The groin strain treatment discussed in this blog is especially important for anyone who either sits a lot, works out at a gym, or loves to ride a bike.
In part 1 I wrote about the way muscles in your inner thigh – your adductor muscles – can be causing a groin pull.
In Part 2 I’d like to expand that discussion to include a muscle that is frequently overlooked, yet is also responsible for groin pain.
A groin strain can feel like you have been hit with a hammer into your pubic bone, or it may be more subtle and feel like a dull painful ache that is constant.
Either way the treatment is the same.
There are several muscles that can cause a groin strain, also called “pulled groin muscles,” that are repetitively strained by sitting, exercising, or cycling. These muscles, especially your Psoas and Iliacus muscles, have been discussed in other blogs on this website.
However, the muscle group that is rarely considered when searching for a groin strain treatment is your abdominal muscles – yet they can easily be the source of the pain.
The abdominal muscle that specifically is a key factor for a groin strain treatment is your rectus abdominis muscle.
Your rectus abdominis muscle is the muscle that most people think about when they say they are exercising their abdominal muscles. It is the muscle that spans from your 5-7 ribs and inserts into the top of your pubic bone.
As you look at the graphic for your rectus abdominis muscle consider the movement it generates: you bend forward at your waist. Now consider what happens when this muscle is shortened by muscle spasms — as you try to stand up, the shortened muscle will pull on your ribs, and on your pubic bone. You now have a groin strain, and you may even experience pain while trying to take a deep breath.
If you have been working out at the gym and doing sit-ups or crunches, especially with weights, you may feel the pain in your abdominal area. It is unlikely though that you will consider your abdominal spasm to be the cause of the pain you feel in your groin.
It is even more unlikely that you will consider your rectus abdominis muscle when you are searching for a groin strain treatment.
I frequently use the analogy of pulling your hair and your head hurts – there isn’t anything wrong with your head, you just need to let go of the strain your hair is placing on your scalp. It’s the exact same thing with your muscles.
In this case your abdominal muscles are putting a strain on your pubic bone, but there isn’t anything wrong with your pubic bone. The problem is the way your rectus femoris is straining on the bone.
If you already have Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living, or Focused Flexibility Training, you have the solution to the tension in the muscles.
Both of these products will demonstrate how to do the Julstro self-treatment, not only for a groin strain, but for pain and stiffness throughout your body!
Your abdominal muscle can be causing more than just a groin strain!
If you find you are having difficulty taking a deep breath, and you feel like your ribs “just won’t open,” one of the muscles you need to consider treating is your rectus abdominis.
In a future Pain-Free Living blog we’ll discuss this further, and we’ll look at the other muscles that can cause difficulty in taking a deep breath. For now, it’s good to note that treating just this one muscle can help you relieve several areas of pain in your body!