Hello,
Can you recommend a rehabilitation program for a pulled and painful gracilis muscle. I have experienced pain on the inside of the my right leg from the middle thigh up to the groin for over a year. My doctor x-rayed and ruled out arthritic and orthopedic causes. It flares up when I run (8 minute pace, 3-6 miles, 2-5x per week) and when I play racquetball. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Roger,
Gracilis originates on the pubic symphysis, and inserts on the upper surface of the medial side of the tibia. With your foot off the ground, the muscle helps flex your knee, and at the same time assists in medial rotation of the hip and adduction of the thigh. By it's physical location, and it's proximity to the adductors, you can make some assumptions about the function of the muscle with your foot on the ground. It mostly functions in the frontal plane, an as such, benefits from cross training activities like the slideboard. Or you can get on your roller blades or inline skates. Naturally, the stretches for the adductor group, including straddle sitting, straddle standing, sitting on your butt with your feet up close to your butt, and so on, are also appropriate. And finally, rehab it for several weeks with cross training activities before you tests it again. Good luck.
