About Sartorius Pain
If you are having pain in your inner thigh or the lower portion of your outer hip, you may have pulled or strained your sartorius muscle. It is common for this muscle to become tight because it is involved in many leg movements. It is important to understand how this muscle works.
If you are having pain in your inner thigh or the lower portion of your outer hip, you may have pulled or strained your sartorius muscle. It is common for this muscle to become tight because it is involved in many leg movements. It is important to understand how this muscle works. You can then make better choices as to what movements to avoid and which ones to include in your workout.
Identification
The sartorius muscle is a large muscle in your upper leg. It starts at your outer hip, crosses over your thigh bone, continues along the length of your inner thigh and then ends just below the inside of your knee. This muscle is involved when you bend your knee to lift your foot up to the back, and it helps you to flex and rotate your hip. When this muscle is puled or injured, you may experience groin pain.
Causes
The sartorius muscle can become pulled or strained during high impact activities such as sprinting, jumping and running. Activities that make you forcefully push off place a lot of strain on this muscle. A direct hit to this area during sporting activities can also cause injury and pain. If you play sports such as hockey, rugby, football or basketball, you may be at a higher risk of injuring this muscle.
Symptoms
Sartorius muscle pain will be felt along the inside of your thigh or your groin area. Bringing your legs together will be painful. In some cases lifting your knee up can set off your symptoms. You may also have weakness and tenderness in the muscles of the inner thigh. Your physician can do a physical examination to determine if your pain is due to injury to this muscle.
Treatment
To relieve your sartorius pain, you will need a period of eliminating activities that make your pain worse. Using ice on the area and taking anti-inflammatory medications will also help. As you return to physical activity, your doctor may recommend using a bandage to wrap your thigh. A brief period of physical therapy will teach you exercises to relieve your symptoms and help prevent reinjury of the area.
Prevention/Solution
According to the University of Michigan's Health Center, you should avoid painful activities and gently stretch until you regain full range of motion and normal strength in the injured leg and when you can walk without pain or limping. To avoid sartorius pain you will need to make sure you warm up and cool down when exercising. Using good body mechanics, doing the right strength training and stretching exercises for the inner thigh will be an important component of your treatment plan.