RSM-SPM-008
Written by Hironori Ikeda, MSc Sports Medicine
RSM International Academy · Chiang Mai, Thailand
Why Does the Groin Hurt During a Kick but Feel Different at Rest?
A short pass may feel comfortable while a harder shot brings pain at the front or inner side of the groin. Stretching the area does not explain why. The useful starting point is the exact kick phase, ball-striking demand and symptom location.
At RSM, I compare the kicking complaint with adductor loading, hip rotation and the supporting-leg demand before selecting massage. A tender muscle is one finding; it needs to agree with the athlete’s history and the movement that matters.
This guide explains the hip and knee mechanics behind that comparison, how to approach groin palpation and when further assessment takes priority. You will also learn how to distinguish a short-term change in comfort from readiness for harder kicking.
In This Article
- Why Does the Groin Hurt During a Kick but Feel Different at Rest?
- In This Article
- 1. Backswing, Forward Swing and the Muscles That Control a Kick
- 2. Adductor Load, Hip Rotation and the Supporting Leg
- 3. Groin Palpation: Adductor Longus versus the Anterior Hip
- 4. Sports Massage Before or After Kicking: Treatment Follows the Finding
- 5. Re-test the Same Kick, Then Progress the Training Load
- Related RSM Clinical Blogs
- Study Sports Massage at RSM
1. Backswing, Forward Swing and the Muscles That Control a Kick
I first ask whether the familiar pain begins as the thigh moves backward, during the forward swing, at ball contact or afterward. I also distinguish an instep strike from a side-foot pass and ask about recent increases in hard shots. These details define the comparison before touching the groin.
During an instep backswing, hip extension and knee flexion lengthen rectus femoris across both joints. This anterior-thigh muscle crosses the hip and knee, allowing hip flexion and knee extension. In the forward swing, hip flexion brings the thigh forward, followed by rapid knee extension; these movements place different demands on the same muscle.
Iliopsoas passes in front of the hip and contributes to thigh acceleration through hip flexion. Adductors on the medial side help orient the thigh toward the midline. The kick also depends on interactions between moving segments, not one muscle acting alone. Pain during this sequence helps select further tests; it cannot identify a tear from the painful phase alone.
2. Adductor Load, Hip Rotation and the Supporting Leg
When acute injury is not suspected, I compare a gentle resisted adduction effort with the reported pain location. Adductor tenderness together with familiar pain during resisted adduction supports an adductor-related clinical pattern. Front-of-hip pain during resisted hip flexion suggests a different assessment question; neither test establishes a tissue diagnosis by itself.
I then compare comfortable hip flexion and internal/external rotation with the pelvis supported. Deep catching or painful restriction shifts attention toward the hip joint. I do not force the range or label a positive hip test as proof of impingement.
For an appropriate slow air-kick, the supporting foot stays planted while the pelvis turns over that hip. I add light hand support, keeping foot position and swing range similar, and compare the familiar pain. A change suggests that the support demand matters; normal pelvic rotation is not automatically a fault to correct.
A sudden pop with bruising, marked weakness or difficulty bearing weight requires prompt medical assessment before sport testing. Persistent pubic pain, groin symptoms with coughing, pain at rest or progressive neurological symptoms also widen the assessment. Severe abdominal or testicular pain, particularly with fever or vomiting, needs urgent medical attention.
3. Groin Palpation: Adductor Longus versus the Anterior Hip
I agree on consent and draping before medial-thigh palpation, with the hip comfortably supported in slight abduction. Adductor longus runs from the pubis to the femur and draws the thigh inward. A gentle adduction effort helps locate its accessible belly; I then ask the athlete to relax before comparing local tenderness with the kicking complaint.
Anatomy note: Adductor longus also participates in hip flexion: EMG research found preferential recruitment from an extended hip, showing why an adductor's role depends on the starting position.
The inguinal ligament connects the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and pubic tubercle. Sartorius and adductor longus form the side boundaries of the femoral triangle below it. Iliopsoas contributes to its deeper floor, while the femoral nerve, artery, vein and lymphatic structures occupy the region beneath the fascial roof.
I therefore keep initial contact on the identified muscle belly rather than pressing through the anterior groin to reach a presumed tight iliopsoas. Tenderness does not establish which deep tissue is responsible. Sharp, electric or spreading symptoms mean stopping that contact and reassessing. Landmarks guide location, but they do not provide a universal safe pressure or depth.
4. Sports Massage Before or After Kicking: Treatment Follows the Finding
If the history, gentle loading and palpation agree on a tolerable muscle-region complaint, I consider sports massage for comfort. Over the supported, accessible adductor belly, a teaching comparison separates light pressure into the muscle from a small tangential displacement across its surface; neither requires a long stroke toward the groin. Keep the femoral triangle and proximal neurovascular area out of the contact. With pressure lightened, the athlete can make a small active movement toward the midline while the clinician follows the tissue response without pulling the leg through range. Remove contact before repeating the agreed adduction comparison. Guarding or increasing pain tells me to reduce or stop contact; finding tenderness is not a reason to press harder.
I ask whether the athlete is preparing for shooting practice or recovering from it. Before training, I avoid making an irritable groin more sore through aggressive treatment. Afterward, persistent pain with easy adduction or an unassessed traumatic onset takes priority over a recovery routine. The next step may be load modification or clinical referral rather than another massage technique. If a support-foot adjustment makes the same controlled kick more comfortable, I retain that finding for movement practice rather than automatically adding contact to the kicking-side groin.
Sports-massage research suggests modest benefits for flexibility and delayed muscle soreness, without established direct gains in strength, sprinting, jumping or endurance. Those findings do not show that massage repairs an adductor injury or restores kicking power. I explain the intended comfort benefit and judge the session against the agreed comparison, alongside the athlete’s wider rehabilitation plan.
5. Re-test the Same Kick, Then Progress the Training Load
After the treatment decision, I repeat only the task that was appropriate at baseline: the same leg, kick type, approach, ball position, target distance and effort. I compare pain during the backswing, forward swing and contact, using a similar number of repetitions. If the baseline was an air-kick or gentle squeeze, I repeat that version and do not present it as restored ball-striking tolerance.
I record familiar pain and confidence, then ask about symptoms later that day and the following morning. Reduced tenderness with unchanged pain on ball contact means the original limitation remains. If training progresses, I change one demand, such as pass distance, before adding speed or repetitions; a worsening response calls for reassessment rather than stronger massage.
For an injured athlete, progression belongs within a rehabilitation plan. A prospective cohort of men with acute adductor injuries used pain-free clinical criteria, controlled sports training and return to full team training as separate milestones. Its field criteria included passing and shooting demands. This supports assessing more than immediate comfort, without making one successful kick a universal clearance test.
Related RSM Clinical Blogs
Browse all Sports Massage clinical guides
▷ Hip Flexors Tight After Running: Hip Extension, Pelvis & Cadence — Sports Massage · Compare anterior-hip loading during running with the hip extension and flexion demands of a kick.
▷ Groin Pain in Sport: Adductor, Hip or Pubic Load? — Remedial Massage · Distinguish adductor, hip and pubic findings when groin symptoms do not fit one muscle.
▷ Groin Pain After Cutting / Kicking: Adductors, Hip & Return to Sport — Sports Medicine Massage · Connect groin assessment with progressive cutting, kicking and return-to-sport decisions.
Study Sports Massage at RSM
The Sports Massage Course at RSM International Academy in Chiang Mai connects functional anatomy, clinical palpation and sport-specific loading. Learn to relate a painful kick phase to hip function, choose appropriate contact and timing, and interpret the athlete’s response.
View the course schedule to plan your training. The Trigger Point Therapy Course is the required clinical-palpation foundation for Sports Massage, developing landmark identification and tissue assessment before advanced application.
For broader hip, lumbar and nerve-related assessment, explore the Remedial Massage Course, paired with Deep Tissue Massage in the published course programme. This pathway develops the anatomical reasoning needed when a groin complaint extends beyond a straightforward muscle finding; review the course requirements when planning your study.
About the Author
Hironori Ikeda, MSc Sports Medicine
Hironori Ikeda leads clinical teaching at RSM International Academy in Chiang Mai, Thailand. His teaching connects functional anatomy, clinical palpation and movement assessment with practical manual-therapy decisions.