In sports such as soccer, athletes need strong adductor (groin) muscles to kick the ball, make sharp lateral cuts, and resist momentum when contacted in a challenge. Often injuries result when the adductor muscles are too weak to resist the sudden lengthening they endure as a part of one of these actions. Despite this, common strength training exercises used by teams such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges don’t challenge the adductor muscles as primary movers. The Copenhagen exercise shown in this video is a fantastic exercise to help strengthen the adductor muscles and reduce the risk of groin injuries (Ishøi et al., 2016).
Careful stretching of the adductors along with this targeted exercise should be performed by all athletes in sports such as soccer, ice hockey, and football to reduce the risk of groin injuries.
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References: Copenhagen Adduction Exercise: Adductor Strain Pre- and Rehab. (2018, January 8). Physiotutors.
Ishøi, L., Sørensen, C., Kaae, N., Jørgensen, L., Hölmich, P., & Serner, A. (2016). Large eccentric strength increase using the Copenhagen Adduction exercise in football: A randomized controlled trial. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 26(11), 1334-1342.