Most breakdancers have pulled their groins during their career at least once. Pulled groins occur most commonly when breakdancers execute power moves. So what is it and how and why does it happen?
What is it?
A pulled groin is a tear in the muscle. The tear can vary from very small to completely severed requiring surgery to re-attach the muscle. Most likely in Breakdancing you will have a small tear that will hurt but not require surgery. If you tore the muscle, you have to let it heal. The best way to let it heal is to get blood in there by doing rehabilitation exercises and not do any activity that aggravates it. Obviously the best approach is to train so groin muscles are strong so it never happens in the first place.
Groin Muscles Are Used When Your Legs Are Open
Severe Tears Cause Internal Bleeding and Look Like This
How does it happen?
In lots of ways it can be a combination of exceeding your strength and flexibility range. Very intense muscle contractions will tear the muscle. Over exerting yourself when doing powermoves and moving too quickly are ways Breakdancings produce intense contractions. A good example is performing a windill and trying to go as powerful and fast as possible which is often the way bboys first tear their groin. Exceeding your flexibility range causes your muscle to tighten making it easier for the muscle to snap and tear with little force. This is easy to do when performing your powermoves at your peak of your flexibility.
How does it affect your dancing?
If you like to pull your legs towards you, a pulled groin will make that hurt. It will be painful and cause further damage to perform top rock and power moves. You may still be able to practice some footwork and practice most freezes.
How to prevent it?
With a good stretching and strength program! When you stretch using PNF stretching (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) you do both at the same time. A good way to think about it is performing your splits unsupported with gravity pushing you down like in a suspended split. You work your flexibility as you go lower and your strength in these new flexibility ranges because you have to hold yourself. The adaptations your body makes to be able to do this end up surpassing the strain of holding splits in power moves thus preventing pulled groins in your bboy career!
So start working your side and front splits but do it the PNF style and hold yourself while you do it and get stronger and flexible at the same time. You can follow my stretching video or read the book Stretching Scientifically.
This Book Has All the Info You Need
This Video Will Guide You Throught the Stretching
Look I’m Showing Off