Suffering from a Groin Pull?
Groin Pulls are an extremely common injury especially if you play sports such as football, soccer or hockey. Groin pulls are usually the result of over-stressing the range of motion above the hip and within the lumbar spine. And while most people find the ache from a groin pull to heal slowly, there is a way to get those finite muscles back in shape sooner.
The pt Health Pulled Groin Recovery Program helps achieve lower pelvic muscle balance while returning patients to full function as quickly as possible using manual modalities and well-designed exercise plans. We go beyond treating the symptoms, we correct the problem.
The pt Health Groin Therapy Program Will:
- Provide an effective therapeutic approach designed to relieve and ease your groin pain.
- Offer preventative strategies to help you manage lifestyle, work, and other risk factors.
- Address the root cause of your groin pain as well as the symptoms.
- Prescribe targeted stretches, strengthening exercises, and movements that you can do at home to encourage continuous improvement and fast progress.
- Does not involve medication or painkillers.
- Is covered by most extended health plans.
- Starts quickly with next day appointment availability at most of our locations.
Synchronizing Your Pelvic Muscles
pt Health’s Groin Pull Therapy is extremely successful in the treatment of groin pulls. Our clinicians work hard to get your finite pelvic muscles back in sync. At pt Health you’ll get to work exclusively with your physiotherapist who will not only assess and treat your injury, but take into consideration and previous injuries, surgeries, or existing conditions so you can get your head back in the game.

Pulled Groin Reasons
A pulled groin is the result of muscle tearing caused by imbalances in the pelvic region. Oftentimes patients are athletes with tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, and weak glutes paired with a weak core. And with this type of tug of war, the muscles end up putting strain on the groin and hip flexors.
A pulled groin muscle can also be the result of little to no activity at all. A sedentary lifestyle often leaves you sitting in a chair for extended periods of time. When this happens, the hip flexors begin to shorten and put a strain on the groin muscles.
Pulled Groin Symptoms
- Pain in the front of legs
- Pain in the groin region
- Hip pain
- Abdominal discomfort
- Pain with leg movements
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Treatment Plan
What is the Best Treatment for a Groin Pull?
At pt Health, your groin pull assessment takes place during your very first visit. Your physiotherapist will be able to identify where you particular muscle imbalance is located by feeling for muscle tone and thickness in the hip, pelvis, and spine. Many times it’s the hip flexors which are affected as these muscles take over when core strength has weakened.
Function Tests Accurately Evaluate your Condition
In order to truly understand your injury though, your physiotherapist will perform functional tests which may have you standing on one leg, and squatting on one leg to assess developmental patterns. The purpose of these specialized tests is to assess for not only muscle but ligament injury as well.
At the start of your care, treatment will be more hands on in order to loosen the affected muscle. Your therapist may also use active release massage techniques as well as acupuncture to get rid of tone and tightness in the front of the hip.
A Strengthening and Exercise Program Helps You Achieve Muscle Balance
Your assessment results will help your physiotherapist identify the necessary exercise program which benefits your particular injury. The specific goal now is to achieve muscle balance, and making sure whatever inaccuracies found in the assessment is corrected.
How long will my Treatment Last? Treatment time for a groin pull typically takes between six to eight weeks. Toward the end of treatment is when your physiotherapist will prepare you to return to your usual activities by prescribing an at home exercise plan. Visits will also become fewer and can take place once a week or every other week.
What is the Ideal Recovery from a Groin Pull Like?
The hardest part of a groin pull recovery is getting the patient to buy into the reason they developed a groin pull in the first place. This type of reasoning can be especially tricky for runners who think they their glutes are already strong. But the reality for any athlete who runs is that while you are certainly strengthening the heart, nothing is being done to strength train. Your groin injury is thus a result of subsequent muscle weakness.
Therefore to be a great runner, you really need all your muscles in balance. The same applies for hockey players and any athlete who is bursting off their feet and running across a playing field, basketball court, or track. And if you can understand this reasoning and follow the physiotherapy plan, you will have a great recovery, we promise.
What is the Prognosis for a Groin Pull?
Patients can return to sports soon after their physiotherapy treatment with little to no change in their level of activity. So if you are wondering if you can still run, rest assured it will be okay to do so. If however, after a few weeks there is no change in your pain, then you will be asked to stop the activity and incorporate additional strengthening exercises.

Groin Pull or Sports Hernia?
Groin Pull
A groin pull is a tear in the adductor muscles caused by tight hip flexors, hamstrings, and weakened gluteal muscles. And while this type of injury shares many of the same symptoms as a hernia, the biggest difference is a hernia is the result of a muscle tear at the base of the abdomen. While a groin pull on the other hand, mostly affects the adductor muscles in the pelvic region and is felt with leg movement.
Hernia
Hernia pain occurs while coughing, sneezing, or during physical exertion.
A sports hernia does not typically produce an abdominal bulge but could eventually lead to an inguinal hernia and require surgery. An x-ray or MRI can be used to check for a sports hernia.
Coverage Options
At pt Health, we know that sorting out insurance paperwork can be time-consuming and confusing. We want your focus to be on getting well and staying well. With that in mind, we do our best to help you navigate through the necessary forms. We speak with your insurance providers and we’ll answer any questions you may have about your coverage.
- RCMP
- DND
- Canadian Forces
- Veterans Affairs
For any treatments that are only partially covered, you may be asked to co-pay the difference at each visit.