’t grapple and kick to much,rest .Give about 6 weeks be safe
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Another thing you can do to help treat the groin pull is to get some compression shorts. I think they make special ones for this, but they are quite pricey. I found that regular Nike or Bike compression shorts worked well enough for me.
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
I had a groin injury last year. It happened while I was doing squats. It became so bad that it hurt to walk. I agree with every one here and it does take a long time to heal. But there are ways to accelerate the recovery.
MD (Medical Doctor) will not be able to help except prescribe pain meds. Which are like ‘bandage’ to cover the wound but not to heal it.
I went to a Chiropractor who adjusted my hip couple of times and then sent me to a ‘Massage Therapist’. This massage therapist was certified in ‘Sports Massages’ and it wasn’t your normal feel good massage. Every muscle strain/pull including groin pulls are similar in nature. You want to apply pressure on the surrounding/supporting muscles to elongate the muscle and to get a good stretch. Every one calls this technique by different names but I know it as ‘Counter Strain’. I used to get this massage three times a week. My insurance paid for it so it was a sweet deal.
It took me 4 weeks and I was back to doing squats with the same intensity. And during these four weeks I never quit working out and on leg days I would do seated leg presses with lower weight.
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Update #1:
Saw a very qualified Sports Medicine doctor yesterday. The Doc said it’s a Type II pull and that 3-6 weeks of therapy should fix it right up. He referred me to a physicaly therapy center.
Today, I went to the physical therapy center. The therapist himself is a doctor and a former wrestler (the dude is big and he’s now interested in Krav after I told him about it).
I’m amazed at the advanced techniques and tools they now have. There is an electrical device that manages to apply an anti-inflammatory medicine directly through the skin onto the tendons without needles. They also did deep heating ultrasound therapy followed by a 20 minute manual massage. After this came the fun part. He threw my leg around like a toothpick and twisted it into positions I didn’t think possible. No pain involved. The purpose was to re-align a bunch of muscles, tendons and ligaments. Finally, there was 20 minutes of teaching me how (and why) to do various stretches. Some of them were familiar, some not.
I’m supposed to do the exercises 3x a day. Each routine is about 15 minutes. Need to go back there 2-3x a week for 30 minute treatments with all the electrical stuff. At the end of the 2nd week (assuming all goes well) they will start doing resistive exercises for about a week and then plyometric exercises.
Somewhere around week 3-4, I should be able to do some Krav but, kicking and grappling will have to be slowly introduced. I’m advised to do only very light jogging and moderate elliptical. Body building is OK -provided I don’t repeatedly put power or stress through the adductors.
…
Side note, I asked the therapist what the treatment would be like if I were an NFL player. He said: Same treatment performed about 3-4 times a day. It would likely be healed up in 2-3 weeks.
Will check back next week with another update. I’m sure hoping this puts an end to 3 months of nasty discomfort and luke-warm Krav sessions.
Ray
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
… A quick update as promised…
-Been seeing the physical therapist 2x a week for a couple weeks now and I’ve been faithfully doing the prescribed stretching exercises at home. Those exercises started out as very light stretches to all areas that were sensitive. They were gradually increased and I’m now more limber than ever before. Last week, they gave me some strengthing exercises to do with rubber tubes and some floor exercises with a 2lb weight on my ankle. Strength is gradually getting better.
There is still some tederness but, it’s very manageable. I can jog and do elliptical work-outs as, that range of motion does not irritate things. I’ve been to a couple Krav classes but, took it very, very easy. The therapist said I could now do more Krav but should only kick with very light force -and not do it very often. Things should gradually improve but, I must go very slow…
My instincts tell me this will take another 3-4 weeks to really clear up at which time, I can start to get back to where I was. Thorough and adequate stretching on both sides throughout the day, will need to be an ongoing thing.
Will check back in a week or two…
Ray
Re: Groin Pull: Do they ever heal????
Finally found some time for another update…
Well, the worst of the problem is over and it’s probably 90% healed. I still feel it every day but, it’s just a sensation and use of my leg has fully returned. I did the stretching and strengthening exercises and after a 1-2 week layoff from Krav, felt comfortable enough to gradually return. In the beginning, I avoided kicks or any ground work that required wrapping the effected leg around anyone. I got a lot of mileage by working with others who were also coming off of injuries. It was really beneficial to stay in the game even though I was a little gimped-out. After a couple weeks, things were getting better but, I refrained from putting any serious power through that tendon/muscle. Gradually, without realizing it, I was doing most everything I used to do. In the back of my mind, I guard that injury carefully but, my routine is all worked-out now. Once in a while, I’ll over-do it just a little with too much sprinting, groin or round kicks. When that happens, it takes a couple days to rebound. Back, side and forward kicks are OK. The limitations are manageable and most of my partners don’t realize that I’m still holding back a good bit.
The recovery time for this injury is really long so, if you ever start feeling gradual pain building-up in your aductor/goin area -pay attention, back-off for a while do some stretching and gradually build it back up.
This is/was one of the most uncomfortable 3-4 months in my life and I’m relieved the worst is over. -Don’t let it happen to you…
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