Getting Back in the Game: Repairing an Adductor Longus Tendon

If you’re an athlete, you know there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with an injury that keeps you out of the game. Many athletes with groin injuries have adductor longus tendon injuries. 

Groin injuries often occur when playing team sports that involve twisting, pivoting, and other similar motions (e.g., basketball, football) involving the adductor tendon. At Anthony Echo, M.D., in Houston, Texas, our board-certified surgeon specializes in diagnosing and treating this injury.

Dr. Echo uses his surgical experience and expertise to repair your adductor tendon and help you get back in the game sooner. Here’s a look at what you can expect from a repair to your adductor longus tendon.

Understanding adductor longus tendon injuries

Your adductors work to pull your legs together. The adductor longus tendon runs from your femur to your pubic bone. Research shows most acute groin injuries involve the adductor tendons.

Most of these injuries occur when your inner thigh muscles are hyperextended or stretch too wide. The area where the tendon and muscle join is the most common site of injury, with tears or complete detachment (avulsion) present in most of these injuries.

Athletes who experience adductor longus tendon injuries may experience the following symptoms:

• A popping noise or sensation during the injury
• Severe pain in the inner thigh
• Swelling, bruising, or tenderness in the thigh
• Inability to bear weight or move normally
• Lack of strength (e.g., difficulty bringing your legs together or lifting your knee)

If you sustain an injury to your thigh or groin, it’s best to seek medical evaluation as soon as possible. Early diagnosis makes treatment more effective and helps reduce your risk of re-injury. 

Repairing adductor longus tendon injuries

Before recommending a specific treatment, Dr. Echo examines your injury, reviews your medical history, and asks about your symptoms. To confirm your diagnosis and decide the best course of treatment, he may also order imaging studies, like an MRI. 

For less severe adductor longus tendon injuries, like a strain, Dr. Echo may recommend nonsurgical treatment, which typically involves protecting the injured tendon and resting, icing, compressing, and elevating (RICE) the injury, followed by physical therapy. 

In most cases, however, surgical repair can help you return to peak performance and avoid re-injury better. As an expert surgeon specially trained in sports-related injuries, Dr. Echo is uniquely qualified to repair your tendon and help you get back in the game faster.

Dr. Echo uses imaging technology to map the injury and surrounding physiology, such as your thigh's major blood vessels and muscles. He then re-attaches the avulsed tendon using sutures and bone anchors. 

After repairing the adductor tendon to the bone, Dr. Echo further reinforces it to the rectus abdominis tendon at the pubic bone. Because too much tension between the two can result in future injuries, Dr. Echo pays special attention to the force and direction of your natural motion. 

Finally, he closes and dresses your incision. As you recover, you can expect to wear a thigh wrap to keep the swelling down in the groin as your body heals. 

Returning to the game after adductor longus tendon repair

Dr. Echo understands that as an athlete, you want to return to the game as soon as possible. But for optimal results and to avoid future injuries, it’s important to fully recover and rebuild your strength and range of motion. 

You can expect to avoid weight-bearing activities for 2-4 weeks after your surgery. During this time, Dr. Echo prescribes physical therapy to help you rebuild strength and work on your range of motion. 

Your physical therapy and activity steadily build and increase for about 8 weeks. You then progressively build up the sports-specific strength and motions required to return to play. 

While everyone is different, Dr. Echo clears most patients to return to sports around 8 weeks post-op. 

If you’re an athlete with an adductor longus tendon injury or another sports-related groin injury, get the expert help you need to get back in the game sooner by scheduling an appointment online or over the phone at Anthony Echo, M.D., in Houston.