Adductor-Related Athletic Groin Pain: A Clinical Commentary.

International journal of sports physical therapy · 2026 · Narrative Review · PT
Derrick Larkins, Robert Rowland, Michael Zarro, Odessa Addison

Adductor groin pain in athletes: the Copenhagen adduction exercise is the best-evidenced prevention tool, rehabilitation must include lumbopelvic control beyond isolated strengthening, and return-to-sport clearance needs more than a single strength test.

Key findings

1

In a cluster-randomized trial of 35 semiprofessional Norwegian soccer teams, a Copenhagen-based strengthening program reduced groin injuries by 41% and time lost from sport by 20% compared with controls.

2

A three-round Delphi panel of 32 sports medicine experts reached strong negative consensus that imaging findings should not be a return-to-sport criterion; performance tests (93.7% consensus) and planned/unplanned change-of-direction tasks at 45°–180° (96.9% consensus) should be.

3

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of healthy athletes found that the adductor-to-abductor strength ratio showed only a trivial association with subsequent groin pain or time-loss injury, challenging its use as a universal screening benchmark.

MethodologyResultsClinical Relevance

Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sixty-four participants were randomized across two intervention arms and assessed at twelve weeks for the primary outcome…

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