The groin is one of the most common muscles that young athletes injure while playing soccer. The guide below outlines an eight-step rehabilitation program on how to return to play and stay healthy after a groin injury!Step 1: Rest and IceRest and ice the area of pain for the first 7-10 days for 20 minutes, 2-3x per dayStep 2: HeatAfter 7-10 days, you can start to heat the muscle i.e. electric heating pad or hot Epsom salt bath for 15 minutes for 20’, 2-3x /day. This helps with blood flow and healing of the muscleStep 3: RollYou can use ‘the stick’, foam roller, or massage or any variation of the 3 with light pressure over the area of pain (and inner thigh muscles) to increase blood flow to the area. This will also help to start to align those muscle fibers.Step 4: StretchGroin stretches, 3×30 secondsV SitSide lunge stretchStep 5: Light CardioOnce pain-free with daily activities, you can get on a stationary bike or go on a light jog for about 20 minutes. Do this for a couple of days and as long as there is no soreness/pain you can begin the following exercises.*Note: The following exercises should be done without pain. Being uncomfortable and fatiguing the muscle is one thing but there’s a difference between that and feeling pain.Step 6: Strengthening ExercisesCheck out this video on a few strengthening exercises you can perform!*Note: Remember that each of these progressions can take a few days and to use pain as your guidance with progressionStep 7: Dry Needling*This is the cherry on top to all the work above. The technique uses a “dry” needle, one without medication or injection, inserted through the skin into areas of the muscle. Other terms commonly used to describe dry needling, include trigger point dry needling, and intramuscular manual therapy. Dry needling is not acupuncture, a practice based on traditional Chinese medicine and performed by acupuncturists. Dry needling is a part of modern Western medicine principles, and supported by research. Dry needling is done by physical therapists and chiropractors. I recommend Dr. Meredith Bremner with FIT Colorado Physical Therapy where you can book an appointment for “30 min dry needing” which is $75 per session. Or, if you have a PT that you have been going to or you know does dry needling, feel free to reach out to them as well.Step 8: Return to PlayEach progression needs to be pain free before going to the next step.Soccer passing, soccer specific drillsProgression: Non-contact practiceProgression: Conditioning i.e. sprintsProgression: Full contact practiceNotes:*Always remember to get a good dynamic warm up in before any practice.*You shouldn’t progress to the next step if you are still experiencing pain.
