Why oh why is there pain in my inner thighs?

PROFESSOR ERIN CALDERONE ANSWERS THIS BURNING QUESTION.

- ERIN CALDERONE

My inner thighs get tight and sore after I run, squat or even do kettlebell swings What’s going on?

Though you may think they only get action on the “good girl/bad girl” machine, your adductors are actually working hard during many of your regular exercises.

The adductor group consists of five muscles, which originate mostly at the pubicbone, run down the inside of your thigh and attach along the length of your femur. Their primary action is to bring your legs inward toward the midline of your body, but they also assist your hamstrings, hips and glutes with hip flexion and extension. In addition, they contribute to hip stabilization during sagittal plane movements like running or swinging a kettlebell, working to match the tension created by the abductors on the outside of your hips to keep your femur/pelvis moving forward and backward, preventing unwanted movement and possible injury. If this balance is off, your knees won’t track properly and could collapse inward (too much adductor) or bow outward (too much abductor).

So as you can see, your adductors are engaged during all the activities you mentioned, with every step you take when running and each rep you perform in a squat or swing.

Cause and Effect