Groin Injuries: Why Recovery Takes More Than Rest

Groin Injuries: Why Recovery Takes More Than Rest

by | May 7, 2025 | Ask The Expert

Q: I’m a dancer with a groin injury. Why is it so hard to heal?

A: Groin injuries — especially in dancers — can be surprisingly complex and debilitating. Here’s why they often don’t resolve with rest alone.

A groin strain, more accurately called an adductor strain, involves one or more of the muscles responsible for drawing your legs toward the midline of your body. But the adductor group does far more than just adduction — and that’s where things get tricky.

The Adductor Muscles Are Always Working

Unlike some muscle groups that get to rest during parts of the gait cycle, the adductors are always active. They assist in:

  • Hip flexion and extension
  • Stabilizing the pelvis
  • Counterbalancing abduction during movement

This constant demand means they rarely get a true break — especially in activities like dance that involve dynamic weight shifts, turnout, explosive power, and complex directional changes. Every leap, plié, and directional turn continues to engage the adductors, making healing a slower, more complex process.

It’s Rarely Just the Groin

In chronic groin injury cases, I often see what I call the “pelvic triad”:

  • Adductors
  • Hip flexors
  • Abdominals (especially obliques and rectus abdominis)

When one of these muscle groups is strained or inhibited, the others pick up the slack. Over time, this compensation overloads those secondary systems, leading to a cycle of chronic strain and repair. Dancers, hockey players, martial artists, and equestrians are especially prone to this pattern due to the high demands for pelvic stability and dynamic control.

Pelvic Misalignment & Full-Body Ripple Effects

Because the adductors attach to the pelvis (specifically the pubic bone), ongoing strain can create torque or asymmetry through the pelvis. This misalignment can:

  • Pull the spine or sacrum off-center
  • Alter weight distribution during standing and walking
  • Cause compensation up the kinetic chain (into the back, neck, and shoulders)

What starts as a groin issue can easily ripple into a full-body biomechanical problem if not addressed properly.

Hamstring Injuries Often Masquerade as Groin Pain

Here’s something few people consider: not all “groin” pain is caused by the adductors. The hamstrings — especially the semimembranosus and semitendinosus — share a common attachment point with the adductors at the ischial tuberosity (sit bone). In some cases, what feels like a lingering groin injury is actually an undiagnosed high hamstring strain. Or worse — both may be involved.

If your pain isn’t resolving despite dedicated groin-focused treatment, it may be time to reassess.

So… What Should You Do?

  • Don’t assume. If you’ve been self-treating with rest, ice, or gym-based adductor machines with little to no improvement, it’s time for a proper assessment.
  • Book an orthopaedic evaluation. I use clinical testing and functional movement screening to determine the root cause — whether it’s adductor, hamstring, or a combination of imbalances.
  • Treat the full picture. My approach blends myofascial release, movement retraining, and strengthening in standing postures — not seated machines. This mimics how your body actually performs and builds functional strength.
  • Pro Tip for Dancers:  Those seated adductor/abductor machines at the gym? Skip them. They’re not reflective of the movement patterns dancers use. Instead, focus on:
  • Unilateral strengthening (one leg at a time)
  • Standing stabilization exercises
  • Controlled eccentric loading to reduce re-injury risk
  • Myofascial work to address fascial tension and scar tissue

With a strategic rehab plan, you can return to dancing stronger, smarter, and more resilient than before.

BOTTOM LINE:
Groin injuries in dancers are rarely isolated, and healing takes more than rest. With the right assessment and integrative treatment plan, you’ll get back to full throttle performance — without lingering pain holding you back.

Located in Okotoks and serving the greater Calgary region. Let’s take a closer look at your groin injury with a comprehensive orthopaedic assessment and personalized treatment approach.

Hip, Knee and Foot Pain Connection

Hip, Knee and Foot Pain Connection

by | Mar 4, 2025 | Ask The Expert

Q: I’ve had persistent issues — first with my hip, then my knee, and now my foot. What’s going on, and can massage therapy help?

A: Yes — and you’re likely dealing with a kinetic chain dysfunction that started in the hip.

When pain or dysfunction begins in one area and then “travels” over time to other joints or regions, we call this a kinetic chain issue. In simpler terms, the body is compensating for an unresolved problem upstream — and eventually, those compensations become their own problems.

One of the most common patterns I see in my clinic today — especially among people who spend long hours sitting — is the hip-to-knee-to-foot pain cascade. Let’s break it down.

Step One: Assess the Hip First

Your hip function is the foundation of lower body movement. If your hip flexors are chronically shortened from sitting and your glutes are weak or misfiring, your body will try to compensate — often by over-recruiting the hamstrings, particularly the lateral hamstring (biceps femoris).

This imbalance has a ripple effect:

  • Tight hamstrings rotate the tibia (shin bone) improperly aka tibial torsion

  • The patella (kneecap) starts to track laterally

  • The fibular head (on the outer knee) becomes fixated, losing its ability to pivot with knee movement

That last detail is key. Every time you bend your knee, the fibula should rotate slightly outward — like a saloon door swinging open. When this movement becomes restricted, it disrupts the biomechanics of the entire lower leg.

Eight Muscles Pay the Price

There are eight key muscles in the lower leg that attach to the fibula and its connecting interosseous membrane. These include muscles like:

  • Peroneus longus and brevis (ankle evertors)

  • Flexor hallucis longus (big toe flexor)

  • Tibialis posterior (arch support)

  • Soleus and others

All of them play critical roles in ankle mobility, foot stability, and gait mechanics. When the fibula is restricted, these muscles become overworked, irritated, and dysfunctional — which may explain your foot pain even if the foot itself was never injured.

Treat the Root Cause, Not Just the Symptoms

In this pattern, the hip dysfunction would have likely triggered compensation at the knee and foot. Treating only the knee or foot without addressing hip mechanics is like bailing water from a sinking boat without plugging the leak.

  • Start with orthopaedic testing to assess hip flexor overuse and glute weakness

  • Use myofascial release to improve mobility in the hips and legs

  • Restore proper glute function with activation and strengthening strategies

  • Address secondary restrictions at the knee and foot once the primary driver is corrected

What If the Glutes Are Fine?

If testing shows your glutes are firing well and your hip isn’t the source of dysfunction, we’ll shift gears and pursue other orthopaedic assessments to pinpoint the true origin. It could be structural (joint), neuromuscular (firing pattern), or fascial (tissue restrictions).

Either way, this is where integrative, assessment-driven massage therapy shines — because we don’t guess. We test, treat, and re-test.

BOTTOM LINE:

Don’t chase the symptoms. If you’ve had a domino effect of pain from hip to knee to foot, it’s time to take a whole-body approach. In most cases, resolving the original hip dysfunction unlocks the entire chain — and gets you back to pain-free movement faster.

If are in the Okotoks or greater Calgary area and you’re ready to get to the root of your hip, knee, or foot pain, please visit the CONTACT ME page to book an assessment and start your personalized treatment plan.