how long after groin strain is it safe to squat heavy again?

[mattlorig]

I pulled my groin about a week ago while squatting. Four years ago, I tore the same groin (really bad ... lots of bruising post injury). The pulled groin I suffered recently is much less serious (no bruising, much less pain).

I did the Starr rehab protocol four years ago and was back to squatting my pre-injury weights (albeit, with pain) after about 2.5 weeks. My question is: can I return to return to squatting more quickly this time, given that I have only pulled my groin? e.g., would it be safe to squat heavy again after, say 1 or 1.5 weeks, even if I still have soreness (which I suspect will last for a month)?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Narrow your stance and see how it feels. It might not hurt at all.

[mattlorig]

Narrow your stance and see how it feels. It might not hurt at all.

The way I pulled my groin was by widening my stance a bit. So, taking a narrow stance was definitely the plan. I was just wondering, if it hurts when I squat, am I likely to re-injure if I just power through? I guess maybe a better question is, how much or what kind of pain would be a signal to scale back the weight?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If the pain changes during a rep, you've tweaked it. Use the narrower stance and gradually widen back to normal over several workouts.