• Reduce pain: Your physical therapist can use different types of treatments and technologies to control and reduce your pain, including ice, heat, ultrasound, electricity, taping, exercises, and hands-on therapy such as massage.
• Improve motion: Your physical therapist will choose specific activities and treatments to help restore normal movement in the leg and hip. These might begin with “passive” motions that the therapist performs for you to gently move your leg and hip joint, and progress to active exercises and stretches that you perform yourself.
• Improve strength: Certain exercises will benefit healing at each stage of recovery. Your physical therapist will choose and teach you the appropriate exercises to steadily restore your strength and agility. These may include using cuff weights, stretchy bands, weight-lifting equipment, and cardio exercise equipment such as treadmills or stationary bicycles.
• Speed recovery time: Your physical therapist is trained and experienced in choosing the right treatments and exercises to help you heal, return to your normal lifestyle, and reach your goals faster than you are likely to do on your own.
• Return to activities: Your physical therapist will collaborate with you to decide on your recovery goals, including your return to work or sport, and will design your treatment programme to help you reach those goals in the safest, fastest, and most effective way possible.
Your physical therapist will apply hands-on therapy such as massage, teach you exercises and work re-training activities. Additionally, if you are an athlete, you will be taught sport-specific techniques and drills to help you achieve your sport-specific goals.
• Prevent future reinjury: Your physical therapist can recommend a home exercise programme to strengthen and stretch the muscles around your hip, upper leg and abdomen to help prevent future reinjury of your groin. These may include strength and flexibility exercises for the leg, hip, and core muscles.
• If surgery is necessary: Surgery is rarely necessary in the case of groin strain, but if a groin muscle fully tears and requires surgical repair, your physical therapist will help you minimise pain, restore motion and strength, and return to normal activities in the speediest manner possible after surgery.
Lizel Britz 072 243 7707.
(2) Groin strain diagnosing, treatment
HEALTHY FEET AND BODY: There are several things a physical therapist can do to diagnose and treat the pain and discomfort associated with a groin strain.
