NBA Injury Alert

Reports are stating that Damian Lillard suffered a groin strain Wednesday night vs the Grizzlies. He will not participate in the All Star game and maybe miss a couple games following the all stargame depending on the severity. We expect CJ McCollum to handle most of the scoring until Lillard gets back. In this article we will go over what exactly is a groin strain and the severity of it.

What is injured in a groin strain?

The groin muscles or the hip adductors are responsible for adducting/bringing the legs together. The groin muscles can be separated into two groups. The first group is the pectineus, adductor longus, and adductor brevis muscles which attach from the pelvis to the femur. The gracilis and adductor magnus attach from the pelvis to the knee. Any injury to these muscles are referred to as a groin strain.

How is it injured?

Groin Strain occur in sports that involve quick acceleration and sudden changes in direction as well as powerful overstretching of the leg and thigh in abduction and external rotation.

A groin strain is a stretching or tearing of the muscle group as a result of overloading the muscles beyond their normal range.

Am I at risk for injury?

Previous groin injury and adductor weakness have been linked to the incidence of adductor muscle strains. Core weakness or delayed onset of transverse abdominus recruitment increases risk of groin injury.

Are all groin sprains the same?

All groin injuries are different and are classified by their severity. They all either are defined as pain during palpation of the adductor tendons or the insertion on the pubic bone or groin pain during adduction against resistance

Grade 1: there is pain but minimal loss of strength and minimal restriction of motion

Grade 2: Tissue damage that compromises the strength of the muscle but not including complete loss of strength and function

Grade 3: Complete disruption of the muscle tendon unity including complete loss of function of the muscle.

How long am I out for?

1st degree: 2-4 weeks

2nd degree: 4-6 weeks

3rd degree: 6-10 weeks

Source

Nicholas, Stephen and Tyler, Timothy. Adductor Muscle Strains in sport. 2002.