How Long Should I Rest a Groin Injury?

A good core-strengthening program may be your fix.

I'm a newbie runner and just had my first injury, a groin pull. The doctor called it a “grade one” groin pull, so I laid off running for two and a half weeks. The other day I got out for a brisk one mile walk. There was no pain in the groin area but a bit of tightness. I was wondering if that’s from not having run for a while or a sign I need to rest it more?

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Groin pain is a common problem. There are several causes that include “pulled” muscles, tendonosis, osteoarthritis, inflammatory connective tissue diseases, lumbar disc problems, SI joint dysfunction, hernias, or stress fractures in the hip and pelvis. I will guess from your story that you do not have a lumbar disc herniation, stress fracture, inflammatory connective tissue disease, or hernia. A pulled muscle is an injury to the muscle-tendon-bone unit where the tissue over stretches and tears at the micro or macroscopic level. These injuries usually occur at the muscle tendon junction and usually involve some force on the area like sprinting, jumping, or cutting. Tendonosis occurs with over use of the muscle and affects the tendon body or its transitions to muscle or bone. The pain is not due to an inflammatory response and can take weeks to heal.

As with many running injuries, it is difficult to tell from a brief history and without a physical exam if the groin pain is the culprit or the victim. If the pelvis is not aligned correctly, the lumbar back is not moving normally, the foot and ankle are not moving smoothly, or the motion through the knee is off track the forces through the groin can be asymmetric and cause pain in the area. It could be a simple fix with manual therapy.

As a new runner, it is possible, if not likely, that your core strength is not adequate to absorb the leg forces, and you can develop groin pain from the extra muscle work of the holding the pelvis in place while you run. A good core-strengthening program may be your fix. You can find some strength programs here and here. A running oriented physical therapist should also be able to help you develop a customized program.
If your period of rest does not resolve the pain and get you back to running, you should be re-evaluated.

I hope this helps.




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