3. Adductor Longus

Origin: Body of the pubis inferior to the pubic crest

Insertion: Middle 1/3 of the linea aspera of the femur

Action: Adducts the thigh

Innervation: Obturator nerve (L2/3/4)

Gluteal muscles that move the femur.
Figure 4.8 Adductor longus, OpenStax College, CC BY 3.0.
Neurovascular bundle (Femoral artery, vein and nerve).
Figure 4.9 Neurovascular bundle (femoral artery, vein and nerve), by Henry Gray and Henry Vandyke Carter (Public domain).

Needling

Position: Supine with the patients leg externally rotated and their knee over yours or over a bolster

Palpation: Palpate along the medial aspect of the thigh and ask the patient to adduct their thigh gently to make this muscle more prominent – Pick up this muscle more towards the origin

Technique: Needle in an anterior-to-posterior direction – Ensure there is no femoral pulse medial to your thumb or under your fingers – Consider needling only the superior 1/3 of this muscle

Caution: High – the femoral artery lies directly on top of the middle aspect this muscle as it passes posteriorly to enter the adductor hiatus

Needling adductor longus.
Figure 4.10 Needling adductor longus, original image by Nadine Crocker, CC BY-NC 4.0.
Needling adductor longus.
Figure 4.11 Needling adductor longus, original image by Nadine Crocker, CC BY-NC 4.0.

Video 4.3 Needling adductor longus, original video by Nadine Crocker, CC BY-NC 4.0.

License

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Sinew Channel Needling Copyright © 2026 by Nadine Crocker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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