Adductor Pull/Strain

[brian robinson]

One of my athletes has had a recurring issue with his adductor. He is almost 15 yrs old and had been growing steadily. No obvious growth spurt -just steady height gain. He is about 5'10" and should be at least 6' to 6'2" based on father.

He developed a badly sprained ankle during basketball season this winter and was encouraged to wear stiff ankle braces during the spring soccer season. He did undergo PT for the ankle.

His hamstrings are extremely tight, too, and he did complain about this during the season.

Could his adductor issue be related to weakness of glute meds, tightness/weakness of hamstrings, and change in gait due to ankle braces?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

BR

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by brian robinson

Could his adductor issue be related to weakness of glute meds, tightness/weakness of hamstrings, and change in gait due to ankle braces?

Yup!

Seriously ... teenage boys need lots of dynamic warm-up time, and lots of static stretching time (after workouts/competitions) to reduce injuries and improve muscle flexibility, ESPECIALLY during times of height gain.

You don't mention which sport you coach/train him for ... I'd work on getting his gluteals firing properly, dynamic and static flexibility of hamstrings and adductors, and work on his single leg balance. A lot of this can be incorporated into a pre-training/pre-practice/pre-contest warm-up, along with a home program of static stretching.

If you need ideas please let me know ... especially regarding balance training progression.

[brian robinson]

Julie:

Thanks for the reply.

I coach this young man in soccer. The warm up routine is pretty extensive IMHO. We begin with SMR using a tennis ball, followed by muscle activation of the glue max and min, using bridging and side leg raises, and other activation exercise for the psoas, anterior tibialis and gastrocs.

After the activation exercises we will do stability/balance exercises on one leg to work on the hip complex. We then will do dynamic flexibility and end with SAQ exercises.

I'll refer him back to his PT and see if she feels he has muscle imbalance issues.

[UConnJulie]

Originally Posted by brian robinson

Julie:

Thanks for the reply.

I coach this young man in soccer. The warm up routine is pretty extensive IMHO. We begin with SMR using a tennis ball, followed by muscle activation of the glue max and min, using bridging and side leg raises, and other activation exercise for the psoas, anterior tibialis and gastrocs.

After the activation exercises we will do stability/balance exercises on one leg to work on the hip complex. We then will do dynamic flexibility and end with SAQ exercises.

I'll refer him back to his PT and see if she feels he has muscle imbalance issues.

Sounds like a good plan ... he probably needs to invest some time in the evenings doing some static stretching ... muscle grows slower than bone, so teenage boys are prone to tight muscles ... static stretching can be tremendously helpful.

[Lisa~]

Brian, it makes sense to me that while his ankle was immobilized that he looked for the necessary mobility during basketball in his hip, leading to this new pain. The hamstring tightness probably only contributed in the sense that its tightness caused the mobility to be found in another area of the hip. The question is what to do about it, and I don't know for sure. Here are some links to info on groin and adductor pain in athletes. See if they might be helpful or at least lead you to a clearer search for what you need to do.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...-injuries.html

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...treatment.html

Sports Injury Bulletin is a cool site. If those are not exactly on track, then you might be able to search that site and find what you need.

[brian robinson]

Julie and Lisa:

Many thanks.

BR