Massage for a groin strain

Massage for a groin strain can ease the tight, sore inner thigh muscles (the adductors) and make rehab exercises more comfortable once the first couple of days have passed. It supports a strengthening program rather than replacing it, because adductor strength is what the research links to recovery and to fewer repeat strains. Groin pain also has look-alikes, including hip problems and hernias, so a lump, pain with bloating or vomiting, or pain deep in the hip joint needs a doctor first.

Groin pain has more than one source

Before deciding how massage fits, it helps to know which kind of groin pain you have. In 2014, 24 international experts met in Doha and agreed on a common way to classify groin pain in athletes, based on history and examination. They sorted it into three groups:

1. Defined clinical entities: adductor-related, iliopsoas-related (the deep hip flexor), inguinal-related (the canal above the groin crease) and pubic-related groin pain
2. Hip-related groin pain, coming from the hip joint itself
3. Other causes

When a sports medicine clinic in Doha applied that system to 100 consecutive athletes with groin pain, adductor-related pain was the most common, found in 61 percent. Pubic-related pain was the least common at 4 percent. And 44 percent had more than one cause at the same time.

That last figure is why a sports physician or physiotherapist assessment is worth having if your pain is not settling. Massage is most useful for the adductor and muscle-related part of the picture. It does nothing for a hernia, and hip-joint pain needs its own plan; our page on hip impingement explains that one, and a pull at the front of the hip is covered under hip flexor strain.

Strength is the main treatment

The best evidence for groin strains points to adductor strength. Two studies from a National Hockey League team set the tone:

• The risk study. Preseason testing of 47 players found that those who went on to strain an adductor had 18 percent lower adduction strength. A player whose adduction strength was below 80 percent of his abduction strength (pushing the legs out) was 17 times more likely to strain a groin. Adductor flexibility made no difference.
• The prevention study. At-risk players then did a six-week program of functional adductor strengthening. Adductor strains fell from 11 over two seasons to 3 over the next two, from 3.2 to 0.71 per 1,000 player-game exposures.

For athletes who already have adductor-related pain, a 2024 randomized trial in 30 soccer players added the Copenhagen adduction exercise (a side-plank variation that loads the inner thigh) to a twice-weekly, eight-week rehab program. The group doing it gained more eccentric adduction strength, had less pain and reported less disability than the group without it.

If you play rec hockey through a Calgary winter or soccer through the summer, this is the part of rehab worth protecting. Massage makes it easier to do; it does not stand in for it.

How massage fits around your rehab

Timing matters more than technique with a fresh strain. The NHS advises avoiding heat, alcohol and massage for the first couple of days after a strain to help prevent swelling. After that, a session builds in stages:

Stage	What the massage does
First few days	No massage on the strain. Rest, ice and gentle movement within comfort.
Early healing	Light work around the area: hips, glutes, low back and the other leg. Gentle strokes on the inner thigh only if comfortable.
Rehab phase	Slower, deeper work through the adductors, and cross-fibre strokes across the muscle if they feel right, never over a bruise that is still fresh.
Back to sport	Maintenance work around a heavy training or game schedule.

You should feel relief during and after a session, not a sharp return of the original pain. Our muscle strains page covers grading and healing in more general terms.

What a groin massage involves, plainly

Treating the adductors means working on the inner thigh, and it is reasonable to want to know exactly what that involves before you book. A properly run session looks like this:

• You undress to your comfort level and stay covered by a sheet; only the leg being treated is uncovered.
• Your therapist explains which muscles they want to treat and asks before working on the upper inner thigh.
• You can ask them to stay lower on the thigh, use a different position, or skip the area altogether, at any time.
• Much of the useful work happens through the hip, glutes and low back, so skipping the inner thigh does not make a session pointless.

Booking groin strain massage at Renu

Book a 45-minute massage ($100) for focused hip and groin work, or 60 minutes ($120) if your back and other leg also need attention after a heavy season. Add a note in Jane about your injury date and any rehab you are doing. Myofascial cupping (60 minutes, $120) is another way to work through the thighs and hips if you like a gliding technique.

We are in West Hillhurst, open seven days, with evening appointments on weekdays. Our page on massage for hockey players covers the rest of a player’s body.

When it might be a hernia or something else

Some groin pain is not a strain. The NHS describes a hernia as a bulge or lump, often where the leg joins the abdomen or in the upper thigh, that may grow when you cough or strain and shrink when you lie down, sometimes with a heavy, dragging feeling in the leg. See your doctor if you think you have one.

Get help the same day if you have a hernia or a groin lump and:

• pain in or around the lump
• a bloated tummy
• nausea or vomiting
• constipation
• a high temperature, or you feel hot, cold or shivery

Also get checked if you cannot put weight on the leg or walk more than a few steps, the swelling or bruising is large or getting worse, or the pain is not improving after a couple of weeks of looking after it.

Questions people ask

Will the massage therapist work high on my inner thigh?

Only with your agreement. You stay draped, the therapist should explain what they want to treat and why, and you can ask them to stay lower on the thigh or skip the area at any point. Much useful work can also be done through the hips, glutes and low back.

How long does a groin strain take to heal?

The NHS says most strains feel better after about two weeks, that severe ones can take months, and that strenuous exercise such as running is best avoided for up to eight weeks. A clinician who examines you can estimate your timeline more closely.

Is stretching or strengthening better for a groin pull?

Strengthening has the stronger evidence. In NHL players, adductor flexibility did not predict who strained a groin, but weak adductors did, and a strengthening program cut strains. Gentle stretching can still feel good, but it is not the core of rehab.

Can I play hockey with a groin strain?

That depends on how bad it is and how strong the muscle has become. Returning before adductor strength recovers raises the risk of a repeat strain, so get a sports physician or physiotherapist to clear you rather than going by pain alone.

Sources

1. Weir et al. (2015), British Journal of Sports Medicine: Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes
2. Taylor et al. (2018), Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine: Multidisciplinary assessment of 100 athletes with groin pain using the Doha agreement
3. Tyler et al. (2001), American Journal of Sports Medicine: Hip strength and flexibility and adductor muscle strains in professional ice hockey players
4. Tyler et al. (2002), American Journal of Sports Medicine: A preseason exercise program to prevent adductor muscle strains in professional ice hockey players
5. Alsirhani et al. (2024), The Physician and Sportsmedicine: The Copenhagen adduction exercise in soccer players with groin injury, a randomized controlled trial
6. NHS: Hernia
7. NHS: Sprains and strains

Page reviewed October 5, 2026. This page is education, not a diagnosis. For your own situation, talk to your doctor, surgeon or care team, or ask us.