Adductor maintenance exercises

With the return of both professional and recreational sports, injury rates are anticipated to be quite high given that most athletes are likely to be deconditioned. In sports such as soccer and AFL, groin injuries have always been prevalent even before the global pandemic. [1, 2]

Adductor exercises are commonly prescribed to rehabilitate groin-related injuries and have been shown to effectively minimize the presentation of groin pain in athletes. [3] Even if you don’t have any symptoms of groin pain, it is important to ensure that your adductor muscles are conditioned and not neglected, especially if you plan on playing sports after having been off for a long period of time. Therefore maintenance adductor exercises should be implemented to your lower limb exercise program to ensure that you can minimize risk of any potential groin-related issues.

In order to prevent these potentially debilitating injuries, here are some exercises that can easily be done from home. In terms of repetitions/sets, aim for 3 sets of 10 for all of the exercises. Then feel free to adjust the number of reps based on how difficult you find them.

Adductor Ball Squeezes

Lay flat on your back with both knees bent at 90°. Place a rolled up towel or small/medium sized rubber ball between your knees. Then squeeze your knees together for 15 seconds.

Side Lying Adductor Leg Raises

Lay on your side with your top leg bent infront of you. Then raise your bottom leg as high as you can while keeping it completely straight.

Copenhagen Isometric Holds

Start by placing yourself in a side plank position and then rest your top leg on a chair or bench. You can start by having your top leg bent at 90 and then eventually progress to having your top leg fully extended.

Copenhagen Raises

Get into the same starting position as the Copenhagen Isometric Hold. Then allow your hips/pelvis to drop towards the floor and then raise yourself back up to the starting position by pushing with your top leg. Similar to the Isometric Holds above, you can start by having your top leg bent to 90 if you find it too difficult to have your top leg fully extended.

Cossack Squats

Start with your feet a step wider than shoulder width apart. Then shift your weight to one leg and bend that knee as far as you can tolerate. If you have the mobility and strength you may need to rotate your opposite foot outwards so that your heel is the only part of the foot on the ground. Then shift your weight back to the opposite leg by pushing through the leg your weight is on and return to the starting position. Then repeat on the other side.

If you have any further questions regarding groin/adductor injuries and strengthening, please give us a call at (02) 8411 2050. At Thornleigh Performance Physiotherapy, we can give you an accurate diagnosis and treatment, to help you get back in action as soon as possible. We are conveniently located near Beecroft, Cherrybrook, Hornsby, Normanhurst, Pennant Hills, Waitara, Wahroonga, Westleigh, West Pennant Hills, and West Pymble.

References

1. Hölmich P, Thorborg K, Dehlendorff C, Krogsgaard K, Gluud C. Incidence and clinical presentation of groin injuries in sub-elite male soccer. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(16):1245‐1250.

2. Orchard JW, Chaker Jomaa M, Orchard JJ, et al. Fifteen-week window for recurrent muscle strains in football: a prospective cohort of 3600 muscle strains over 23 years in professional Australian rules football [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 5]. Br J Sports Med. 2020;bjsports-2019-100755.

3. Harøy J, Clarsen B, Wiger EG, et al. The Adductor Strengthening Programme prevents groin problems among male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(3):150‐157.