Squeeze Test: How to Measure Isometric Adductor Strength

In sports involving direction changes, sprints, and kicking (soccer, hockey, rugby, martial arts), adductor injuries and groin pain are among the most common and most recurrent. The squeeze test (isometric adductor strength test) is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to objectively track strength in this area, both for injury prevention and return-to-sport after an injury.

What does this test measure?

The squeeze test measures the maximum isometric strength of the hip adductors when "squeezing" the legs against resistance, usually in a specific position of hip and knee flexion.

Besides giving you a strength value, this test is very useful for:

• Reproducing pain in the groin/pubic area in people with suspected groin pain or adductor tendinopathy
• Objectively tracking the recovery of adductor strength after an injury, before clearing an athlete to return to sport

What you'll need

• A treatment table
• A dynamometer or sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff) if you want to quantify strength with numbers
• If you don't have a dynamometer, you can do a qualitative version using your own forearm/fist as resistance

Test protocol

1. The person lies face up (supine), with hips flexed to about 45° and knees flexed to around 90° (feet resting on the table)
2. Place your fist, forearm, or the blood pressure cuff between the person's knees
3. Ask the person to squeeze their knees inward as hard as possible for about 5 seconds, as if trying to bring their legs together
4. If using a sphygmomanometer, record the maximum pressure reached (mmHg); if using a dynamometer, record the value in kg/N
5. Repeat 2-3 times and note the best value, along with whether pain appears during the maneuver and where

Common mistakes

• Not standardizing the hip/knee angle between assessments (the angle affects the measured strength, so it must stay the same every time to allow comparisons)
• Only holding the contraction for 1-2 seconds (it's better to hold for 5 seconds for a more stable value)
• Not recording pain alongside strength: in the context of groin pain, pain during the maneuver is just as important as the strength value

How to interpret the results

Result	Interpretation
Symmetrical strength between both legs, no pain	No signs of asymmetric weakness or adductor involvement in this test
Clearly reduced strength on one side compared to the other	Suggests adductor weakness on the weaker side — relevant for injury monitoring or prevention
Pain in the groin/pubic area during the maneuver	Suggests possible adductor tendinopathy or groin pain — assess full clinical context
Sphygmomanometer pressure values well below the person's previous baseline	Warning sign for load progression, especially during return-to-sport after injury

Absolute strength values vary a lot depending on the person, the sport, and the instrument used, so the most useful comparison is side-to-side and, above all, against that same person's previous values (baseline before injury, and progress during recovery).

Related tests

The squeeze test pairs well with:

• FABER (Patrick) Test — if groin pain shows up in both tests, it helps clarify whether the origin is more muscular (adductors) or more joint/sacroiliac-related
• Trendelenburg Test — for a complete picture of the hip chain: adductor (medial) and gluteus medius (lateral) strength

Track and monitor progress

The squeeze test is one of those tests where the number really matters, especially during return-to-sport processes after an adductor injury: you need to know whether the injured side has recovered a reasonable percentage of strength compared to the healthy side before increasing load. With Movalytics you can log the strength value (mmHg, kg, or whatever unit you use) for each side at every assessment, automatically calculate the side-to-side difference, and view the recovery curve over the weeks.

FAQ

Do I need a sphygmomanometer to do this test? It's not essential: you can do a qualitative version by placing your forearm between the person's knees and assessing strength manually. A sphygmomanometer or dynamometer simply lets you quantify and compare values over time more precisely. What strength difference between legs is considered significant? There's no single universal threshold, but in return-to-sport contexts after injury, the goal is usually to get the affected side as close as possible to the healthy side (ideally minimal differences) before progressing to heavier loads or more demanding movements. Can the squeeze test help prevent adductor injuries? It can be part of a preseason screening, especially in higher-risk sports, since low preseason strength values have been linked to a higher risk of adductor injury during the season.