KANSAS CITY, Mo — A.J. Taylor really feels for Alex Gordon after hearing that the Royals’ left fielder will be out for eight weeks with a groin strain.
“It’s like a sharp little pain. You always want to massage it. You always want to ice it,” said Taylor, a star running back for Rockhurst High School, who had a groin strain last season.
Taylor got help from Paul McGannon, president of Sports Rehab and a former Royals’ trainer. McGannon says the “grade 2 plus” strain that Gordon has means this.
“There’s a lot of muscle tearing that’s occurred, but there’s still attachment,” McGannon said.
The muscle is still attached to bone, so there is no need for surgery. There is a need for rest.
“Really the first couple of weeks is just getting life to be pain-free. He’ll be getting a lot of physical therapy — ice, heat, e-stim (electrical stimulation), things that help accelerate healing and the laying down of that scar tissue,” said McGannon.
He says after a few weeks, you start exercising the muscle, taking care not to aggravate it, and then advance to other exercises that athletes are already accustomed to doing for prevention.
Dr. Randy Goldstein, a sports medicine specialist at the University of Kansas Hospital, says prevention of groin injuries only goes so far, though, because all it takes is an “unintended twist or misstep or fall.”
Goldstein added, “Because they’re unpredictable, they’re hard to completely prevent. Certainly a stretching and prevention program will help.”
You can also lower the chances of a nagging or recurrent groin strain by not returning too soon.
“You really need to honor the full timeline that’s initially set by the medical team,” said McGannon.