What to expect from exercise therapy for sports hernia

Sports hernia, also called athletic pubalgia, describes exercise-related pain around the groin or lower abdominal attachment area. A physiotherapist may examine hip motion, trunk control, adductor strength, running mechanics, and the movements that reproduce your pain.

Early sessions often reduce provocative sprinting, kicking, cutting, or twisting while maintaining comfortable activity. Later exercises can include isometric adductor work, hip strengthening, trunk control, single-leg balance, and sport-specific movement. Progress is based on symptoms during exercise and afterward, rather than a fixed timetable.

Complete the home exercises with the technique demonstrated, and note pain during practice and the following day. Do not test recovery with a sudden return to full-speed drills. Ask how to modify training so fitness can be maintained without repeatedly loading the painful area.

As strength and control improve, your plan may add jogging, acceleration, changes of direction, kicking, or other sport demands one at a time. A clinician can tailor this progression through [Exercise Therapy](/treatments/physiotherapy-and-rehabilitation/exercise-therapy/).

Arrange review if groin or lower abdominal pain is worsening, appears during ordinary walking, or does not improve with the agreed changes. Seek urgent care for sudden severe groin pain, a painful lump that cannot be pushed back, vomiting, fever, or inability to pass stool or gas, as these symptoms may need a different assessment.

Ask which training drills to pause, how to maintain conditioning, what strength goals matter for your sport, and what signs show that the next stage of return is appropriate.