Groin pain can have various causes and manifest itself together with pain in other areas of the body, for example:
- Leg
- Buttocks
- Back.
Contents
Causes of pain in groin
Groin strain
A muscle strain in the groin is an injury or rupture of an adductor muscle due to a sudden and rapid leg movement.
This can happen:
- during a race,
- in the event of a change of direction,
- when moving against resistance, such as kicking a ball.
A muscle injury in the groin during an exercise can occur with the same probability either right or left.
Symptoms appear when walking and running, or when the patient lifts the leg.
When standing, the patient does not feel pain.
A muscle strain or stretching can lead to swelling and pain in the groin area and leg.
Inguinal hernia The hernia
is another common cause, which is manifested by the fact that part of the internal tissue (fat, muscles, intestines, etc.) emerges in a skin bump due to a weakness of the overlying abdominal wall.
Cruralgia
Lumbocruralgia arises due to inflammation or compression of the crural nerve, which:
- originates from the 4th segment of the lumbar spine,
- extends to the front of the shin and foot, passing the inside of the knee.
It is an acute cramping pain in the leg that radiates from the back to the right or left flank, and then descends along the front and inner side of the thigh.
Since some nerves of the testicle originate from the crural nerve, the one who suffers from this disorder also has pain in the testicle.
The pain worsens:
- when coughing,
- during defecation.
The contraction of the abdomen increases the pressure on the intervertebral disc.
Trauma
The most common causes of acute injuries in the groin or leg include:
- direct trauma,
- Accident
- Lintel
- abnormal twisting of the leg.
Osteitis pubis
Osteitis pubis is an inflammation of the pubic bone that can trigger pain in the groin area and legs during physical activity.
Contracture of the iliopsoas
Many people think they have an abdominal strain, but these muscles do not suffer from this type of injury.
This lesion occurs in muscles that are forcibly stretched (for example, the calf or quadriceps).
In fact, you can feel muscle pain in a much deeper muscle called iliopsoas.
A contracture or trigger point in this area causes pain that can radiate into the quadriceps.
Arthrosis of the hip and arthritis
Degenerative diseases can cause pain in:
- Hip
- Groin.
Hip arthrosis can be a cause of pain in the elderly.
The pain can also radiate from the groin to the inside of the thigh to the knee.
The symptoms are felt in:
- rotational movements inwards or,
- Extension of the hip (the pelvis forward and the knee back).
This disorder does not cause pain on the testicle.
The hip joint can also be affected by arthritis.
Inflammation of the outer hip joint capsule due to rheumatoid arthritis can cause severe pain in the groin.
Kidney stones Kidney stones can cause severe pain that radiates from the kidneys to the groin region and testicles (or labia majoria in women) as they pass through the ureter (the tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder).
Enlarged lymph nodes
The enlargement of a lymph node in the groin due to infection can cause severe pain in this area.
When palpating, you feel a swollen lump.
Appendicitis
Inflammation of the appendix causes pain in the groin area at the top right, but at the beginning discomfort can also occur on the left side.
This disease mainly affects children, but in rare cases the clinical picture can also show up in adults.
Pubic inflammation
Pubalgia/pubic inflammation is a painful inflammation that manifests itself in the groin.
It is a condition that usually affects young men when they practice football or football.
Pubalgia is tendonitis that affects the tendon attachments of the abdominal muscles or the adductors of the thigh.
Symptoms
Pubalgia causes pain during movement, especially during abduction and adduction of the leg (spreading and bringing in the thigh). However, when resting, there are no symptoms.
Usually, unlike a hernia, the affected area is not swollen.
Without treatment, this disorder can be chronic and lead to the fact that the person concerned can no longer pursue any sporting activity.
Transient synovitis Transient synovitis
of the hip joint is a disease characterized by inflammation of the synovial membrane of the hip joint.
This may be responsible for pain in the hip and groin region of the affected side.
Other causes:
- tumor (the pain also occurs at night),
- femoral fracture at hip level,
- varicocele (vein dilation), usually it affects the left scrotum, but there is no pain in the groin,
Groin pain during pregnancy
Pregnant women may experience pain in the groin area due to various factors, such as hormonal changes and structural changes in the body.
Hormonal changes
Most ailments associated with pregnancy also include pain in the groin. This may be due to the hormonal changes that occur during this time.
An increase in pregnancy hormones, especially relaxin and progesterone, keeps muscles and ligaments in the pelvic area softer and more elastic to facilitate the birth process in the end.
But when these muscles and ligaments that support the joints of the pelvic region become flaccid (flexible), pregnant women may feel pain in the range of:
- Underbelly
- Achieve
- Flanks.
Structural changes of the body
Pregnancy is also characteristic of some structural changes in the body that can cause pain in the pelvis and groin.
The growth of the fetus, as well as the increase in body weight, can increase the pressure on:
- Flanks
- Pelvic joints.
An increase in body weight also changes the body’s center of gravity, which can cause pelvic and back pain.
These changes do not occur at the beginning, but around the 5th month of pregnancy, and they reach their maximum intensity around the 8th or 9th month of pregnancy.
Pain in the ligamentum rotundum
Pain in the rotundum ligament (round uterine ligament) is often described as acute or shooting pain that occurs:
- on the flanks,
- in the pool,
- in the abdomen,
- in the groin area.
The rotundum ligament connects the groin to the anterior area of the uterus and is responsible for the location of this organ.
During pregnancy, these supportive ligaments stretch and thicken, creating space for uterine growth.
However, if the uterus grows faster than the ligament stretches, a strain occurs, which can cause pain on one or both sides of the abdomen up to the groin.
Pregnant women usually feel this pain when they suddenly rise from a sitting position and also when they cough or perform an activity that puts pressure on the maternal ligaments.
Dysfunction of the symphysis
The pelvis or pelvic girdle is a bony structure formed from four bones:
- two hip legs,
- sacrum (a triangular bone structure at the end of the spine),
- Coccyx.
The coccyx and sacrum are united at the posterior side, while the two hip bones are located on the side, reach around it and meet in the front area.
The pelvic symphysis is a link consisting of fibrocartilage on the anterior part, where the two halves of the pelvis meet.
In the joint joints of fibrocartilage, the bones are connected to cartilage and fibrous tissue and this type of joint allows small movements and low flexibility.
The hormones relaxin and progesterone prepare the body for childbirth. They keep the pelvic ligaments soft and relaxed.
This allows the pelvic joints to move, allowing the child to pass through the pelvis.
Normally, the pubic joint expands by 2 to 3 mm during pregnancy to:
- to enlarge the pelvic ring,
- to facilitate childbirth.
Sometimes the pelvic joint moves too much due to very loose ligaments. The result is an unstable pelvic girdle.
This condition is called symphysis dysfunction (SPD). Pregnant women may suffer from this during the second trimester of pregnancy.
The cause of SPD is not known with certainty, although it is believed that various factors are responsible for this condition. Under:
- overproduction of pregnancy hormones,
- increased load on the pelvic floor (due to body weight gain),
- Type of body movement.
The area around the pubic joint may become inflamed during walking or leg movements if one side of the pelvis moves more than the other.
SPD can cause intense pain:
- on the pubic bone,
- in the lumbar region.
Some women suffer from pain in the back, flanks and inside of the thighs.
In addition, a clacking can be heard during movements at the level of the pubic joint.
Diastase of the pubic joint
This condition is caused by a partial or complete rupture of the symphysial plate located in the anterior part of the pelvis.
This happens when the pelvic joint loosens to the point where the gap between the two pubic bones increases abnormally. In women, the mean distance of the pubic joint is between 4 and 5 mm, which can increase during pregnancy.
If the distance is 15 mm or more, the condition is called diastase of the pelvic symphysis, which can be the cause of:
- pain in the pubic area,
- Backache
- Abdominal discomfort.
The symptoms make themselves felt:
- when walking,
- standing on only one leg,
- when spreading (by removing the knees).
Groin pain in women
Ovarian cysts
A cause of pain in the groin area is ovarian cysts, which sometimes:
- are large,
- can cause many other symptoms.
Ovarian cysts can also provoke pain in the ovaries and lower abdomen.
Some of the most likely causes of groin pain in women include:
- premenstrual syndrome (a few days before the start of the cycle and after ovulation),
- urinary tract infections and genital herpes (can also occur as a disease in men),
- Colitis
- pelvic diseases,
- pelvic inflammatory disease (PID),
- Ectopic pregnancy
- enlarged lymph nodes.
Therapy and natural remedies for groin pain
If there is pain in the groin for at least two days, it is better to consult a doctor for a diagnosis.
Tests of the blood, urine and imaging diagnostics can help to find the cause of the pain.
If a pulled or stretched inguinal ligament causes pain, doctors usually recommend the procedure according to the PECH rule.
PECH may refer to:
- Pause
- Ice
- Compression
- High storage.
To relieve the swelling in the first 24 hours, cold compresses and raising the legs while lying on cushions while resting are recommended.
Anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve the pain.
Once the injury has healed, you can continue with:
- stretching of lumbar muscles,
- Muscle strengthening.
In severe cases, if the ligaments or tendons are stretched, treatment called prolotherapy may be recommended.
This treatment involves injecting glucose at the point where the ligament or tendon attaches to the bone.
The injection of glucose solution:
- helps with tissue repair,
- stimulates the growth of the new ligament.
If one suffers from a hernia, surgery may be recommended.
The correction of a hernia consists in a skin incision and the resetting of the protruding sections of the intestine. After that, the muscle fiber tear is surgically sutured.
If the pain is caused by kidney stones, home remedies can be tried to dissolve the concrements, or one undergoes surgical intervention to remove them. Applications such as lithotrypsy using shock waves, nephrolithotripsy, or ureteroscopy can also be used in the treatment of kidney stones.
Sometimes the pain in these areas of the body can also be caused by urinary tract infections or infections of the genital organs. These can be treated by drug therapy.
Tinea, an infection caused by yeast, or infection by bacteria can cause rashes in the lumbar region that can cause pain and itching.
For pain relief, painkillers can be taken, but topical medications in the form of creams also help to alleviate itching or burning in the lumbar region.
