QUESTION: Groin pull! What should I do?
The night before I didn’t get enough sleep, being that I was all excited about the incoming southern hemi swell. I surfed about 1 and 1/2 hours that morning, and went back out for about 2 hours. I kicked out of a wave as a beginner was getting washed towards me. His board whacked me right in the knee cap, and the area went numb. I rubbed it when I got back outside and it seemed okay. But what started to happen was some pain in the groin. I caught a few more waves as the pain worsened with each wave. I took off on a wave and worked it a good ways when a guy I know takes off in front of me and surprised me. I reacted instinctively by trying to turn and slow up at the same time …my upper body went in the right direction but my legs did not. There was this gnarly pop in my groin and I yelled out. I knew I was in trouble as my leg wanted to straighten out—and when I tried to bend, it gave me shooting pain.
I learned a few things from this incident already. If you’re tired, get the rest first—then surf. And before you surf—stretch properly. And finally, always remember your age. Damn, I hate getting older this is painful!!!
How long is this going to keep me out of the water, and what’s the game plan for recovery, Beth?
Kevin
ANSWER:
Hey Kevin, Ouch!! Groin pulls can be oh so painful. A noticeable pop is often a good sign that you did, in fact, pull the muscle. Did you have any discoloration (black and blue) afterwards? Also, which part of your “groin” did you pull (more towards the inside or outside of your quad)?
You are definitely right that a good warm-up and stretching will help prevent pulls like this from happening. But after the fact, you need to figure out whether or not you need a bit of intervention to help you get through this injury.
If you still have pain and are limping around a bit, I would suggest getting a doctor to check it out and make sure it is not too severe. A bit of massage and rehab may help expedite the healing process. Any time you aggressively pull a muscle you have depreciated the integrity of that muscle and a bit of TLC is needed. Once it starts to feel a bit better, you should start a light stretching program, get some hands on tissue work (massage) to help promote healing, and then re-educate the muscle by doing certain basic exercises on the muscle.
Hopefully everything is feeling better and all you needed was a bit of rest, ice, and stretching. It sucks when your foot is lodged on the board and the body and board have different ideas of which way to go. I have almost felt the same sensation a few times, but have somehow pulled it off and walked away unscathed!
Let me know how it is and whether or not you are able to surf. I hope you got some of that North swell and sunshine. Happy Fall!
Hasta, Beth
(Posted 10-26-02)
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