Adductor Strain

[brian]

I strained/pulled my adductor muscle last March. Did the Phys Therapy stuff )ultrasound, manual message, some strenghthening/stretching exercises.

The warmer weather, PT, and time off from soccer and TaeKwonDo seemed to help.

However, the muscle feels "tweaked". I'm afraid it is close to being another strain.

Clearly, it is difficult to evaluate w/o assessing the injury.

On another forum I mentioned that I did not feel MAT was particularly helpful. Would ART be something to consider?

After listening to Gray Cook and reading his book, I realize tight ankles could also be one factor causing "groin" pulls.

Any thoughts?

[bryanc]

The model of rehab used more and more frequently around here seems to be a floating milestones one (as opposed to the strict milestones one). Rehab approaches in the past have sometimes focussed on a set forward progression (range of motion first, flexibility and strength after, with progressing difficulty). I could be wrong (and I'm sure Bill can confirm or correct this), but just from my own observations, it seems that backwards progression is becoming more and more a component of rehab--especially in cases of chronic injury. This is certainly the "newer" paradigm for concussion management.

Basically, floating milestones mean that just because you hit the next set of milestones, you're not immune to regressing back to a set of milestone you achieved before, particularly when your injury may seem to have regressed or hasn't adapted sufficiently. So just because you can lift 100lbs doesn't mean won't go back to lifting 50lbs as a loose analogy.

If your groin strain hasn't resolved--or has resolved but feels "unstable", then it may be time to revisit the more basic components of your rehab before attempting "higher level" activities. A previous strain is the biggest risk factor for experiencing a strain. Chances are that if you're feeling uncertain about it, your feelings are right.

ART might be helpful, but if you're experiencing that sensation where, during activity, you feel like it's on the verge of being pulled again, there may still be deficits that you need to address, that ART will not.

[Bill Hartman]

bryanc as usual make several good points...

There are obviously any number of avenues you can go. From a soft-tissue perspective, I lean toward ART because of my success with it. I may have value for you. But even if that works, you still may not be ready for normal sporting activities.

I think the most important things many people don't realize is that the abscense of pain doesn't mean you a fully rehabilitated. If your brain "gets in the way" of higher level activities, as it is now, by telling you that the adductor doesn't feel right, then you definitely have more work to do.

As you progress remember to limit ROM, speed, impulse, RFD, intensity, duration, and frequency to levels that do not exceed the tissue tolerance.

Bill