Groin Pain
Groin pain is notorious for lingering - easing with rest, then flaring the moment you push again. Because so many structures can be involved, getting the diagnosis right is half the battle. That is where we start.
Your care, at a glance
The questions worth asking any clinic — answered up front.
Who you'll see
Groin injuries dominated Dr Steve Saunders' AFL caseload and shaped KangaTech's adductor testing; Henry is head physiotherapist at an NPL soccer club — the sport where groin problems are most common — and Jonty's football-club work makes him a natural fit too.
How we assess it
A structured diagnostic assessment to separate the overlapping structures — adductors, hip flexors, abdominal wall, pubic joint, hip — followed by KangaTech measurement of adductor and hip strength and symmetry to quantify exactly what's underperforming.
How we treat it
Progressive strengthening targeted at the deficit your assessment found — with adductor-specific loading front and centre — alongside load management that keeps you doing as much sport or activity as the injury allows.
When you progress
- Pain-free adductor squeeze and strength targets on KangaTech
- Left-to-right symmetry restored against baseline
- Graded running, change of direction and kicking tolerated
- Sport-specific training at full intensity before return
The evidence behind this approach
A cluster-randomised trial of 652 footballers found a simple adductor strengthening programme cut groin problems by 41% (Harøy et al., BJSM 2019) — strong support for the strength-first approach we take, and for measuring adductor strength rather than guessing at it.
Why it happens
The groin is a junction: the adductor muscles and tendons, hip flexors, abdominal wall, pubic bones and hip joint all meet there, and any of them can be the source of pain. In active people, groin pain - sometimes called athletic pubalgia - usually develops from an interaction of muscular imbalance or weakness, biomechanics, skeletal or structural factors, and errors in training load.
It is common in sports built on kicking and change of direction, like Australian football and soccer, but we also see it in runners, gym-goers and people whose groin pain began with no sport involved at all.
How we assess it
Because so many structures overlap here, a structured diagnostic assessment matters more than almost anywhere else in the body. We examine the adductors, hip flexors, abdominals, hip joint and surrounding areas to identify whether your pain arises from muscle, tendon, bone or joint - and use real-time ultrasound and 3D lower-limb strength profiling on KangaTech to put objective numbers on the muscles involved.
Our founder Steve Saunders has presented at the Athletic Groin Pain Symposium and consulted on groin injuries in elite Australian football. That experience shapes how every groin assessment at Saunders is run.
How we treat it
Treatment targets the cause your assessment identified: progressive strengthening to correct imbalances - adductors, hip flexors, abdominals and hips working as a unit - alongside load management so you can keep training at a level your groin tolerates. Manual therapy and dry needling can help settle symptoms while capacity builds.
As you improve, rehab becomes more dynamic: change of direction, kicking and sport-specific loading, with re-testing along the way so each progression is earned rather than assumed.
Not just an athlete's problem
Groin pain also shows up far from the sporting field - on long walks, climbing stairs, getting in and out of the car. Hip joint conditions and tendon problems are common culprits, and the same assess-then-treat approach applies. Everyone gets the elite-sport standard of assessment; the program is scaled to your life and goals.
Getting back to what you love
Persistent groin pain can quietly shrink your world: shorter runs, cautious kicks, skipped games. A clear diagnosis and a progressive plan work to reverse that.
Book online through HotDoc at our Adelaide CBD or Edwardstown clinic - no referral needed, with HICAPS for on-the-spot private health claims.
Frequently asked questions
Why will my groin pain not go away with rest?
Rest settles symptoms but does not change the strength deficits, imbalances or load errors that caused them, so pain often returns when you start again. Lasting recovery usually needs targeted strengthening and a managed return to load.
Do I need a scan for groin pain?
Not always. A thorough clinical assessment identifies the source in many cases, and we use real-time ultrasound in the clinic where it adds information. If further imaging would change your management, we will arrange it.
Is groin pain only a sporting injury?
No. Hip joint conditions, tendon problems and other causes produce groin pain in people who do not play sport at all. The same careful diagnosis applies whoever you are.
How do you test groin strength?
We use KangaTech to measure the isolated strength of your adductors, hip flexors and surrounding muscle groups, giving objective numbers we can compare side to side and re-test as you progress.