Hip and groin rehab program
Hip and groin relief you can keep, built at home over 12 weeks
For pain at the front of the hip crease, deep in the groin, down the quad, on the side, or wrapping into the butt. Twelve weeks of at-home rehab with a video for every exercise, built to make relief last, not a quick fix.
Who this is for
Does this sound like you?
- An ache in your hip and groin, or a pinch at the crease. Stairs, squatting, sitting down and standing up set it off.
- Care that gives brief relief and then wears off, again and again.
- You’ve been told it’s a pinching hip, an angry hip flexor, or a degenerated joint, and you want a conservative option first.
- Your diagnosis reads sports hernia or athletic pubalgia, or the pain keeps showing up as a piriformis, SI joint, hamstring, or IT band complaint.
- You want a long-term plan, not another quick fix.
Not for: injuries confirmed on imaging (a fracture, a high-grade spondylolisthesis, a dislocation or sprain from recent trauma), or anyone with red-flag symptoms. With a hip replacement, the hip-extension first aid is skipped.
The problem
Why the pinch keeps coming back
Care that gives brief relief and then wears off usually means the right first aid was never found. Repeating it means the root cause is still there.
The route this program takes
Find the right first aid.
Most people who don’t get better are missing this one thing. In week 1 you test a short menu of first-aid movements, in order, against a movement that bothers you.
A 30% change means you’ve found yours.
Dose it through the day for five to ten days while removing the things that poke the bear.
Then build the buffer.
With the pain under control, the rest of the program builds the support, endurance, and strength around the hip. The first aid is a band-aid; the strength is what lasts.
Easy first, harder on purpose
The first two weeks are deliberately simple
From week 3 it gets progressively more challenging, on purpose. Weeks 6 and 8 will likely make you sore, and by week 9 you’re lifting to a challenging eight reps. Nothing should be painful; challenging is the target.
What's inside
Twelve weeks, four phases, 61 videos
12-week online course
Weekly classroom lessons with written circuits, reps, and cues
61 videos
47 exercise, first-aid, and movement-flow demos plus 14 classroom lessons
12-minute Start Here video
The first-aid selection process, so you pick right
Week 4: optional session offer
A one-time discounted video session if you want eyes on your form (not included)
Weeks 1 to 2
Cool down
- Find your first aid: a press-up (extension), a side-lying opener (lateral flexion), or a breathing squat (flexion), plus a local hip-extension first aid for deep groin pinching
- Exact daily doses, breathing drills, a daily walking target, and the first trunk work: side and hard-style planks
Weeks 3 to 8
Support and patterning
- Short circuits that stiffen the trunk: birddogs, glute accordions, plank progressions
- Re-teach the hips to hinge, squat, and lunge with a dowel; core endurance rather than core strength
- Your first kettlebell deadlifts and farmer’s carries
Weeks 9 to 12
Strength
- Five basic movements, push, pull, carry, squat, and hinge, to a challenging eight reps
- Split squats, suitcase carries, bear rows, presses, and halos join the deadlifts, goblet squats, and farmer’s carries you now load
Weeks 9 to 12, layered in
Return to your activities
- Movement flows: 5 to 10 minutes of continuous, slightly silly whole-body motion around each session
- A closing lesson on what comes after week 12 and when to ask for professional help
How it works
Four steps from first aid to lifting
Week 1: test the first aids in order.
Watch the 12-minute Start Here video, test each first aid against a movement that bothers you, and dose the one that works through your day.
Weeks 2 to 8: short circuits, daily walking.
About 25 to 45 minutes of circuits, 5 days a week through week 5, then 3 days a week. Walk an hour a day, in pieces.
Weeks 9 to 12: lift.
Carries, squats, hinges, pushes, and pulls to a challenging eight reps, with movement flows around each session.
Keep your first aid on the shelf.
A 5-to-10-day band-aid for any future flare-up. The lifts and flows are yours to keep for years.
“Do not pick multiple first aids, and do not do first aids forever.”
Why Performance Place
From Performance Place Sports Care, the Costa Mesa, CA clinic of Dr. Sebastian Gonzales, DC, built from what works with our own patients: the same core stability model (Stuart McGill) and five-movement strength model (Dan John) we coach in clinic.
Reviews
- Verified ownerAaron MoneyJune 28, 2022
I'm an avid backpacker and go on one or two extensive hikes each month. I began to feel a pinch around the crease of my hip and it eventually led to a painful lock up that made it nearly impossible to go hiking. I tried stretching, which provided initial relief but the pain would come back just as quick as it would go away from the stretching. I came across this guide after watching one of Dr. Gonzales' youtube videos on the topic. Seeing the review of another person who happened to have a similar situation to me (while hiking) really helped me to pull the trigger on this guide. I am amazed at how well this program has worked so far. The selection of first-aid videos has been a game changer for me! I'm backpacking again each month, and I do the exercises prescribed by Dr. Gonzales before I start, as well as when I get to my campsite. I have to concur with the other reviews that the explanations given by the Performance Place team in these videos are like nothing I've found online. I genuinely have a better understanding of my body and how to control the pain, as well as what I need to do so that it doesn't come back. It goes without saying that I highly recommend this program. The great thing about it is that I have the option to setup a virtual call with Dr. Gonzales if I want additional attention. So far, I've been able to figure it out, but it's great to know that it's available to you. Thank you for making this resource available, and affordable.
- Verified ownerMichael JorgensenJanuary 24, 2022
As a long-time sufferer of hip pain I wasn't totally shocked to finally learn that I was dealing with FAI and OA, but as a stubborn active 65 year old I wasn't quite ready to give in to a hip replacement. Scouring the web for conservative treatment options I eventually discovered Performance Place Sports Care & Chiropractic, coming to a conclusion that their content is better than all the others. I purchased the Hip & Groin program, along with a tele-health session with Dr. Sebastian - a person who can spot all sorts of subtle movements even over an iPhone. I have found the program to be exactly what I was looking for - it is truly amazing! On a recent hike my hip suddenly locked up, resulting in a great deal of pain. Not knowing what else to do I resorted to a move Dr. Sebastian taught me, one that he had categorized as 'first aid', a variant of the child's pose that he called 'frog breathing'. After performing this move along with a stretch that Dawne had demonstrated in one of their videos I was pleased and surprised to discover that I could continue my walk again without pain! I was totally amazed!! The exercises outlined for me are quite unique and not like anything I have ever done before, but incredibly effective. I am now convinced more than ever of their validity, and am performing them with even more passion. Outstanding!
- Verified ownerJill GonzalesJanuary 7, 2022
I've done other online programs before, so I had some concerns before I purchased this one. Since I haven't been leaving the house a lot lately, I thought a home program was my best choice (even though I live within a drive from Performance Place). I'm not an athlete, I enjoy working out with weights, and going on walks with my dog. I wanted to know more details before I bought anything. The last thing I needed was to get something I've already tried before, so I called the office. The intern who answered the phone was very nice and suggested I speak with Dawne or Sebastian about the program over a Zoom first. That next day I Zoomed with Dawne for 30 minutes, which is all I needed to address my concerns. I started the program that week. The most challenging part is in week 1, when you have to pick the correct "first-aid" exercise. I've never considered using pain as a tool in this selection process. Intriguing methods I must say! I must have picked right because I felt 50% better within a week. I was able to walk my dog without my groin aching. I could put on my shoes and I started back to my day to day life. The exercises in the program were more challenging than I've seen in other programs. There is not a ton of stretching in the program. My Favorite exercise is the hard plank! Thank you for putting this together. I never would have found it without the Youtube video!
- Verified ownerZachary KingDecember 30, 2019
My wife has been dealing with groin pain for years. We tried adjustments, soft tissue work, stretches, and massages that will briefly relieve the pain but nothing has been a long term fix. When we got this guide, we were very surprised on how thorough it was. This guide covers a lot of different hip problems and how to approach each of them. After the first week, my wife's groin pain significantly decrease! We are on the 3rd week and she is pain free! I highly recommend this guide for anyone who has been dealing with hip and/or groin pain. It is worth it! Thank you Dr. Gonzales!
- Verified ownerBartosz GabrylewiczDecember 27, 2019
I have had a limitation on my left hip proper range of motion of flexion because of some kind of block in my groin for quite long time and tried many things like stretches, seeing PT's in my neighborhood etc. Nothing has helped me. I've come across Dr Gonzales Instagram by accident and at that time he was looking for people to check that guide. After seeing some of his work I decided to give it a try(to be true I thought it would be another failure). The guide is clearly written with a step by step instructions how to do some excersises that are supposed to help with that issue. I was really surprised that first signs of longer term improvement showed just after 1st week. Later the progress was not as fast as before but right now I seem to have no problem with that hip anymore. I really suggest to try this guide before wasting your money and time on some miraculous stretches and mediocre PT's.
- Verified ownerK ODecember 22, 2019
Dr. Gonzales has curated the best online resources to alleviate hip and groin pain. He has also included a provider list to get you the right diagnosis. The guide is easy to follow and gives you the tools to move through the different stages leading to pain free movement.
- Verified ownerDaniel CharlatDecember 6, 2019
Very solid guide through and through. Dr. Gonzales covers many aspects of hip and groin pain and how to evaluate yourself. There’s nothing like a caring doc that spends time putting out resources for you to manage your own pain. Thank you! PS: this is cheaper than a visit to a doc, most of which are not experts in neuromuscular skeletal disorders like dr. Gonzales, and this will hopefully help you like it helped me
What you get
Everything in the program
- The complete 12-week course: cool down, support and patterning, strength, movement flows
- 61 videos with written circuits and cues for every week
- A menu of first aids, tested in order, to reach for whenever something flares
Informational program. Not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for one.
FAQ
Fair questions
- Is this right for my hip?
- Hip and groin pain at the front crease, the side, down the quad, or wrapping toward the lower back and butt, including a pinching hip, an angry hip flexor, a degenerated joint, or a sports hernia. The 12-minute Start Here video walks you through the test that tells you whether you respond.
- How is this different from stretching videos on YouTube?
- There’s deliberately not a ton of stretching here. It’s a sequenced 12-week structure of movement corrections with detailed cues, and the week 1 first-aid selection is the part scattered videos cannot give you.
- How soon might I feel a difference?
- With the right first aid, the on-camera test is a 30% or better change in a movement that bothers you, measured in a couple of minutes. Dose it for five to ten days. The rest of the 12 weeks is what makes it last.
- What if I pick the wrong first aid?
- A wrong pick looks like no change, or a sensation that moves further down the leg. Stop that one and go to the next on the list. If none work, a session with us makes sense; there’s a one-time discounted video session offered at week 4.
- Do I need equipment?
- Weeks 1 and 2: a floor, a wall, a chair, and a towel or pillow. From week 3: a kettlebell or dumbbell you can deadlift for reps (by week 11 the target is roughly 60 to 70 lb, and about 35 lb for goblet squats) and a dowel or broomstick. From week 8: a cloth glute resistance band.
- Who should not do this?
- Anyone with an injury confirmed on imaging or with red-flag symptoms should see a clinician first. If a first aid sends a sensation further down your leg, move to the next one. With a hip replacement, skip the hip-extension first aid. This is not a substitute for a diagnosis.
Stop repeating what only works for a day.
Find the first aid your body responds to, then build the support and strength that make relief last.