The half kneeling adductor stretch is a floor stretch in two parts. First you kneel on one knee with a long stride, lean forward and lower your elbows toward the floor inside your front foot, which stretches the inner thigh and groin of the front leg (hip adductors). Then you sit your hips back and straighten that front leg, so the stretch moves into the back of the thigh (hamstrings). It suits people who can already kneel and get down to the floor without trouble.

How to do the half kneeling adductor stretch

Kneel on a mat with a folded towel under the knee that rests on the floor. Step one foot well forward, taking a longer stride than a normal lunge. The front leg is the one you are stretching.
Put both hands on the floor on the inside of your front foot. Let the front knee point the same way as your toes.
Lean forward and lower your elbows toward the floor close to the arch of your front foot, letting your hips sink down. If your elbows do not reach, stay on your hands. Hold and breathe.
Press back up onto your hands. Shift your hips back toward your back heel and straighten the front knee, letting that foot rest on its heel.
Keep your back long and hinge forward from the hips to feel the stretch behind the thigh. Hold, then bend the front knee, come back up to half kneeling and change sides.

What you should feel

In the first part, a stretch along the inner thigh and groin of the front leg, often with some pull at the front of the kneeling hip. When the front leg straightens, the stretch shifts to the back of that thigh, between the buttock and the knee.

Common mistakes

Letting the front knee drop inward as you lower down.
Forcing the elbows to the floor. Stop at a firm stretch and let your hips settle over the coming weeks.
Rounding your back and reaching for your toes in the hamstring part, instead of tipping forward from the hips.
Bouncing in either position.

How often

Many programs hold each part for 20 to 30 seconds and repeat it 2 to 3 times on each side, once a day or a few times a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp or pinching pain deep in the groin or at the front of the hip.
Pain, numbness or tingling that travels down the back of the leg as you straighten the knee.
You feel dizzy, lightheaded or faint as you get up. Stay down or sit on the chair and wait for it to pass. If it does not pass within a minute or two, or it keeps happening, get medical advice the same day before you practice again. If you faint, or it does not settle within a few minutes of keeping still, call emergency services.

From the clinic

Plenty of people start with their hands on the floor rather than their elbows, and still get a good stretch. A yoga block or a thick book under each forearm is a halfway step. If the groin is what you want to work on, the lizard stretch stays in that low position, and the butterfly stretch is gentler. For the back of the thigh alone, the supine hamstring stretch needs no kneeling at all.

The kneeling knee needs padding. If it still hurts with a folded towel under it, this is not the stretch for you right now. If you have had knee surgery or a knee replacement, check with your surgeon or physio before you kneel on that knee. Getting down to the floor and up again takes strength and balance, so have a sturdy chair next to you to lean on as you rise, and if you have fallen in the past year, ask your physio first.

With your elbows down, your head sits lower than your heart. If you have high blood pressure, a heart condition, glaucoma or recent eye surgery, check with your doctor or physio first, keep breathing and come up slowly. If you have low bone density (osteoporosis), stay up on your hands with your back long rather than curling down to your elbows, and ask your physio whether this stretch suits you.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try the half kneeling adductor stretch. Taking your elbows down beside the front foot folds that hip far beyond a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. The kneeling hip is also taken back behind you, which some surgeons limit after a replacement done from the front of the hip.

After a recent groin or hamstring strain, let your physio decide when stretching that muscle is right for you. If you are pregnant and have pain at the front or back of your pelvis, ask your physio first. A long, wide stance like this one can stir it up.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Half kneeling adductor stretch