Every goalie went through this. Quick reaction to stop a puck and sudden pain in a groin area. The pain is getting more and more annoying, you cannot shuffle and getting up from butterfly is a torture.
Many goalies think the groin muscles (adductors) got injured and they are seeking help of a doctor. In reality if the muscle is not bruised and you cannot see any blood under the skin, the muscle just created a trigger point or a knot. This can be fixed in one day and no visit to the doctor is necessary.
There are many options how to fix the tight groin muscle, deep tissue massage (sport massage), foam roller, electric muscle stimulator and chiropractor. The most economical and convenient option is self massage or foam rolling. Foam rolling of groin muscles can be little bit harder as you are slightly stretching the muscles and it is harder to reach them. I accomplish the best and quickest results with the self massage, but instead of hands I am using a weightlifting barbell. This allows me to relax my muscles and I don’t have to apply a lot of pressure with my hands.
Choose a barbell (skill, medium, big) that will apply gentle pressure on your muscles. If the pain is uncomfortable choose a lighter bar. Lie down on a floor and place the end of the bar on your groin. Slowly roll the bar up and down and when you reach a painful lump stop for 5 seconds. Perform this massage 3 times a day for 3-5 minutes. The next day you will feel sore (same as after a sport massage), but the following day you should be able to perform. Make sure you are well hydrated during the barbell massage.
