Squat Form Check - Groin Pain

[Stefan Weber]

After 2 years of limited mobility in my left ankle (Ankle Impingement, had a surgery) I am finally able to squat again. Though I have slightly pain in my capsule I am able to squat after warming up. I started with 65 lbs and added 5 lbs each workout but after one week my groin began slightly to hurt on both sides. Since it did not vanish while increasing the weight to 135 lbs I began to check out the forum.

After my research I focused on bringing the knees out early and not let them cave in at the bottom. As this did not help I narrowed my stance but the set was not pain free. Another point Rip mentioned is that the groins may be not used to the excercise at the beginning. But after 4 weeks with pain I am not sure if this still applies. Furthermore I am not sure if my missing lockout of the hips at the top contributes to the pain. So I hope that maybe a coach can help me to find my mistakes.
Recorded 135 lbs for the 3rd set.

Thanks in advance!

[Michael Wolf]

First of all, I'd just like to point out for the benefit of current (and future) readers, that this is a very good introductory post. The OP gave a brief background and history of his issues, was very nice and polite, and then posted a vid for us to check that didn't require watching 47 seconds of nothing before he comes into the frame, picks a wedgie, then starts his 28 second procedure of getting under the bar. While the video isn't perfect, it's close enough - and we are generally willing to overlook some minor sticky non-compliance in the face of a thoughtful, polite post.

Anyway, weber. There are some things you should fix up with your squat, but I don't see anything specifically that would cause you groin pain. However, once you get a groin injury, they can sometimes be really naggy and take a long time to go away even if you subsequently don't do anything that would normally set it off. If it's truly a muscle belly injury in an adductor, you can try Starr rehab protocol, but it may not be, and if so, that would likely aggravate it so I can't say more from here right now.

You can try to squat with your toes less turned out, too, and see if that is OK and helps. It doesn't really look like your stance is narrow. Bring your heels another 1-2 inches closer to together, and point your toes out 10-15 degrees instead of ~30 degrees and see if that allows you to squat without irritating your groin, till it heals.

As far as your squats:
1. Get your arms tighter so you hold the bar more securely. Narrow your grip a little, and squeeze your elbows in more towards each other so your upper back tightens up some.

2. Looks like your low back is over-extended at the top. Crunch down on your abs a bit at the top, think about bringing your sternum and belly button towards each other, just a little. Then hold that position as you lean over into the squat. Low back should be in extension, but not over-extension.

3. You're going too deep and getting loose at the bottom. Cut off 2-3 inches of depth and rebound from that higher point, using your HIPS to lead up. It is normal if this feels "high" at first.

Also, lifting shoes will be very useful. Especially if you try the narrower stance and toes less out.

[Stefan Weber]

Michael, thank you for your advice. I will work on the things you mentioned and try the Starr rehab protocol. Hope this helps.

[Michael Wolf]

Can you determine / are you sure it's a muscle belly injury? If not, as I mentioned, Starr is not appropriate. Good luck.

[Stefan Weber]

Since I did no other activity except lifting and did not have problems before I started squatting again I suppose it's a muscle belly injury. Firstly I thought it could be a squat form related tendonitis but if you can't see any obvious mistake I tend to believe it is rather a muscle belly injury.

[Michael Wolf]

The lack of obvious groin-related form flaws doesn't rule out other possibilities, unfortunately. Be careful - if it's making things worse, stop.

[Randy Winfrey]

Stefan, where exactly is the pain ? in the middle of the adductor? Proximal or distal end ? As Wolf mentioned, I did not see anything about your squat that would jump out at me screaming an adductor strain is about to happen. One year ago, I strained my adductor teaching the discus throw to my track and field team. I squatted with pain for 6 months before it finally went away. A more narrow stance helped. Post back after your next session to let us know how feels and provide another video. We can try to walk your through this, but we want to make sure any recommendations don't actually make it worse.