Symptoms
How it tends to show up
Pain in the hip, groin, or front of the hip; pain with the movement that caused it (sprinting, kicking, changing direction); tenderness over the strained muscle; tightness or weakness lifting the knee or bringing the leg across; aching after activity.
How Common
You're not alone in this
Hip and groin strains are some of the most common injuries active people experience. In sports, groin injuries account for roughly 5% to 18% of all injuries, and in soccer and ice hockey specifically about 1 in 10 injuries involves the groin or adductors. They show up most in anything with quick cuts, kicks, and sprints. Why does that matter to you? Because this isn't a rare or mysterious problem — it's a well-understood muscle injury that the large majority of people recover from once the real cause is addressed.
The Root
Why it keeps coming back
Hip and groin strains recur when the deeper hip stabilizers and core aren't sharing the load — the overworked muscle keeps getting overstretched because it's doing a job the team should share. Returning to sport without restoring that balance is the classic setup for a re-strain.
Who Gets It
Common risk factors
- A prior hip or groin injury (the single biggest predictor)
- Weak adductors relative to the outer-hip muscles
- Sports with cutting, pivoting, sprinting, or kicking
- Skipping warm-up or stretching before activity
- Sudden spikes in training load or intensity
- Limited hip range of motion and tight hip flexors
- Muscle fatigue late in a game or workout
- Being male (men tend to strain adductors more often than women)
Look-Alikes
Is it Hip Sprain / Strain, or something else?
Several other problems can mimic this, and they're managed differently — so part of the assessment is telling them apart.
Wondering if this is what's going on — and what care would look like?
Book an Assessment →The Approach
How Dr. Imada approaches it
Using Advanced Muscle Integration Technique (AMIT), I find which hip and core muscles have switched off and restore them, so the strained tissue isn't overloaded. Chiropractic care helps the pelvis and low back move evenly, and Foundation Training rebuilds balanced hip and core strength. This is what I see help — shared as insight, with a sensible return-to-activity progression.
Getting Answers
How it's assessed
A hip or groin strain is a stretch or tear of the muscles that move and stabilize your hip — most often the adductors (inner thigh) or the hip flexors at the front. Clinically, Dr. Imada assesses it by hand: where exactly it hurts, what movement reproduces the pain, and how much strength and range you've lost, which helps gauge whether it's a mild (Grade 1), moderate (Grade 2), or more involved (Grade 3) strain. But here's the whole-chain piece he consistently sees: a strain is usually the symptom, not the story. When a deep stabilizer switches off or the load further up the chain — your pelvis, low back, or opposite hip — isn't sharing the work, one muscle can end up overloaded and tear. One myth worth clearing up: a "pulled groin" isn't just bad luck or being out of shape. It's often a load problem, and load problems can usually be found and addressed.
Your Visit
What to expect
An assessment of the hip, pelvis, and core; a read on what's overloaded and why; hands-on care to restore function; and a graded plan to return to sport or activity with less risk of re-strain.
At Home
What you can do yourself
- Rest from the movement that hurts — pivoting, kicking, sprinting
- Ice the area 10-15 minutes a few times a day early on
- Gentle compression shorts for support and comfort
- Ease back in gradually rather than testing it all at once
- Keep the rest of your body moving so you don't decondition
- Short course of over-the-counter anti-inflammatories if appropriate for you
Home care like rest, ice, and compression calms the symptoms in the early days, but it works best alongside restoring the strength and load-sharing that let the strain happen in the first place.
Outlook
Recovery & realistic timelines
Here's the honest timeline. A mild strain often settles in a week or two, while moderate ones typically take a month or two, and more involved tears can need several months. The point worth holding onto is that recovery time varies widely with severity — and the outcome depends as much on what you do during recovery as on time alone. Recurrence is the real risk: roughly 1 in 5 athletes re-strains the same area, often because the underlying weakness or load pattern was never addressed. Dr. Imada's aim is to shorten that arc and lower that risk by working out why the muscle was overloaded — not just waiting for the pain to quiet down.
Staying Ahead
Keeping it from coming back
- Build adductor strength toward the outer-hip muscles (the ratio matters)
- Warm up and progressively load before sprinting or cutting
- Increase training volume gradually, not in sudden jumps
- Keep hip flexors and adductors mobile
- Rehab a first strain fully before returning to play
- Address pelvis and core stability up the chain
Related
Related conditions
FAQ
Common questions
Is it a hip flexor strain or a groin strain?
They're closely related. A hip flexor strain is felt at the front of the hip when you lift your knee; a groin strain is on the inner thigh and hurts when you squeeze your legs together. Both are muscle strains and respond to similar care.
How do I know if it's serious?
Most strains are mild to moderate and improve with conservative care. If you felt a sharp pop, can't bear weight, see significant bruising, or it isn't improving over a couple of weeks, that warrants a closer look and sometimes imaging.
Will it come back?
It can — roughly 1 in 5 athletes re-strains the same spot, often because the underlying weakness or load pattern wasn't addressed. That's exactly why the focus is up the chain, not just on the sore muscle.
Do I need an MRI or X-ray?
Usually not for a straightforward strain — most can be graded by exam. Imaging is reserved for ruling out a significant tear, a stress fracture, or joint issues when the picture doesn't fit a simple muscle strain.
How long until I can play again?
Mild strains can settle in a week or two; moderate ones often take a month or two. Dr. Imada would rather return you a little later and stronger than early and re-injured — that's how recurrences happen.
Should I just rest until it stops hurting?
Rest helps early, but rest alone tends to leave the original weakness in place. Restoring strength and good load-sharing is what tends to make the result last.
Can chiropractic care really help a pulled muscle?
What Dr. Imada consistently sees is that strains persist when the pelvis, low back, or a switched-off stabilizer leaves one muscle overloaded. Restoring how the whole chain shares load is often where the lasting improvement comes from.
Could this be something other than a strain?
Sometimes. Sports hernia, osteitis pubis, a hip joint or labral issue, or even referred low-back pain can mimic a groin strain, which is why it's assessed carefully and referred out when something falls outside conservative scope.
When should I see a doctor instead?
If you have a visible groin bulge, severe pain you can't walk on, or symptoms pointing to a fracture or hernia, those need a physician — Dr. Imada will co-manage or refer you out rather than treat outside his scope.
Dr. Imada is trained in Advanced Muscle Integration Technique (AMIT), the CHEK Institute holistic lifestyle program, Foundation Training, and Nasal Specific — care that looks at the whole person, not just the spot that hurts.
This page is for education and is not a substitute for in-person diagnosis or treatment. Care described reflects Dr. Imada's clinical experience and current literature; individual results vary.