Have you ever been walking down the street on a snowy winter day, looked away for a second (maybe there was a really cute dog on the other side of the street), stepped onto an invisible patch of ice and have your leg slip out from under you? I know I’ve been there.
Slipping on something and overstretching the leg is one of the most common ways you can injure the hip adductor muscles, which we often refer to as the “groin”. Groin strains are also common in people who do a lot of running, jumping or play sports that require sudden changes in directions (such as soccer, hockey, etc.).
Hip adductors consist of multiple muscles in the groin region that attach from the pubic bone to the inner part of the femur. They play a crucial role in achieving proper alignment and function in the hips and the pelvic girdle. When they are not happy, they not only can cause pain in the hips or the pelvis but also in other areas such as the back, knees, ankles and feet.
As a group, the primary function of the adductors is to adduct the hip (move the leg towards the midline of the body). They also assist in hip flexion (move the leg up towards the nose) and internal rotation (rotate the leg with toes pointing in).
When the adductors are in action, they slow down the pelvis from shifting forward and sideways to the opposite side, too far and too fast. In order to properly train the adductors for better function through physiotherapy treatment, we need to keep these three-dimensional movements in mind, which is the aim of this exercise.
Try it out and let us know how it went!
