Why do I keep pulling the same muscle when squatting?

[Special K]

Over the past 2.5 months, I have pulled the exact same muscle 3 times when squatting. It's a muscle in the inner part of my right leg, near the groin area. The funny thing is that every time I've pulled it, it's always been on one of my lighter sets.

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, or why it hasn't happened before. I've been following the Bill Starr 5x5 Intermediate since fall 2008, and this is the first time I have pulled this muscle.

I would consider myself to be pretty flexible; I can touch the ground with my hands when doing a standing toe touch, and can touch my legs to the ground when doing a butterfly stretch. If anything, I'm more flexible now than I was when I started the program, yet I was never pulling muscles before.

The first time I pulled this muscle, I tried to work through it but ultimately had to take about 1.5 weeks off from squatting. I used a combination of the leg curl and leg press machines during this time. The second time I pulled it, I was able to work through it. I most recently pulled it this past Monday. I squatted on Wednesday and today, and the muscle feels somewhat worse today compared to Monday and Wednesday, so there's a good chance I will have to take some time off.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[brikis98]

From your description, it's hard to tell exactly which muscle you are talking about. You might be able to figure it out by googling anatomy pictures of the leg...

At any rate, if I had to guess, it sounds like you might be referring to your adductors. When doing full depth squats, these are used extensively. If they get injured, you pretty much HAVE to stop squatting, as you will only continue to aggravate them. In fact, it's possible that your initial injury was a fluke - injuries randomly happen from time to time - and everything afterwords is just a result of not letting the adductors heal fully before putting huge stress on them through more squatting. Some RICE and foam rolling (quite painful, but effective) might be a good idea.

However, these is also the possibility that you have some form issues. If you are just injuring the adductors on one side, it's possible that there is some sort of assymetry in your squat that you aren't aware of. I'd recommend recording a video and posting it up here for review.

 

[bommy261]

you probably haven't given enough time for the muscle to heal. hell, it took my pulled bicep about 6 months to heal before i could start doing pullups again. do u warm up sufficiently before exercising? like an easy run for like 5-10 minutes? this is especially important for injured muscles to get adequate blood into the tendons and muscles.

 

[Special K]

From your description, it's hard to tell exactly which muscle you are talking about. You might be able to figure it out by googling anatomy pictures of the leg...

I looked at a diagram and I'm guessing it's either the adductor longus or the gracilis:

At any rate, if I had to guess, it sounds like you might be referring to your adductors. When doing full depth squats, these are used extensively. If they get injured, you pretty much HAVE to stop squatting, as you will only continue to aggravate them. In fact, it's possible that your initial injury was a fluke - injuries randomly happen from time to time - and everything afterwords is just a result of not letting the adductors heal fully before putting huge stress on them through more squatting. Some RICE and foam rolling (quite painful, but effective) might be a good idea.

If I have to stop squatting, will deadlifts, which don't aggravate my adductors, be sufficient to at least preserve muscle mass in my legs? I can also use the leg and ham curl machines. They obviously aren't a substitute for squats on a functional level, but if I'm just trying to not lose mass, will they work? Leg press will be an option, but probably not right now, as it too uses the adductors if you are using a full ROM.

What is RICE? I do foam rolling regularly and have already started to foam roll the affected area.

How do you know when the muscle is fully healed if it already feels fine to squat on? I started squatting again after my last injury because I didn't experience any discomfort when doing so.

However, these is also the possibility that you have some form issues. If you are just injuring the adductors on one side, it's possible that there is some sort of assymetry in your squat that you aren't aware of. I'd recommend recording a video and posting it up here for review.

This is a possibility, although I'll have to wait until the muscle recovers before I do that.

 

[Special K]

you probably haven't given enough time for the muscle to heal. hell, it took my pulled bicep about 6 months to heal before i could start doing pullups again. do u warm up sufficiently before exercising? like an easy run for like 5-10 minutes? this is especially important for injured muscles to get adequate blood into the tendons and muscles.

If the muscle feels fine to squat on, then how do I know if it's truly healed or not?

I do warmup before lifting. Typically I do dynamic leg stretches and some light squat sets before beginning my working sets.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

If the muscle feels fine to squat on, then how do I know if it's truly healed or not?

I do warmup before lifting. Typically I do dynamic leg stretches and some light squat sets before beginning my working sets.

Since you clearly injured something, you don't just go back into working out how you used to. You need to take time to work slowly back into your program. To be perfectly honest, most people don't have the knowledge or patience to do this without a physical therapist. If you actually injured one of your adductors (likely your adductor longus, unless the pain runs all the way down to the inside of your knee), you need to take a few weeks to work back into your program. Do some light stretching (like a 3-4/10 on the discomfort scale), some body weight squats, and slowly work your way back up. You should also complete some adduction exercises and general stretches. You need to take more time than what you have. It doesn't matter if it feels great - there may still be an underlying problem.

 

[bommy261]

i thought that stretching a pulled muscle is discouraged, because u are essentially stretching the already damaged muscle fibers. if u insist on stretching, i would do it so that no discomfort is involved, if you experience discomfort you are probably causing more damage

always warmup however, but i would lay off on the stretching for awhile, at least for your problem area

but then again, i've been wrong before

normally i don't completely know if a muscle i have pulled is fine until i can exert it without pain. I have noticed that the pain within the muscle disappears LONG before it is fully healed. Once u have no pain, i would wait like a full month, depending on the severity of the pulled muscle before returning to your regular workout or i think you will pull it again

for rehab, i would keep the sets very light, and do a much longer warmup. a few light sets will probably not get enough blood into the muscle, that is why i suggest a brisk walk for 10 minutes or so to ensure adequate blood into the muscle

 

[SociallyChallenged]

i thought that stretching a pulled muscle is discouraged, because u are essentially stretching the already damaged muscle fibers. if u insist on stretching, i would do it so that no discomfort is involved, if you experience discomfort you are probably causing more damage

always warmup however, but i would lay off on the stretching for awhile, at least for your problem area

but then again, i've been wrong before

normally i don't completely know if a muscle i have pulled is fine until i can exert it without pain. I have noticed that the pain within the muscle disappears LONG before it is fully healed. Once u have no pain, i would wait like a full month, depending on the severity of the pulled muscle before returning to your regular workout or i think you will pull it again

for rehab, i would keep the sets very light, and do a much longer warmup. a few light sets will probably not get enough blood into the muscle, that is why i suggest a brisk walk for 10 minutes or so to ensure adequate blood into the muscle

Light stretching ensures that the muscle fibers heal in a parallel manner. If you don't use and stretch a muscle while it's healing, it can heal in a criss-crossed or very impractical way. A 3-4 is not uncomfortable when it comes to stretching. Essentially, it's the lightest point at which you feel a stretch. Clearly, the OP should not be going for flexibility, but should maintain current flexibility and allow the muscle to heal in a normal way.

 

[brikis98]

If I have to stop squatting, will deadlifts, which don't aggravate my adductors, be sufficient to at least preserve muscle mass in my legs? I can also use the leg and ham curl machines. They obviously aren't a substitute for squats on a functional level, but if I'm just trying to not lose mass, will they work? Leg press will be an option, but probably not right now, as it too uses the adductors if you are using a full ROM.

If you are still eating plenty and doing all your other heavy lifts, you aren't going to lose much muscle mass, even if you have to take 2-3 weeks off heavy squats. In fact, it's better to take those 2-3 weeks off up front instead of risking re-injuring the area multiple times and missing far more time overall. Good leg exercises to try - provided they don't hurt the adductor - include deadlifts, power cleans, power snatches, weighted step-ups, and weighted lunges. High rep air squats can also be useful by allowing you to work the squat a bit and also pump tons of blood through the injured area (which promotes healing).

What is RICE?

Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Standard treatment for most muscular injuries.

I do foam rolling regularly and have already started to foam roll the affected area.

Keep it up. Try to hit the injured spot as much as you can. Use something smaller, such a lacrosse ball, if necessary.

How do you know when the muscle is fully healed if it already feels fine to squat on? I started squatting again after my last injury because I didn't experience any discomfort when doing so.

It's tricky to tell and you have to feel it out. Usually, even when the pain goes away, the muscle is still not fully healed. It would be a bad idea to start doing your regular squats at this point. Instead, when the pain subsides, your first step should be lots of rehab exercises: stretching, foam rolling, and high rep movements to pump blood through the area. After doing that for a bit, start squatting again, but start with lighter weights. This way, if the muscle isn't quite ready, you are less likely to immediately re-injure it. After that, gradually increase the weight, paying attention to how the injury feels. Soreness is ok, pain is definitely not.

 

[Special K]

Since you clearly injured something, you don't just go back into working out how you used to. You need to take time to work slowly back into your program. To be perfectly honest, most people don't have the knowledge or patience to do this without a physical therapist. If you actually injured one of your adductors (likely your adductor longus, unless the pain runs all the way down to the inside of your knee), you need to take a few weeks to work back into your program.

The pain is only in the upper part of the inside of my leg, so does that mean it's my adductor longus?

Do some light stretching (like a 3-4/10 on the discomfort scale), some body weight squats, and slowly work your way back up. You should also complete some adduction exercises and general stretches. You need to take more time than what you have. It doesn't matter if it feels great - there may still be an underlying problem.

Will the butterfly stretch work OK as an adductor stretch?

Also what can I do to avoid losing mass in my legs in the meantime? Will deadlifts preserve leg muscle mass? I can also add in the ham/quad curl machines without any discomfort.

 

[katank]

Also what can I do to avoid losing mass in my legs in the meantime? Will deadlifts preserve leg muscle mass? I can also add in the ham/quad curl machines without any discomfort.

Deadlifts will definitely help with maintaining leg strength and mass.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about losing mass. You lose strength and mass far slower than cardiovascular conditioning. Even in the case of conditioning, taking a week or so off wouldn't be that big a deal.

I'd frankly stay away from the ham/quad curl machines. They are only more likely to create further muscular imbalances in your leg by not incorporating abduction/adduction and possibly make you try to squat more weight than your adductor/abductors can handle in the future.

Just do some unweighted/light-weight, high rep work and some stretching.

 

[bommy261]

you will loose far more mass by not rehabbing properly because u will just keep reinjuring your muscle and wont be able to lift nearly what your used to

if u give your muscle long enough to heal, you can get back to training normally within a month or 2.

at your current rate it may take 4-5 months to heal if u keep reinjuring yourself

this is why injury prevention/rehab is so important for strength training in the long haul. after all, you wont many any progress in your lifts if you are injured. it is best to give them more time to heal than necessary because if u dont it takes longer overall for them to heal.

 

[Koing]

you probably haven't given enough time for the muscle to heal. hell, it took my pulled bicep about 6 months to heal before i could start doing pullups again. do u warm up sufficiently before exercising? like an easy run for like 5-10 minutes? this is especially important for injured muscles to get adequate blood into the tendons and muscles.

Took me about 4-5 weeks to do pull ups again after a momentary loss of focus on romanian deadlifts . My right shoulder just had a small injury. PAIN IN THE ASS...

Koing

 

[Special K]

Yesterday I did high rep air squats and high rep squats with just the bar. I didn't experience any pain, but I know I'm not ready to move up because I still feel soreness on the pulled muscle whenever I do dynamic leg stretches to the side or the butterfly stretch.

I also used the leg and ham curl machines so that my legs at least got some resistance work. These machines don't work the adductors though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Koing]

Yesterday I did high rep air squats and high rep squats with just the bar. I didn't experience any pain, but I know I'm not ready to move up because I still feel soreness on the pulled muscle whenever I do dynamic leg stretches to the side or the butterfly stretch.

I also used the leg and ham curl machines so that my legs at least got some resistance work. These machines don't work the adductors though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

You have to break yourself in slowly man, it's a MOFO but it has to be done mate...

I hurt my knee 2yrs ago and took 12weeks to recover. I was limping for 8weeks, just had to not run or do any leg work

Koing

 

[Special K]

OK guys, I've taken 2 full weeks off from squatting. In the meantime I've been doing high rep air squats and bar squats, along with machine quad and leg curls. I've also been foam rolling the affected area and doing my usual stretching routine, which includes dynamic stretches to the side and relaxed butterfly stretches, both of which work the adductors. I haven't experienced any discomfort during this past week doing any of these things.

I was thinking about breaking back into regular squats next week. Do you think I'm ready? The last time I did a full 5x5 squat workout, my top set was 305 lbs. I was thinking about maybe going up to a top set of 225 and seeing how that feels. If there's any pain, I would immediately stop and take another week off from squatting.

How does this sound for a recovery plan?

 

[brikis98]

Go for it. Make sure you do a thorough warm-up before hand.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I would definitely not come back and go straight into 225. Start with the bar. See how that feels. Then try 95. Then try 135. For the first time back, I would definitely only go up to 135. Remember, rehab is a graded kind of thing. You need to go in much slower than you want to. I've learned that the hard way far too many times.

 

[Special K]

I would definitely not come back and go straight into 225. Start with the bar. See how that feels. Then try 95. Then try 135. For the first time back, I would definitely only go up to 135. Remember, rehab is a graded kind of thing. You need to go in much slower than you want to. I've learned that the hard way far too many times.

What sort of weekly progression would you recommend beyond that point, assuming there is no pain?

 

[bommy261]

What sort of weekly progression would you recommend beyond that point, assuming there is no pain?

if u experience no pain then i would do something like this:
135 - 1 wk
185 - 2 wk
225 - 3 wk

you will not loose much size/strength if u do higher reps for awhile. give it time and you'll be back in the game in no time.

i wouldn't goto failure for each of the sets either, in doing so, u may strain the muscle again. if anything feels different compared to your non injured side, stop immediately and try again next week

i have been injured before and during a warmup felt a little pain. i stopped right there and exited the gym and gave the muscle some RICE and tried again next week.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

What sort of weekly progression would you recommend beyond that point, assuming there is no pain?

Well, if you squat three times per week, I'd say see how 135 feels. Then, each session, I'd say you should increase the weight by about 10-15 pounds. You may have to go lighter as the weights get heavier. That should allow you to go from 135 to 305 in 9 sessions, or about 3 weeks. All the while, you need to continually stretch your legs/hips from all angles. Flexibility really helps prevent injuries. This is what I would do, especially with your sort of history. You've taken some time off. Now get on a stretching regimen (probably once in the morning and once in the night would be best) and you'll recover relatively soon. This is just my personal opinion, based on previous injuries of my own and my experience in the physical therapy field.

 

[Koing]

Well, if you squat three times per week, I'd say see how 135 feels. Then, each session, I'd say you should increase the weight by about 10-15 pounds. You may have to go lighter as the weights get heavier. That should allow you to go from 135 to 305 in 9 sessions, or about 3 weeks. All the while, you need to continually stretch your legs/hips from all angles. Flexibility really helps prevent injuries. This is what I would do, especially with your sort of history. You've taken some time off. Now get on a stretching regimen (probably once in the morning and once in the night would be best) and you'll recover relatively soon. This is just my personal opinion, based on previous injuries of my own and my experience in the physical therapy field.

Indeed.

I wouldn't jump 50 then 40lbs man if you have injured yourself before after a recovery.

I'd go with 10-15lbs per 2session or one week.

Remember you have tried to rush before and you want to recover properly. The longer your out injured the longer it takes to get back. Slowly and surely does it after a recurring injury man. Sucks but it has to be done

Koing

 

[kalrith]

Here's another thought. I was just reading through the Starting Strength section on squats. It said that in the case of a groin injury, you could do squats with more-narrow footing and not go down as far. That stance requires less flexibility in the groin area, and therefore should only be used when recovering from injury.

I'm not sure if that helps in your situation, but I thought I'd toss it out there for you.

 

[Special K]

Thanks for the advice everyone.