Written by the Phoenix Rehab physiotherapy team.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist and Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 2 October 2026.
Groin pain is most often a strained adductor muscle inside the thigh, a hip joint problem, or irritation where the abdominal wall meets the pubic bone, often called a sports hernia. Most settle with graded exercise. A true hernia, a kidney stone, or a testicle or ovary problem needs a doctor first.
Sudden severe pain or swelling in a testicle, or a groin lump that turns painful, hard or will not go back in, especially with vomiting, is an emergency. Go to the emergency department now.
What does it mean if my groin is hurting?
Where it hurts and what sets it off narrow it down. Pain inside the thigh on kicking or squeezing your knees together points to the adductors. A deep ache at the front of the hip when you sit low points to the hip joint. Pain above the crease on sprinting, with no lump, points to the inguinal region.
| Cause | What it usually feels like | Who manages it |
|---|---|---|
| Adductor strain | Tender inside the thigh near the pubic bone; hurts to squeeze, kick or change direction | Physiotherapy |
| Hip joint (FAI, labral tear) | Deep front-of-hip ache, clicking or catching, worse sitting low | Physiotherapy; a surgeon if it does not settle |
| Inguinal-related (“sports hernia”) | Ache above the crease with sprinting, kicking, sit-ups; no lump | Exercise first; a surgeon if no response |
| Pubic-related | Pain over the pubic bone; kicking sports, pregnancy | Physiotherapy |
| Iliopsoas | Front-of-hip pain lifting the knee or kicking | Physiotherapy |
| Inguinal or femoral hernia | Soft lump that pushes out on coughing or standing | A doctor, then a surgeon |
| Kidney stone | Waves of severe pain from the loin into the groin | A doctor |
| Testicle or ovary | Scrotal pain or swelling; one-sided pelvic pain | A doctor |
What could be causing a stabbing pain in my left groin?
The side rarely tells you the cause. A stab that started with a sprint, kick or slip is usually a muscle strain. A sharp catch deep in the hip on turning points to the labrum. Waves from the back into the groin suggest a kidney stone. In men, pain spreading into the testicle needs a doctor.
Groin pain in women
Women get all the causes above, and pubic pain is common in pregnancy. Femoral hernias, just below the crease, are more common in women and more likely to become trapped; a lump there needs a doctor. An ovarian cyst or an ectopic pregnancy can also cause one-sided groin pain.
Do physiotherapists treat hernias?
No. A true inguinal hernia is a weak spot in the abdominal wall, usually a lump that comes out when you cough or stand and goes back when you lie down. A doctor diagnoses it and a surgeon repairs it. No exercise closes a hernia. Physiotherapy helps with lifting and sport after a repair, within your surgeon’s limits, and with inguinal-related groin pain, which is not a hernia.
Symptoms of a sports hernia
An ache just above the groin crease, worse with sprinting, kicking, twisting and sit-ups. There is no lump, which is why the 2015 Doha agreement renamed it inguinal-related groin pain.
Can a sports hernia heal on its own?
Rest quiets it, and it often returns with the first hard sprint. Graded exercise comes first, typically over 6 to 12 weeks. If it has not responded after about three months, a surgeon may consider an operation.
Worst exercises with an inguinal hernia
Before repair, ask your doctor about anything done against a held breath: heavy deadlifts and squats, sit-ups, leg raises. If an exercise makes the lump push out or ache, stop it.
Inguinal hernia recovery after surgery
Most people walk the same day, and desk work often resumes within one to two weeks. Your surgeon decides when you lift and play.
How do you ease pain in the groin?
For a muscle or tendon cause, cut what provokes it, not everything. Keep walking if comfortable, pause kicking, sprinting and sharp turns, and start gentle inner thigh squeezes. Groin pain exercises run in stages:
- Stage 1, Calm & Protect: a ball squeeze between the knees held 5 to 10 seconds at an effort that does not hurt.
- Stage 2, Move & Mobilize: hip movement in every direction, cycling, swimming without breaststroke kick.
- Stage 3, Rebuild & Strengthen: side-lying adductor lifts, then the Copenhagen adductor progression from knee supported to foot supported, plus abdominal work. We measure squeeze strength side to side.
- Stage 4, Return & Perform: running, then cutting and kicking, once squeeze strength and sport tests meet the criteria.
More in groin strain physiotherapy.
When to see a doctor first
These are the red flags for groin pain.
- Call 995 for sudden severe groin or lower belly pain with fainting.
- Go to the emergency department now for sudden severe testicular pain or swelling, which can be torsion: the testicle is most often saved with surgery within about six hours. Also for a groin lump that turns painful or hard or will not go back in.
- See a doctor the same day for pain from the loin to the groin with blood in the urine or a fever.
- See a doctor soon for a lump that comes and goes.
Where are you with this right now?
1. It is settling on its own
You tweaked it in a game, it is better each week, and squeezing your knees together barely registers. Leave sprinting and kicking until that squeeze is easy. You do not need us for this, and we would rather say so.
2. It has stopped improving
It is week eight. You warm up for twenty minutes before futsal and it still bites on the first long pass. You swing both legs out of the car together. Every first visit is one 45-minute Assessment & Treatment, $230, nett, no GST. If it has been months, the Stalled Recovery Review is three appointments over three weeks with the same therapist, $690.
3. You have had surgery, or you have a date
After a hernia repair or a hip arthroscopy, your surgeon sets the limits and we work inside them. For the hip, see the Hip Arthroscopy and FAI Recovery Program. See physiotherapy after surgery. All of it runs on the four stages of the Phoenix Recovery Protocol.
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Related reading
Sources: Weir A, Brukner P, Delahunt E, et al. Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(12):768-774.
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