Powering Through a Pulled Groin?

[JethroTull]

I pulled my groin on my first set of squats today. I was an idiot and didn't stretch at all. I think I read somewhere that excessive stretching before heavy weight lifting is actually detrimental in some way. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, I powered through the pain and continued to do 3 more sets of squats, and some more leg work. The pain wasn't excruciating or anything, just a minor muscle pull. Even now it doesn't feel too bad; it should be better in a few days. Still, was I out of my mind continuing with my squats after a groin pull? There was no way I was just going to pack up after my first set just because of a bit of pain and tenderness. Does anyone else have similar experiences?

I'm definitely going to stretch for 5 minutes before each and every workout from now on. Leason learned the hard way, though I suppose it could have been worse.

 

[illiniphase4]

I pulled my groin on my first set of squats today. I was an idiot and didn't stretch at all. I think I read somewhere that excessive stretching before heavy weight lifting is actually detrimental in some way. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyways, I powered through the pain and continued to do 3 more sets of squats, and some more leg work. The pain wasn't excruciating or anything, just a minor muscle pull. Even now it doesn't feel too bad; it should be better in a few days. Still, was I out of my mind continuing with my squats after a groin pull? There was no way I was just going to pack up after my first set just because of a bit of pain and tenderness. Does anyone else have similar experiences?

I'm definitely going to stretch for 5 minutes before each and every workout from now on. Leason learned the hard way, though I suppose it could have been worse.

The key to injury prevention is the warm up as it (of course) warms the muscles and increases blood flow, improving elasticity and preventing injury. Light stretching prior to exercise can also help, but it's more important to stretch after a workout to maximize your stretch, maintain elasticity, and prevent blood pooling.

I definitely do not condone "pushing through" any muscle pull. Strains and sprains can be quite deceptive, showing the symptoms of a minor pull when the damage is actually more extensive, and vice versa. In any event, pushing through a pull can cause further injury, and at the very least, delay healing. A core, groin, leg, or ankle strain or sprain can be particularly bothersome because you can't get away with not using those muscles and joints throughout the day. The professional athletes that play through sprains and strains do so under an extremely watchful eye of team docs and trainers, and are generally pretty well examined before heading back out onto the field. We unfortunately don't have those kinds of resources.

It's better in the long run to put the workouts on pause for 3-5 days and let yourself heal. Granted it can suck being out for that long, but it's better than exacerbating the problem and being out for longer, and having to pay for a trip to the doc.