Hi, this weeks Stretch-of-the-Week is dedicated to hip adductors. Now the hip adductors can be divided into two categories, short adductors and long adductors. Today we will be focusing on the short adductors. Short adductors are the pectineus and the adductor brevis and longas which help in hip flexion and also assists in adduction and latreal rotation of the hip. The adductor muscles are used to stabiolize the legs whilst running and are commonly more tighter in men than women.

To do this stretch the stretcher lies on their back and bend their right knee so that the sole of their foot is against the inside of their left knee. Lower the right leg towards the table as far as it will go whilst keeping the hip flat on the table. The partner should put their hand on the inside of the stretchers right knee as the stretcher slowly rasies their knee towards the ceiling. THe stretch should inhale deeply and on the exhale contract the abductors to pull the knee back towards the floor.

After the stretch the partner should help bring the leg together to avoid possible groin strain and the stretcher may sometimes get abductor cramps during this stretch, if this happens stop and stretch the abductor before returning to the stretch. PNF stretches are pain free so if you feel any pain at anytime please stop.

Always remember that while stretching may be recommended to aid recovery out of injury, you should always be very careful when stretching through rehabilitation.  Your soft tissues are likely to be more vulnerable to re-injury if you stretch too much or too hard during this time.  Always check with your Health Care Professional who is guiding you through your recovery to make sure it is appropriate to start stretching, and please - ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RULES FOR SAFE STRETCHING (blog #50).

Information obtained from McAtee, R. & Charland, J. (1993) Facilitated Stretching