Exercises for Hip and Groin Pain: A Gentle Floor Lesson

These gentle exercises for hip and groin pain do something unusual: they never stretch the sore part. The lesson above takes about ten minutes lying on the floor or on a firm bed, and every movement is small enough that nothing pulls along the inside of the thigh. If a movement does pull, you make it smaller or pause, and the pause is part of doing it well.

Groin ache and hip ache are hard to tell apart, because they are often the same story. The inner thigh muscles attach close to the front of the hip joint, so a hip that has been guarding for months usually leaves the groin feeling gripped, and a strained groin usually leaves the hip moving less. Age matters too: among people living with osteoarthritis, about 73 percent are over 55 and 60 percent are women (WHO, 2023). Midlife hip and groin discomfort rarely has one tidy cause.

How these exercises for hip and groin pain work

The thigh bone sits in the hip socket like a ball in a cup, and it can turn in every direction. What usually goes missing when the area hurts is not length but variety. The leg starts travelling in one narrow groove, the inner thigh muscles hold on to keep things predictable, and the groin reads that holding as tightness.

Slow movement in small ranges gives the nervous system something new to notice, without the tissue ever being pulled. This is the approach behind the Feldenkrais Method®, where curiosity matters more than range. In a Feldenkrais® lesson the question is never how far the knee can travel outward, only how smoothly and quietly it can make the trip. Our Feldypedia article on hip stiffness and limited mobility sets out how that guarding cycle builds.

Before you begin

One note on safety first, since groin pain has causes that movement cannot reach. Please see a doctor for a lump or bulge in the groin, pain that arrived suddenly and severely, fever, pain when urinating, or, in men, any pain or swelling in a testicle, which needs urgent attention. If you have had hip surgery or a diagnosed labral or muscle tear, ask your clinician what your hip may do before trying anything new. Once that is clear, keep every movement well inside comfort and let the sensations lead.

Fitting the lesson into a normal day

Ten quiet minutes once a day does more for a tender groin than an ambitious session twice a week. The floor is not compulsory: a firm bed works, and so does a rug. Many people find the end of the day easiest, when there is nothing left to hurry toward.

Sitting is the part that quietly undoes the work. Low soft chairs and long car journeys fold the hip closed for an hour at a time, so standing up more often matters as much as the lesson itself. If you would like a longer sequence, our adductor lesson works the same territory from a different starting position, and our guide to hip adduction explains what the inner thigh actually does. You can follow the audio version of lessons like these with a 7 day free trial.

Find where to start

More than one movement method helps a sore hip and groin, and each takes a different route there. Choosing the route that suits you saves a lot of guesswork.

Not certain which movement method is yours? Try the 60-second Movement Match quiz: answer three questions and get one movement method matched to how you actually feel.

Common Questions about exercises for hip and groin pain (FAQ)

What are the best exercises for hip and groin pain?

The best exercises for hip and groin pain are usually small and unloaded: lying on your back and letting one knee drift slowly out to the side, or sliding a heel a short way along the floor. Movement without weight keeps the joint and the inner thigh muscles supplied without pulling on a sore area. Deep stretching is a much later conversation, and often never needed.

What exercises should I avoid with hip and groin pain?

Avoid the wide butterfly and frog stretches, deep side lunges, and anything that takes the legs far apart and holds them there, because those positions load exactly the tissue that is already complaining. Skip adductor machines and heavy squatting while the area is tender. Sudden sideways movement, kicking, and pivoting sports usually need to wait until the groin has been quiet for a while.

Is it safe to exercise with groin pain?

Gentle, small movement inside comfort is safe for most everyday groin soreness, and stillness tends to make it stiffer. What is not safe is guessing: a lump or bulge in the groin, sudden severe pain, fever, pain when urinating, or any testicular pain or swelling needs a doctor rather than a lesson. Once those are ruled out, moving slowly and staying below any pull is a kind place to start.

How often should I do these exercises?

Once a day is plenty, and twice on a stiff day is fine if each session stays short. A tender groin responds better to little and often than to one ambitious session. On a sore day, simply imagining the movements while lying quietly is a genuinely useful version of the practice.

How long until hip and groin pain eases?

Mild soreness from overdoing it often settles within one to two weeks once the load changes. Discomfort that has built up over months usually eases across several weeks of gentler, more varied movement. If six weeks pass with no change at all, book an assessment instead of waiting longer.

How is this different from stretching the groin?

A stretch takes the inner thigh out toward its length and waits there. This lesson never waits anywhere: the thigh turns and travels in small ranges, so the nervous system gets new information without the tissue being pulled. Neither is better in the abstract, they work through different mechanisms, and a sore groin usually tolerates the moving version more happily.

When should I see a professional?

See a doctor promptly for a groin lump or bulge, sudden severe pain, fever, blood in your urine, or pain when passing water, and seek urgent care for testicular pain or swelling. Beyond that, groin pain that keeps returning, follows you into the night, or limits walking deserves a physiotherapist's assessment. Gentle movement like this fits alongside that care rather than replacing it.