A Pain in the Groin for the Running Athlete Runners, soccer players, and other athletes who use their legs a lot experience more than their share of groin pain.
Osteitis pubis is one of the many sports-related injuries that cause pain in the groin area.
Because this condition is not well known, it may be underdiagnosed and more common than previously thought. At the front of the pelvis is a mass of fibrocartilage called the pubic symphysis that connects the two sides of the pubic bone. This connection is normally very solid, making the pelvis a more or less rigid circle of bone to which all the major muscles of the thighs are attached. The adductor muscles of the inner thigh attach directly to the pubic bones on either side of the pubic symphysis, and were it not for the strong connection afforded by the fibrocartilage, these muscles would pull the pubic bones apart and downward. Basically this is exactly what happens in the painful condition known as osteitis pubis.