If your son or daughter gets hip pain or groin pain that will not settle on its own, or keeps coming back, this article is for you. Groin pain in young athletes is extremely common, and it is usually down to overuse injuries rather than one dramatic moment. The teenage years create a perfect storm: peak growth spurts, high training loads, multiple sports, and a young athlete determined to push themselves to the max.
It is hard watching your child sit out the sport they love, and it can affect them physically and mentally. So when should you worry, how can you help prevent it, and how can a physiotherapist help? This guide walks you through hip and groin pain in young athletes, from the common causes to the warning signs and what to do.
Why Groin Pain Is So Common in Young Athletes
The adolescent years are a genuine perfect storm for this. During peak growth spurts, bones can grow faster than the muscles and tendons that attach to them, leaving the area temporarily vulnerable. Add heavy training and competition loads, several sports at once, and a teenager’s drive to go all-out, and it is easy to see why hip pain shows up so often in young athletes. Most of the time these are overuse injuries that build quietly rather than one dramatic moment.
What’s Actually Happening in the Hip and Groin?
The hip and groin is a busy region, and many structures can contribute to your child’s pain: bone, joint, muscle, ligament, nerve and tendon. Sometimes it is a stability issue that needs strengthening, sometimes a mobility issue that needs loosening, sometimes an acute event, and sometimes an overuse overload. The key point is that it is often not just one thing, but several at once. In teenagers especially, overuse injuries are far more common than sudden, acute ones.
Common Overuse Injuries in Adolescents
Most adolescent hip pain comes from overuse. Common overuse injuries in this area include adductor-related groin pain from the inner-thigh muscles, pubic-related groin pain (also called osteitis pubis), hip dysplasia, and femoroacetabular impingement, where the hip joint’s shape leads to pinching. These tend to build gradually with load rather than appear in one moment, which is why they are easy to miss early.
Less Common but More Serious Injuries
Occasionally, hip pain can signal something more significant that needs prompt medical attention rather than self-management. These include avulsion fractures, where a tendon pulls off a piece of bone, bone stress injuries and stress fractures, and slipped capital femoral epiphysis, a growth-plate problem. These are less common, but because they are more serious, any severe, sudden or rapidly worsening pain, a limp, or pain that is not settling should be assessed by a doctor or physiotherapist promptly.
Risk Factors for Groin Pain in Young Athletes
Injury is part of an active life, and the benefits of being active far outweigh the risks of a sedentary one. Still, it helps to know what raises the risk. Common risk factors for hip pain in young athletes include hypermobility or being very flexible, going through a peak growth period, a heavy training and competition load, a history of previous injury, and hip or groin strength that has not kept pace with their training load. Many of these tip the balance toward overuse injuries, so spotting them early lets you act before pain sets in.
Early Warning Signs to Watch For
Some early signs are worth flagging before they become a bigger problem. Watch for reduced kicking power, complaints of a tight groin, hip or groin discomfort that warms up and eases during activity, or a tight, painful hip the day after intense activity. None of these means disaster, but together they suggest the area is being loaded more than it can currently handle.
How to Reduce the Risk
Two things make the biggest difference. First, make sure your child has a baseline of strength and capacity in the hip and groin, usually through a simple strength and conditioning program from a physiotherapist, exercise physiologist or coach. Second, and as hard as it can be, manage their weekly workload. We want kids active, but just like adults, there is a limit. Gifted young athletes are often pulled in many directions, with every coach insisting their session is the priority, so someone needs to keep an eye on the total load.
Building the Right Team Around Your Child
Navigating all of this as a parent is not easy, and you do not have to do it alone. A sports physiotherapist can be a valuable part of your child’s team. You do not need weekly sessions, just someone reliable for advice and guidance, and someone who can screen your child proactively when needed, so small issues are caught before they become big ones.
Common Questions About Groin Pain in Young Athletes
Is groin pain normal in growing teens?
Some aches during growth spurts are common, but persistent or recurring pain is not something to simply ignore. It is worth getting checked so you know what you are dealing with.
Should my child play through groin pain?
Not blindly. Mild niggles can sometimes be managed with adjusted load, but pain that is worsening, a limp, or pain that lingers should be assessed before your child keeps playing through it.
When should I worry about hip or groin pain?
Seek prompt assessment if there is severe or sudden pain, a limp, pain that wakes them at night, or pain that is not settling over a week or two. These can occasionally point to more serious issues.
Could it be something serious?
Usually it is an overuse issue, but occasionally hip pain signals something like a stress fracture or a growth-plate problem. That is exactly why a proper assessment matters.
How can we prevent groin pain?
The best prevention is building baseline hip and groin strength and managing weekly training load, ideally with guidance from a physiotherapist or coach who can screen and adjust as your child grows.
How BeFit Can Help
At BeFit Training Physiotherapy, we help young athletes and their families stay on top of hip pain and groin pain. Our performance physiotherapy and sports physiotherapy teams assess your child, identify what is driving the pain, and build a simple, proactive plan, and our return to sport support helps them get back to the game safely. You do not need weekly visits, just the right guidance at the right time. Initial consultations run for 45 minutes, one-on-one.
Our team at Edgecliff and Coogee would be glad to help. No referral is required, and HICAPS is available on-site for immediate health fund claiming.
Book an appointment at BeFit Training Physiotherapy — no referral needed.
Edgecliff: (02) 9327 7749 | Coogee: (02) 7205 2805 | befittrainingphysio.com/book-now
Related Services at BeFit
Learn more about how our team can help:
Performance Physiotherapy
Sports Physiotherapy
Return to Sport
Further Reading
Common Injuries in Sporting Children & Teens
How to Build a Stronger, More Resilient Teen Athlete
References
Weir A, et al. Doha agreement meeting on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletes. Br J Sports Med. 2015.
Whittaker JL, et al. Risk factors for groin injury in sport: an updated systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2015.
Launay F. Sports-related overuse injuries in children. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res. 2015.
Australian Physiotherapy Association. Clinical guidelines. physiotherapy.asn.au.
