Staying active is one of the most important things you can do for groin pain. The right exercises help your muscles and tendons handle load better, support your hips and pelvis, and make it easier to return to sport and daily life. For many people, this works as well as or better than passive treatments like rest, heat, or massage alone.¹ ⁵ ¹⁵
In athletes with long standing adductor related groin pain, an active strengthening program led to better return to sport than passive therapy, which shows how powerful targeted exercise can be.⁵ Exercise programs that build adductor strength, hip control, and trunk stability also lower the risk of new groin problems in team sports.¹ ⁶ ¹⁵ Even for hip joint causes such as femoroacetabular impingement, structured physiotherapy can improve pain and function and is recommended as a first step before thinking about surgery.⁷ ⁸ ⁹
Rest has a role in the very short term during a flare, but long stretches of complete rest can weaken muscles and tendons and make it harder to get back to your usual activities. A better approach is relative rest plus a graded plan that keeps you moving within tolerable limits.¹ ⁵ ¹⁵
Effective exercises for groin pain
Not every exercise is right for every person. If a movement causes sharp pain or new symptoms, stop and consult a medical provider.
These exercises are examples often used in adductor related, pubic related, and hip related groin pain. A clinician can help you tailor them to your exact diagnosis and stage.
1. Hook-lying adductor squeeze (easy starter)
What it helps: Gently activates the inner thigh muscles and starts to restore strength without big movements. Stronger adductors are linked with lower risk of groin problems in team sports.¹ ⁶
How to do it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat. Place a folded pillow, ball, or rolled towel between your knees. Gently squeeze your knees together, building up to a firm but tolerable effort, and hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Relax and repeat. Start with 2 sets of 8 to 10 squeezes once a day, as long as pain stays mild and settles within 24 hours.
2. Side-lying hip abduction (outer hip support)
What it helps: Strengthens the gluteal muscles on the outer hip, which help control your pelvis and reduce strain on the adductors and pubic area. Weak hip abductors are common in people with hip and groin pain.¹ ⁷ ¹⁵
How to do it: Lie on your side with the painful side on top, hips stacked, knees straight, and your body in a straight line. Gently tense your tummy, then lift the top leg up about 30 cm without rolling your pelvis back. Hold for 2 seconds, lower slowly, and repeat. Aim for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions most days, staying below moderate pain.
3. Glute bridge
What it helps: Strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, which support the pelvis and can reduce irritation around the pubic bone and adductor origin when loaded gradually.⁵ ¹⁵
How to do it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hip width apart. Gently tighten your tummy, then press through your heels to lift your hips until your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Do not arch your back. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, then lower slowly. Start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions. Progress only under guidance.
Helpful stretches for groin pain
Gentle stretching can ease tension and help you feel more comfortable. Stretches should feel like a mild to moderate pull, never sharp or burning pain.
1. Short adductor stretch (inner thigh)
How it helps: Reduces gentle tightness in the inner thigh while keeping the hip in a safer position.
How to do it: Sit on the floor with the soles of your feet together. Place your forearms on your knees and gently guide them toward the floor until you feel a stretch. Hold 10 seconds, repeat 2 to 3 times.
2. Seated hamstring stretch (back of thigh)
What it helps: Gently stretches the hamstring without high compression at the sit bone, which matters in proximal hamstring tendinopathy.⁴ ¹¹
How to do it: Sit with one leg straight and the other bent, foot against the inner thigh. Reach toward the toes of the straight leg until you feel a gentle stretch. Hold 10 seconds, repeat 2 to 3 times.
3. Hip flexor stretch (kneeling, narrow stance)
What it helps: Eases tension at the front of the hips that can build up with walking or standing changes.⁴
How to do it: Kneel with padding under the back knee, feet in line like railroad tracks. Gently shift forward until you feel a stretch in the front of the back hip. Hold 15 to 30 seconds, 2 to 3 times per side.
4. Figure-4 stretch (use with care)
What it helps: Stretches the glute muscles and may help some hip related or deep gluteal patterns.⁷ ¹⁵
How to do it: Cross one ankle over the opposite knee and gently lean forward from the hips until you feel a stretch.
Did you know?
Active rehab can beat passive treatment for groin pain. In a landmark trial of athletes with long standing adductor related groin pain, those who followed an active exercise program were more likely to return to sport and had better outcomes than those who received passive treatments alone. 5 This is one reason modern care plans focus on strengthening and load management, not only rest.
Exercises to avoid with a groin injury
The goal is not to scare you away from movement, but to help you avoid common triggers while things settle. As symptoms improve, many of these can be added back in a careful, graded way.
You may need to limit or avoid, at least for a while:
Maximal long-lever adductor work: Deep side lunges, wide split squats, or heavy sliding adduction can overload a sore adductor tendon if added too early. People with adductor related groin pain often do better starting with more supported positions and shorter lever exercises, then progressing over time. 1 5 15
High volume sit ups and aggressive core twisting: Repeated sit ups, V ups, or heavy twisting can provoke pubic related and inguinal related groin pain by stressing the area where the abdominal muscles attach near the pubic bone and inguinal canal. 1 13 15
Full speed sprints, repeated cutting, and powerful kicking in early rehab: These movements place high load on the adductors, hip flexors, and pubic region. Most guidelines suggest rebuilding strength and control first, then returning to high speed and change of direction drills in phases. 1 5 6 15
Deep loaded hip flexion in some hip related groin problems: Very deep squats or hip flexion with heavy load can aggravate femoroacetabular impingement symptoms in some people. A graded program that respects hip range limits is usually safer. 7 8 9
As a rule, exercises should feel challenging but tolerable. A small increase in familiar pain during or after exercise that settles within 24 hours is usually acceptable. Sharp, new, or steadily worsening pain is a sign to ease off and seek advice. 1 5 15
Clinical insight
Guidance highlights that adductor strength and smart load management are central, both for rehab and for prevention. Active programs that build inner thigh and hip strength, have better results than passive care alone.5 6 15 For hip-related groin pain, education and physiotherapist led care is effective, with arthroscopic surgery reserved for people who still struggle after non-surgical treatment. 7 8 9
Weir A, Brukner P, et al. Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(12):768-774.
2
Walden M, Hägglund M, Ekstrand J. The epidemiology of groin injury in senior football. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(12):792-801.
3
Langhout R, et al. Groin injuries and long-standing groin pain in contact sports: annual prevalence in elite athletes. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2019;5:e000507.
4
Thorborg K, Hölmich P, et al. The Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Score (HAGOS): development and validation. Br J Sports Med. 2011;45(6):478-491.
5
Hölmich P, Uhrskou P, et al. Effectiveness of active training compared with passive therapy for long standing adductor related groin pain in athletes. Lancet. 1999;353:439-443.
6
Harøy J, Clarsen B, et al. The Adductor Strengthening Programme prevents groin problems in male football players. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(3):150-157.
7
Griffin DR, Dickenson EJ, et al. The Warwick agreement on femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: an international consensus statement. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(19):1169-1176.
8
Palmer AJR, Ayyar Gupta V, et al. Arthroscopic hip surgery compared with physiotherapy and activity modification for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2019;364:l185.
9
Foster NE, et al. UK FASHIoN: hip arthroscopy versus best conservative care for femoroacetabular impingement. Lancet. 2018;391:2225-2235.
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American College of Radiology. Appropriateness Criteria: Chronic hip pain. 2022 update.
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Orthobullets Editorial Team. Femoral neck stress fractures. Orthobullets; updated 2025.
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Arendt EA, et al. Femoral neck stress fractures: indications for surgery and outcomes. Sports Med Arthrosc Rev. 2015.
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Sheen AJ, Stephenson BM, et al. British Hernia Society position statement on treatment of the sportsman’s groin, adopting the term inguinal disruption. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(14):1079-1087.
14
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Clinical Knowledge Summary: Scrotal pain and swelling, including inguinal hernia referral criteria. 2023.
15
Bisciotti GN, et al. Groin pain syndrome in athletes: structured narrative review. JOINTS. 2024;2:e1288.
16
Mavor M, McCrory P, et al. Obturator nerve entrapment as a cause of groin pain in athletes. Am J Sports Med. 1997;25(3):402-408.
17
Elattar O, et al. Groin pain in athletes: imaging of osteitis pubis and related pubic symphysis pathology. Br J Radiol. 2021;94:20201333.
18
Vidal X, et al. Best practices for extracorporeal shockwave therapy in musculoskeletal conditions: narrative review. PM&R. 2023.
