Groin Strain
Pain or pulling through the inner thigh or groin, often worse with sprinting, direction changes, hills, or pushing off.
Inner thigh or groin
Adductor Muscle Strain
Usually not in the early stage, especially if walking, pushing off, or changing direction is painful
Usually 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the severity of the strain
Often happens during sprinting, sudden direction changes, hills, or forceful push off
Can I Keep Running?
Running is usually not appropriate early on, especially if the groin is painful with walking, lifting the leg, or pushing off. Trying to run through a fresh groin strain often keeps the muscle irritated and delays proper recovery.
Typical Recovery Timeline
Milder groin strains may improve within 2 to 4 weeks, while more significant strains often take 6 to 8 weeks or longer to fully rebuild. The groin may feel better before it is ready for sprinting, hills, or aggressive running again.
What's Actually Going On?
A groin strain happens when the adductor muscles on the inner thigh are overloaded beyond what they can tolerate.
These muscles help stabilise the pelvis, control leg movement, and generate force during running and direction changes.
In runners, groin strains commonly happen during faster running, sudden movement, or forceful push off, especially when the muscles are fatigued or underprepared for the load.
Common Symptoms
Can You Still Run With It?
Usually not at first.
If walking, pushing off, or changing direction is painful, the groin is not ready for running yet.
Once normal walking, controlled strength work, and bodyweight loading feel comfortable again, a gradual return to easy running can begin before progressing back to speed or hills.
Things That Often Need Adjusting:
Does This Sound Like You?
- You feel pain or pulling through the inner thigh during running
- Sprinting or hills trigger it quickly
- Pushing off feels uncomfortable
- The groin feels tight or vulnerable afterwards
- Stretching the area feels uncomfortable
- The pain flares again when trying to return to running too soon
Why Do Runners Get This?
This usually happens when the groin muscles are asked to generate more force than they are ready for.
Often the muscles were already overloaded before the strain finally happened.
Worth Getting Assessed If:
- •walking is still painful after a few days
- •the groin keeps tightening up again
- •you cannot run comfortably
- •strength is not returning normally
- •symptoms are not steadily improving
Get Help Sooner If You Have:
- major bruising
- significant weakness
- sharp groin pain
- difficulty weight-bearing
- severe pain that worsens quickly
- Groin strains can become long lasting if runners return to speed and harder running too quickly.
A Note From Liesel
“A lot of runners try to ignore groin pain because it feels manageable at first, until simple things like pushing off, climbing stairs, or running faster suddenly become difficult. The runners who usually recover best are the ones who stop aggravating the area early, rebuild strength properly, and avoid rushing back into harder running before the groin is ready again.”
Stop Guessing. Start Moving Forward.
Get a clear clinical diagnosis and a personalised return-to-running plan with Liesel (In-person in Pretoria East or Online via Google Meet).
Book a Consultation