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Structure
Intermediate
8 min read

Hip adductors

Five muscles fill the inner thigh and draw the leg back towards the midline. Most of their work is stabilising, on every step taken on one leg.
3D scene
The adductors in the deep plane
The scene shows the mass stretched from the pubis to the back of the femur. Without the 3D, picture a fan whose handle is fixed to the pelvis and whose blades spread down the length of the thigh.
Open in the explorer

Where the hip adductors are

The adductors fill the whole inner face of the thigh, between the pubis and the femur. They form a thick mass arranged in overlapping layers: it is the muscle group hardest to break down by eye, because no clean boundary separates one muscle from the next.
Five muscles make up the group: adductor magnus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, pectineus and gracilis. Gracilis is the most superficial and the easiest to find, standing out as a cord along the inner edge of the thigh.

Origins

All the origins are packed into a narrow region of the pelvis, around the pubis.
  • Pectineus arises from the pecten of the pubis, the ridge on the front of the bone.
  • Adductor longus and brevis arise from the body and superior ramus of the pubis.
  • Adductor magnus arises from the ischiopubic ramus and the ischial tuberosity, the part you sit on.
  • Gracilis arises from the lower border of the pubis, right beside the midline.

Insertions

Four of them attach to the linea aspera of the femur, a rough ridge running down the back of the bone along its whole length. Adductor magnus reaches lower, to the adductor tubercle near the knee. Gracilis is the exception: it crosses the knee and ends on the tibia, which makes it the only one in the group to act on two joints.

Nerve supply and palpable landmarks

Most of the group is supplied by the obturator nerve, from the L2 to L4 roots. Pectineus often also receives the femoral nerve, and the back part of adductor magnus the sciatic nerve — which reflects its functional kinship with the hamstrings. Gracilis can be felt as a cord along the inner thigh with the legs pressed together.

What the hip adductors do

Their name describes only part of their work.
  • Hip adduction: they draw the thigh towards the midline, or stop it moving away.
  • Pelvic control: standing on one leg, they help control sideways movement of the pelvis, alongside the gluteus medius pulling the other way.
  • Sharing flexion and extension: the upper fibres flex the hip, the lower fibres of adductor magnus extend it. The role changes with the angle.
Adduction
Movement that brings a limb towards the midline of the body, the plane dividing it into two halves. The opposite movement, taking the limb away, is abduction.
moving towards the midline
The most frequent function is neither the most visible nor the one the name suggests. With each step the body rests briefly on a single leg, and the pelvis then tends to drop on the free side. The adductors of the standing leg take part in controlling that drop. So most of their work is restraint, not shortening.
Certainty level · Established
The adductors produce hip adduction and contribute to controlling the pelvis in single-leg stance.
Descriptive anatomy establishes the lines of action; kinesiology describes their role in frontal-plane control of the pelvis during walking. What varies between sources is the exact split of work between the adductors and gluteus medius, and how it depends on hip angle.
Standring S (2020) · Neumann DA (2016)

Seeing the adductors in movement

The adductors in the deep plane

The scene shows the mass stretched from the pubis to the back of the femur. Without the 3D, picture a fan whose handle is fixed to the pelvis and whose blades spread down the length of the thigh.
Current step
Deep and medial muscles
Beneath the visible groups work muscles no silhouette shows. The rotator cuff holds the head of the humerus against the shoulder blade, serratus anterior keeps the shoulder blade flat on the ribcage, the iliopsoas links the lumbar spine to the femur, and the adductors fill the inner thigh. Deeper still, the diaphragm closes the trunk as a dome, inside the ribs. They orient and stabilise more than they move.
Scene description
A three-dimensional diagram of a standing human body, arms by the sides, built from simplified paper-coloured volumes. Twelve priority muscle groups are laid over this outline in terracotta: at the front, pectoralis major, the deltoid, biceps brachii, the abdominal wall and the quadriceps; at the back, the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, the erector spinae, triceps brachii, the glutes, the hamstrings and the calves. A simplified skeleton — skull, spine, ribcage, pelvis, humerus, femur and tibia — can be shown beneath the outline to reveal the bony levers these muscles pull on. Each group is selectable and opens its own reference page. This is a teaching diagram with stylised volumes, not an exact anatomical reconstruction.
Visible structures
  • Pectoralis major
    A thick sheet running from the clavicle, the sternum and the upper costal cartilages to the lateral lip of the bicipital groove of the humerus. It draws the arm towards the midline and forwards, and drives horizontal pushing.
  • Deltoids
    Three heads — anterior, lateral and posterior — running from the clavicle, the acromion and the spine of the scapula to the deltoid tuberosity of the humerus. Together they raise the arm; separately they carry it forwards, out to the side or backwards.
  • Biceps brachii
    Two heads arising from the scapula — the supraglenoid tubercle and the coracoid process — joining on the radial tuberosity. It flexes the elbow and supinates the forearm, and contributes to every pulling movement.
  • Abdominal wall
    Rectus abdominis, the external and internal obliques and transversus, running from the ribs and sternum to the pubis and iliac crest. They flex and rotate the trunk and, above all, stabilise the spine by regulating intra-abdominal pressure.
  • Quadriceps
    Four heads — rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius — joining through the quadriceps tendon onto the patella and then the tibial tuberosity. They extend the knee, and rectus femoris also flexes the hip.
  • Trapezius
    A diamond-shaped muscle spanning from the occiput and the cervical and thoracic spinous processes to the clavicle, the acromion and the spine of the scapula. Its upper, middle and lower portions elevate, retract and depress the scapula.
  • Latissimus dorsi
    A broad fan arising from the lower thoracic vertebrae, the thoracolumbar fascia, the iliac crest and the lowest ribs, converging on the bicipital groove of the humerus. It pulls the arm down and back, and drives vertical pulling.
  • Erector spinae
    Muscular columns — iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis — running from the sacrum and iliac crest to the ribs, the vertebrae and the skull, on either side of the spinous processes. They extend the spine and control the trunk as it lowers.
  • Triceps brachii
    Three heads — long, lateral and medial — arising from the scapula and the back of the humerus and joining on the olecranon of the ulna. It extends the elbow, and its long head also assists shoulder extension.
  • Glutes
    Gluteus maximus, medius and minimus, arising from the iliac wing and the sacrum and inserting on the femur and the iliotibial tract. They extend, abduct and rotate the hip, and drive the pelvis upright in the hinge and the squat.
  • Hamstrings
    Biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus, running from the ischial tuberosity to the tibia and fibula. They extend the hip and flex the knee, and control the trunk as it lowers in the hip hinge.
  • Calves
    The gastrocnemius and soleus, joining through the Achilles tendon onto the calcaneus. They plantarflex the ankle, and the gastrocnemius, which crosses the knee, also assists knee flexion.
  • Rotator cuff
    Four short muscles running from the shoulder blade to the top of the humerus. Their tendons merge into a sheet that holds the head of the bone against its socket while the deltoid moves the arm.
  • Serratus anterior
    A sheet hooked onto the upper ribs by triangular slips, passing under the shoulder blade and attaching to its inner border. It holds the blade against the ribcage and rotates it.
  • Iliopsoas
    The only muscle linking the lumbar spine directly to the femur. It descends from the vertebrae and the iliac fossa, curves around the rim of the pelvis and attaches to the lesser trochanter.
  • Hip adductors
    Five muscles running from the pubis to the back of the femur in overlapping layers. They draw the thigh towards the midline and control the pelvis in single-leg stance.
  • Forearm muscles
    Masses gathered near the elbow, continued by long tendons to the wrist and fingers. They drive the hand from a distance and carry grip strength.
  • Tibialis anterior
    A muscle pressed against the outer surface of the tibia, its tendon swinging towards the inside of the foot. It lifts the toes on every step and brakes the forefoot after heel strike.
  • Diaphragm
    A muscular dome running from the lower border of the ribs, the sternum and the lumbar vertebrae to a central tendon. As it contracts it descends, the chest gains volume and air enters: it is the engine of quiet breathing, and the ceiling of the abdominal cavity.
Guided steps
  • 1/5
    The front of the body. Pectoralis major covers the upper chest, the deltoid caps the shoulder, the biceps fills the front of the arm, the abdominal wall links the ribs to the pelvis, and the quadriceps fills the front of the thigh. Further out on the limbs, the forearm muscles drive the wrist and hand, and tibialis anterior lifts the foot.
  • 2/5
    The back of the body. The trapezius links the neck to the shoulder blades, the latissimus dorsi fans down to the pelvis, the erector spinae flank the spine, and the triceps fills the back of the arm. Glutes, hamstrings and calves form the posterior chain from hip to ankle.
  • 3/5
    Beneath the visible groups work muscles no silhouette shows. The rotator cuff holds the head of the humerus against the shoulder blade, serratus anterior keeps the shoulder blade flat on the ribcage, the iliopsoas links the lumbar spine to the femur, and the adductors fill the inner thigh. Deeper still, the diaphragm closes the trunk as a dome, inside the ribs. They orient and stabilise more than they move.
  • 4/5
    In a push, force starts at the ground, travels through the quadriceps and the abdominal wall, and then pectoralis major, the anterior deltoid and the triceps drive the load away from the trunk. The skeleton acts as the lever: no group works alone, and the quality of the movement comes from their sequencing.
  • 5/5
    In a pull, the latissimus dorsi and trapezius bring the arm and shoulder blade towards the trunk while the biceps flexes the elbow. Glutes, hamstrings and erector spinae hold the pelvis and spine so that force transfers without the trunk collapsing.
Model licence · Z-Anatomy et BodyParts3D — CC-BY-SA 4.0

The movements they take part in

In the squat, adductor magnus contributes to hip extension on the way up, alongside the glutes. In the hip hinge, its posterior fibres work much like the hamstrings.
Outside exercise they are loaded in every change of direction, every sideways step and every running stride, where control of the pelvis passes through them.

Synergists

  • The iliopsoas works with the upper fibres in hip flexion.
  • The glutes and hamstrings share hip extension with the lower fibres of adductor magnus.
  • The quadriceps and the adductors overlap on the inner thigh, vastus medialis coming into contact with the group.

Antagonists

  • Gluteus medius and gluteus minimus produce abduction, the opposite movement.
  • Tensor fasciae latae draws the thigh away and directly opposes the group.

What the 3D model simplifies

Limit
Five muscles shown as one
The scene treats the adductors as a block. In reality they lie in three overlapping layers, and the boundary between adductor brevis and longus, or between adductor magnus and the hamstrings, is often hard to establish even on a dissection.
Adductor magnus is pierced by an opening, the hiatus, through which the femoral vessels pass to reach the back of the knee. That important structure is not represented. Finally, groin pain attributed to the adductors can have very varied origins, joint as well as muscular, and calls for examination.

Sources

Main sources

  • Standring S (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd edition. Elsevier.
  • Neumann DA (2016). Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System: Foundations for Rehabilitation, 3rd edition. Elsevier.
Put it into practice in Shapier

See the lateral lunge, which works the adductors

Open the lateral lunge guide in Shapier, a sideways-support exercise that works the adductors.
See the lateral lunge, which works the adductors
Body Lab explains; Shapier lets you act and track.

Check my understanding

What is the adductors' most frequent everyday function?
Why is the gracilis the exception in the adductor group?
What does adductor magnus do on the way up from a squat?
Choose an answer

Read next

  • Glutes
    The three gluteal muscles cover the back and the side of the pelvis. The gluteus maximus extends the hip, while the gluteus medius and minimus steady the pelvis as soon as the body is supported on one leg.
    With a 3D scene
  • Quadriceps
    The quadriceps brings together four muscles on the front of the thigh that share a common tendon. It extends the knee, and one of its heads also crosses the hip.
    With a 3D scene
  • Iliopsoas
    The iliopsoas is the only muscle that links the lumbar spine directly to the femur. It flexes the hip and acts on the spine, and it is never visible from outside.
    With a 3D scene

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Trust and method

Author
equipe-editoriale-shapier
Editorial review
Thanh Chau
Scientific review
Pending
Published on
August 2, 2026
Reviewed on August 2, 2026
Next review due August 2, 2027
Limits of this page
  • The group is shown as one block: the five muscles overlap in several layers, and the scene does not let you tell them apart.
  • The adductor hiatus, through which the femoral vessels pass, is not represented.
  • Groin pain has many possible causes, joint as well as muscular. This page describes an anatomy and supports no self-diagnosis.
Sources
  • Standring S (2020). Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice, 42nd edition. Elsevier.
  • Neumann DA (2016). Kinesiology of the Musculoskeletal System: Foundations for Rehabilitation, 3rd edition. Elsevier.
Educational content. Body Lab does not diagnose and does not replace professional advice.
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