In this post I have used a video from YouTube which is a good demonstration of how to use a tennis ball to relax your foot and ankle area and release tension on you peroneal tendons.

Here is the video below – I start it a few minutes in. Below I have typed out a rough transcript of the video to refer to.

Because the Peroneal Muscle  comes down to the arch and into the Plantar Fascia Muscle I am also a big fan of rolling out the foot itself. Do this standing up rolling the tennis ball from the heel right to the base of the toes. usually spend two minutes on each of the 3 setions of my calf (shown in previous video) and then another two minutes rolling out the foot.

From there we are going to fine tune our treatment a little bit with a cross friction technique. Cross fiction works by sinking in through the top layer then working perpindicular with the muscle itself.
The Peroneal Muscle runs vertically down the leg so for cross friction you are always going to want to go perpindicular to it.
as the muscle crosses the ankle there will be a directional change, as enters foot, so you will have to use the tennis ball in a different direction.

Try to split the top section of the Peroneal Muscel in to 3 spots below Fibula, sit leg in a little L shape with tennis ball under muscle and using both hands and move in perpindicular motion, spending a minute on each spot.

Movement should be a really small motion should never feel as if the ball is moving to much, if it is it is not working. If there is a lot of inflammation then there will be a crunching sensation.
Spends a minute on each spot, come right down to just above the lateral lilus and split into 3 sections working way back up the muscle spending a minute on each section. Follow that by doing one minute right on the arch of the foot, press in as hard as you can and work ball with slight back and forth movements.

If all symptoms are at the foot then it will me more tender, and will be uncomfortable to work on that area, I would advise to work on what you can work on. loosen up the upper part of the muscle towards knee and the arch of the foot and ice the tender part of the foot as it gets really tricky to follow the fibres and then you need to use your fingers, best left to the professionals !!

In this post I have used a video from YouTube which is a good demonstration of how to use a foam roller to relax your Peroneal Muscles.
Getting relaxation and decreasing the tightness here takes some of the pressure off the tendons – this goes a long way to easing your tendonitis.

Here is the video below – I start it a few minutes in.

Below the video I have added a rough transcript for you.

So to start exercising the first thing you have to do is work on the muscle as a whole. The way to do that is with a  foam roller. We see a lot of people doing a large sweeping motion with the foam roller, I am a much bigger fan of breaking it down a little bit, doing it in chunks.

I Start at the top of the calf, this way I can control the leg, make sure ankle is nice and relaxed, not pointed or held.
I can apply as much pressure as I want from here I can work to my tolerance, make sure it doesn’t hurt.
A little tenderness and discomfort is ok, but should never be painful.

Do this in 3 sections and reposition the roller as you go working down towards the ankle.

Summary of Peroneal Tendonitis Treaatment< \h3>
Use a foam roller to release tightness in the muscle.
Split the muscle into 3 sections to work on:
Upper
Middle
Lower

Removing areas of tightness within the muscle belly is key to relaxing the Peroneal muscles sufficiently to take some of the pressure off the tendon.

If you can relieve some of the tension on the tendon then it becomes less ‘stressed’.

You need to also deal with any biomechanical faults in your Kinetic Chain. These might be present at your foot and ankle, or further up your leg at the hip or lower back. This is beyond the scope of this post and will be dealt with later.

Injury or tendonitis of the Peroneal tendons is generally due to mechanical overloading causing breakdown of the structure of the tendon – known as tendinopathy.
Tendinopathy can be both acute and chronic. In the acute stage there can be some inflammation however most damage to tendons is not inflammatory but now thought to more degenerative in nature.

This microscopic degeneration can result in tiny tears as well as complete rupture of the peroneal tendon but this is relatively rare.
You will see below that there are 2 peroneal tendons that run together in a tunnel behind the ankle and also on the outside of the foot.
Damage to the structure of the tunnel can result in subluxation (movement into an abnormal position) with associated clicking or cracking noises at the ankle.

You can also get anatomical abnormalities of the bones which can cause malfunction of the peroneal tendons. Direct trauma to the outside of the ankle like a kick or mechanical overload from trying to stabilise an unstable ankle is a common cause of tendonitis here.

Finally there can be some slight biomechanical problem somewhere in the back, hip, knee or foot that can cause overload of the tendons – this is a common injury for runners.

To understand these problems better let’s get a better understanding of the anatomy of the area.

Peroneal Muscle Anatomy

There are 3 Peroneal Muscles in each leg. These are named Peroneus Longus, Peroneus Brevis and Peroneus Tertius.
Don’t be confused by the fancy names.
The names are Medico-Latin and only mean long, short and third.

These muscles can also be known as Fibularis Longus, Fibularis Brevis and Fibularis Tertius.
This is because their main attachment is to the Fibula bone.

Peroneus Tertius in not really part of this group despite its name.
It attaches more to the front of the leg and it is associated with another group of muscles.
Let’s just forget about it as far as Peroneal Tendonitis is concerned!

If you look at the diagram here you can see the Longus and Brevis muscles coloured 2 shades of green.

The darker shade is the Peroneus Longus.

Longus attaches roughly to the upper 2/3 of the fibula (the thin spindly bone on the outside of your leg), and Brevis to the lower 2/3 of this bone.

These muscles end in long tendons that pass behind the lateral malleolus (bump of bone on the outside of your ankle) and attach to the foot bones.

The Peroneus Brevis tendon attaches to the outside of the foot (base of the 5th Metatarsal).


The Longus actually winds around the outside of the foot and then runs right across the underside of the sole of the foot to attach to the inside of the foot on the 1st metatarsal.


The dotted green line in the diagram represents the tendon running under the foot.


For more general information about the foot see Foot Fundamentals








If you now look at the outside (lateral aspect) of the right ankle area you can see the 2 tendons as they wind behind the lateral malleolus.

The Brevis tendon attaches to the base of the 5th Metatarsal on the outside of the foot.
It is important to note that you can get stress fractures here which can produce similar pain!!

As the 2 tendons pass behind the malleolus they are held there by fibrous tissue which forms a tunnel – this can be a site of pain and swelling in itself. You can also see in the diagram that the tendons pass into the foot where they are tethered by another band of connective tissue – this is another tunnel.

Pain from Peroneal Tendonitis can occur either behind the malleolus OR on the outside of the back of the foot.

Who Gets Peroneal Tendonitis?

Ankle Problems

Up to 75% of people with chronic lateral ankle instability have been found to suffer from peroneal tendonitis!
So people with ankle stability problems are very prone to it.
Ankle stability problems may exist due to repeated ankle sprains, or a major ankle sprain that was not repaired.
People with previous fractures of the ankle may have instability.
Also previous calcaneal (heel bone) fractures are also likely to develop problems here.

Runners

Runners are very susceptible to this injury – especially if they have what is called a hindfoot varus problem.
This means that their heel bone tilts a little inwards. These athletes may also have a slightly high arch.
Another cause of pain when running is suddenly introducing running round bends – training at a track.
It is the outer foot that develops the problem. Run in BOTH directions.

It is suggested that any weakness or faults in the kinetic chain from the low back, pelvis, hip, thigh, knee and / or foot may contribute to factors causing peroneal tendonitis. That means checking strength and endurance of key muscle groups in all these areas.
Anyone with these types of problems will be more likely to develop pain here if they suddenly increase their running load.

Walkers especially over rough ground can cause the problem too.

Medical Factors

Medical factors can include

• diabetes
• hyperparathyroidism
• rheumatoid arthritis
• psoriatic arthritis
• certain types of antibiotics (quinolones)

Balance and Peroneal Pain

Patients with peroneal tendinopathy almost always seem to have problems with balance and proprioception.
A quick test for balance is can you stand on one leg, with arms by your side, for 30 seconds without wavering about too much.
It is essential to compare both the time you can balance and the ‘quality’ of the balance with the other side.
Obviously they should be the same or similar.
If you can get to 30 seconds – try it with your eyes closed!!

The pain associated with peroneal tendonitis tends to be of gradual onset which progressively worsens over weeks or months with the continuation of aggravating activities.

Peroneal Tendon Function

The peroneal muscles tendons principally have two main functions;

1. stabilize the heel and foot as the body passes over the foot in walking or running

The 2 tendons help to control the foot on uneven surfaces and when running.
The foot has a tendency to roll at the heel from side to side.
By contracting the peronei muscles you evert the foot – that is you pull the outside of the foot up and out.
This action prevents the foot rolling in the other direction helping to prevent a lateral ankle sprain.
The muscles also work eccentrically – this means that they muscle ‘pays out’ under control and this controls the heel and foot position on uneven terrain.
A concentric contraction is when a muscle shortens – think of your biceps and BENDING your elbow with a weight in the hand.
For eccentric contraction think of lowering the weight again – your biceps are still working hard as they ‘pay out’ to lower the weight under control.

2. help with plantarflexion of the foot

The peroneal muscles and tendons work in the gait cycle from mid stance (when your weight is over your ankle) all the way to toe off.
Plantarflexion is pointing your toes and lifting your heel.
Peroneals works to help with the lifting of the heel as well as stabilising.

Now you have an understanding of where your muscles and tendons are and what tendonitis is.
You know where the pain is found in the ankle and foot -and to watch out for stress fractures!
You understand who is likely to get the problem and why.
Also you have an idea of what the muscles do.

Peroneal Tendonitis Treatment

All the usual rules are applied.
PRICE

Protection
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

Follow this regime for the first few days. Ice regularly 2-3 times for 15 minutes.
Don’t walk or run unnecessarily etc etc.

After a few days then you can start to do some other treatments for the muscles.

I will deal with these in the next post.

Below I have pasted a simple video than only runs for 1 minute.
However is contains and absolute “nugget” if you are suffering from Tennis Elbow.

You will know that one of the things that quickly makes your pain worse is carrying a bag.
That can be a sports bag, a suitcase or just the weekly shop in carrier bags.
Carrying a heavy bag in particular makes your Tennis Elbow pain much worse.

If you suffer from Tennis Elbow then no doubt someone somewhere has advised you not to carry bags.
Perhaps it’s “don’t lift anything heavy”.

Well below, contained in this short video, is the answer you’ve been looking for to your problem.
The answer is the “HOOK GRIP”.

Hook Grip

You can see from this picture that you carry the bag in the ends of your fingers.
Don’t squeeze tightly with your fingers.
Don’t cock your wrist.
Don’t make a fist.
All of these actions increase tension in your wrist extensor muscles.
It is these muscles that attach to the outside of your elbow.
It is degeneration in the tendon of these extensor muscles and the proliferation of new blood vessels at this site that is thought to give you your Tennis Elbow Pain.







You can see from this photo taken from the video that if we remove the bag from the hand you can now see the “Hook Grip”.
Notice the relaxed wrist.
Notice that the fingers are bent at the tips only.
The idea is to relax the muscles on the back of your forearm.
This takes the tension off the tendon at the elbow.







Compare the relaxed wrist of the Hook Grip above with the tight grip in this picture.
This could be known as the Grasp Grip.
Try it for yourself and feel the difference in the tension developed around your elbow on the outside.
Can you see how the Hook Grip is much better than the Grasp Grip?






Now CLICK on the video and watch it.

Transcript:
“Carrying a bag with Tennis Elbow can often make the pain substantially worse and we advise people not to carry heavy bags.
However there is a way of doing it.
So what you want to do is instead of being in this position with the fingers squeezed tightly is to relax the wrist, relax the fingers and the bag just hooks onto the finger tips at the end.
From that position the wrist is relaxed and there is a hook formed by the end of your fingers.
You don’t cock the wrist you keep it nice and relaxed. So concentrate on keeping the wrist relaxed and the fingers hooked.

So to recap –
Try not to squeeze with the fingers and cock the wrist that makes your elbow worse.
Let the bag dangle from the hook grip.
Relax the wrist and the fingers.
Don’t squeeze and cock the wrist like this, let it drop and let the bag hang on the end of your fingers like this.
You’ll be surprised at how much weight you can carry like this!”


By Ian Constable

If you want some FREE and easy to follow effective Tennis Elbow Exercises as part of your Tennis Elbow Treatment then click on the video below and watch them with my compliments. Take care to follow the Tennis Exercises carefully.

Do Tennis Elbow Exercises Work?

There are numerous programs and videos like the one above on YouTube that show you how to do Tennis Elbow Exercises.
You must also assume that tennis elbow exercises do work – which is why so many people are selling them on the internet.

However a “one size fits all” exercise prescription is surely not the best way forward.

For Tennis Elbow Exercises to work effectively the exercises surely have to take into account many different factors.
These are known as the SIN Factors.

SIN: Severity Irritability & Nature

1. how Severe is the pain in your elbow?
2. how Irritable is your elbow?
3. what is the Nature of the problem

Severity – on a scale of 1 to 10 how painful is your elbow?
Irritability – how easy is it to make your elbow feel worse?
Irritability – do small amount of activity cause a sever reaction and increased pain?
Nature – Is it a local muscle / tendon problem at the elbow?
Nature – There are several other problems that can produce pain at the elbow such as a trapped nerve in the neck, or trapped nerve in the arm, trigger spots in muscles around the shoulder or upper arm can produce elbow pain.

What Tennis Elbow Exercises should I do?

If you have Tennis Elbow and want to do Tennis Elbow Exercises then my questions for you would be:

1. is there an elbow joint problem you need to fix first?
2. is there a problem with your neck?
3. how do you know that are you doing the correct Tennis Elbow exercises for your type of Tennis Elbow problem?
4. could it be that you do not have Tennis Elbow?
5. are the Tennis Elbow exercises you are doing of the correct intensity to stimulate repair of your problem?
6. are your Tennis Elbow exercises making you worse?

Consider these very important questions and try to answer them before you start buying “one-size-fits-all exercises” for your Tennis Elbow Treatment.

Consider this for a moment………

If you consulted a physical therapist / chiropractor / osteopath and they prescribed you Tennis Elbow Exercises without first examining your elbow neck and shoulder how would you feel?

Would you be happy?
Would you feel confident in the exercises they prescribed?
I don’t think so!

Well please don’t do the same thing on the internet either.

Find out for sure what kind of problem you have.

Effective pain relief starting from Day One.
Expert advice to relieve your pain and inflammation
Learn techniques used by professionals
Rehab program sent directly to you TWICE daily!

This unique “Less than 10 minutes twice a day” video course tailored to the results of your assessment will provide:

• Pain relief at home and at work
• Regular mobilising of your muscles in a busy day
• Treatment techniques as used by health professionals
• Correctly applied stretching techniques
• A tailored exercise programme for your Tennis Elbow

These video courses have been carefully assembled from my 25 years experience and specifically designed for Tennis Elbow at differing stages of recovery.

I have designed 16 different programmes for each elbow – that’s 32 Tennis Elbow Programmes!!

This is a tailored exercise program exactly for you and your problem as it exists NOW and not general exercises for “Tennis Elbow”! That is why you went through such a detailed assessment before any exercise advice was suggested.

Compare that to the “One Size Fits All” packages elsewhere on the internet!

All the videos carefully demonstrate each exercise and technique fully.
If your left arm is injured every video shows a left arm.
You are given a full understanding of what you are to do before you try it yourself.
If you are to repeat the exercise 10 times you are shown it 10 times – you simply follow the video.
If you are to hold a stretch for 15 seconds the demonstration in video will hold the stretch for 15 seconds.
This is NOT a collection of randomly assembled exercises for ‘Tennis Elbow’
It is NOT a collection of diagrams in an e-book!
The advice in the videos of the TENNIS ELBOW REHAB COURSE has been carefully constructed for people with the same condition – that is for people like you.

Please Click FREE TENNIS ELBOW ASSESSMENT

Ankle sprain and sprained ankle is in the news at the moment especially if you follow tennis and the fortunes of my fellow Scot Andy Murray. Andy sprained his ankle at the French Open Championships during his third round match with Berrer which Andy won in straight sets despite suffering his ankle sprain in the second set.

In a column he wrote for the BBC he said “The moment it happened I was definitely worried my tournament was over there and then, but we’ll just have to see how the ankle reacts over the next 48 hours.”

“I guess most injuries are unexpected and this one definitely was. I was sliding out to the right to chase down a drop shot, like I have dozens of times this week, and all I was thinking about was hitting the ball.”
“Then reality hit and I just thought, ‘Is it bad? How’s it going to be when I stand up?’ Straight away it felt very sore and the trainer told me to take an anti-inflammatory before taping the ankle very tight to protect the ligament.”

Look at this French video of another severe ankle strain way back in 1995 suffered by Michael Stich playing Todd Woodbridge – it’s not for the faint-hearted be warned!!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ImXAD_tig[/youtube]

When you get a sprained ankle it is the ligaments and tendons on the outside or lateral side of your ankle that get damaged. The damage can be a slight strain of the ligament – Grade 1 progressing in severity all the way through to a complete rupture of the ligaments – Grade 3 strain.

Ankle Sprain Treatment

The best thing that you can do for a sprained ankle is to stop it from swelling.
This involves the classic PRICE regime

PRICE

P – Protection
R – Rest
I – Ice
C – Compression
E – Elevation

In other words get off it as soon as possible get some Ice on it and lie down with your foot up. Ideally apply some form of compression with and after applying the ice. If you are Andy Murray and have an expert physio close at hand to make a functional diagnosis of the sprain and that can apply an expert strapping then and only then should you delay starting the PRICE regime. However, believe me when I say that even an elite athlete like Andy will have done all of this immediately he left the court!

For the rest of us mere mortals it is important to stop the ankle from swelling and applying a strapping is a great way to do this. I will cover how to do this in a later article.

For up-to-date information about Andy check out his website at www.andymurray.com

Check out Ankle Joint

Tennis Elbow Exercises

There are numerous programs and videos on YouTube that show you how to do Tennis Elbow Exercises.
The biggest problem I have with them is that it follows the “one size fits all” type of exercise prescription.
My questions for you would be:

• are you doing the correct tennis elbow exercises for your problem?
• do you even have Tennis Elbow?
• are these tennis elbow exercises of the correct intensity for your problem?
• is there a problem with your neck that needs to fixed before doing these exercises?
• is there an elbow joint problem you need to fix first?

These are just a few very important questions that need to be answered before you start paying money and doing “any old exercises” as part of your tennis elbow treatment programme.

Just stop and think for a moment………

If you paid to see a physiotherapist / physical therapist / osteopath / chiropractor would you expect them to prescribe Tennis Elbow Exercises without examining you??
I don’t think so!
You would not be impressed in the slightest would you?

Well don’t do it on the internet either.

Please Click TENNIS ELBOW ASSESSMENT to get started

If you want some simple yet effective Tennis Elbow Exercises as part of your Tennis Elbow Treatment then click on the video below.

Forearm Pain

If your forearm pain is towards the outer elbow then these Tennis Elbow Exercises are designed to fit in with the early to middle stages of your Tennis Elbow Treatment.
The tennis elbow exercises on the video are:

1. resisted wrist extension in a flexed position
2. resisted wrist flexion from an extended position
3. static resisted supination
4. static resisted pronation
5. stretch for the forearm extensors
6. stretch for the forearm flexors

Remember these are general exercises for early to mid stage Tennis Elbow.
If you want a more accurate assessment of your Forearm Pain as it currently is then

BBC Sport report the final retirement of Tennis legend Justine Henin.

The report states:

“Former world number one Justine Henin has been forced to retire from tennis for the second time because of a recurring elbow injury.
The 28-year-old Belgian announced the news on her website, stating that her elbow had been “damaged” during the recent Australian Open.
“In these recent months I have rarely been spared of the pain,” she said.
“The doctors told me my elbow is too fragile and therefore I cannot continue my profession at this high level.”
Henin’s final match was a third-round defeat by Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in Melbourne last weekend.

The Belgian, who won seven Grand Slams during her career, first quit the sport in 2008 when she was ranked number one in the world before returning to the WTA Tour in January 2010.

She reached the Australian Open final that month but her comeback was curtailed when she fractured a ligament in her elbow at Wimbledon. (See Henin Elbow Inury)
Despite her elbow injury Henin began this season by leading Belgium to the final of the Hopman Cup, winning all of her matches.

And at the Australian Open, the 2010 finalist beat India’s Sania Mirza and Britain’s Elena Baltacha before falling to current world number 26 Kuznetsova.
“I suffered a lot the last week and every day gave me more and more pain, but I believed that my will would take the upper hand,” she added in her open letter.
“I’m in shock, of course. After having considered the advice of doctors, it is now clear and accepted that my career finally ends.”
Henin won her first Grand Slam title in 2003, when as Henin-Hardenne, she defeated compatriot Kim Clijsters to win the US Open.

Her long-running battle with her fellow Belgian was one of the sport’s great rivalries in recent years.
Henin won the US Open again in 2007, the Australian Open in 2004 and the French Open on four occasions.
The only Grand Slam title to elude her was Wimbledon, where she was the beaten finalist in 2001 and 2006.
The Liege-born player also won Olympic gold in 2004 when she beat Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo 6-3 6-3 in the final.”

Elbow Injury

After Wimbledon where she injured her right elbow when she fell in a fourth-round loss to her Belgian rival Kim Clijsters. She spent the next few weeks deciding whether to risk surgery to repair the problem, but according to her longtime coach and confidant, Carlos Rodriguez, surgery would have forced her to miss another “year and a half realistically” and so she decided to take her chances without surgery. She returned for the exhibition team event, the Hopman Cup, this month, then won two rounds in Melbourne before another longtime rival, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, beat her in an intense yet error-strewn match, 6-4, 7-6 (8).

Justine said “I am in shock, obviously, even if the struggles these last seven months had made me understand that perhaps one day I’d have to accept this,” Henin said in her letter. “Having considered it thoroughly and on the advice of my doctors, it’s time to bow to the evidence and accept that my career ends here, definitively, even though it’s tough, very tough when I was coming back with great desire.

“I am sad,” she continued. “I had hoped for another kind of comeback and dreamed of another end.”

In total, she won 43 singles titles, including four French Opens, one Australian Open and two United States Opens. Wimbledon, where she was twice a finalist, is the only hole in her Grand Slam résumé. Henin also finished the year at No. 1 in 2003, 2006 and 2007, and won the Olympic gold medal in singles in 2004.

But statistics are limited when it comes to expressing Henin’s impact. She was a purist’s delight, and Martina Navratilova, one of the game’s great champions, once said that there were only two players in this era she would pay to watch: one was Roger Federer, the other Henin.

The Adductor Squeeze Test is a simple test that you can use to decide if you have a Groin Strain / Adductor Strain. It is very easy to carry out the test. It is easy to evaluate the results of the test. Click and watch the video below:

If you do not have a football then you could use a folded bath towel or use two fists placed side by side between your knees.

Adductor Squeeze Test Results

Positive Adductor Squeeze Test

If ANY of the 3 positions produces pain in your groin area then the test is positive.

What muscles does the Adductor Squeeze Test stress

The muscles tested are shown in the diagram opposite.


They are numbered in the diagram

1. Pectineus Muscle which runs from high on the front of the pelvis and attaches to the upper Femur
2. Adductor Longus Muscle has a cord like tendon which is easily felt in the upper groin. It attaches to the upper third of the Femur.
3. Gracilis is long and thin and attaches quite high on the front of the pelvis also. It runs down the inner thigh and attaches below the knee to the inner aspect of the Tibia. It is the only Adductor to cross the knee joint.
4. Adductor Magnus is the largest of the Adductor muscles. It is attached quite far back on the underside of the pelvis near to the attachment of your Hamstring muscles. It has almost 3 separate parts to the muscle. A set of fibres which run almost horizontally at the top of the Femur. Then there is a massive ‘fan’ of fibres whcih are attached all the way down the back of the Femur. Lastly there is a collection of fibres which run vertically much like Gracilis, but these fibres attach just above the inner aspect of the knee.
5. Adductor Brevis lies deep to the Adductor Longus and Pectineus Muscles

For more detailed information see Adductor Strain Anatomy
and Adductor Strain

Adductor Strains affect any of the five Adductor Muscles.
These are Adductor Longus, Adductor Magnus, Adductor Brevis, Pectineus and Gracilis Muscles.
For more detailed information see Adductor Strain Anatomy
Most commonly affected are the

1. Adductor Longus (2 in the diagram)
2. Gracilis (3 in the diagram)
3. Vertical fibres of Adductor Magnus (4)

Less often injured are

4. Adductor Brevis (5)
5. Pectineus (1)
6. Horizontal and oblique fibres of Adductor Magnus which are attached all the way down the femur

An Adductor Strain (groin strain) is a strain or tear to any of these muscles.
These strains are graded

• Grade 1 which affects less than 5-10% of the muscle fibres
• Grade 2 affecting more fibres than Grade 1 but not a complete tear
• Grade 3 affects all the fibres resulting in a complete tear.

Signs and Symptoms of an Adductor Strain

Grade 1 Adductor Strain

mild pain or discomfort in the inner thigh area. This may be noticed at the time or sometimes it is not until after exercise stops that you feel the pain here. Generally the adductor muscles will be tight or will feel tight.
It might be that there is an area in the Adductor muscle which is painful on palpation (to touch firmly). You will feel uncomfortable or painful when running fast or changing direction. Generally walking is fine apart from first thing in the morning or getting up from a chair after sitting about for a while. There will be mild pain with the Adductor Squeeze Test – see Video

Grade 2 Adductor Strain

You generally feel a sharp sudden pain in the groin muscles while exercising.
You may get some bruising or swelling generally after a day or so.
There will be some tightening of the Adductors either immediately or the next day post injury.
Pain on the Adductor Squeeze Test (see Video) and probably some weakness.
Walking will be painful and you will almost certainly have a limp and won’t be able to run properly.
There will be pain on stretching the muscle.

Grade 3 Adductor Strain

Sudden sharp pain in the groin while exercising.
Significant pain and / or weakness on the Adductor Squeeze Test.
Substantial swelling and bruising on the inner thigh within 24 hours.
Stretching the Adductor muscles will be painful (generally).
On palpation (firm touching) you may be able to feel a lump or gap in the muscle.
You won’t be able to run at all.
Walking and getting out a chair etc will be difficult.