Adductor Longus

legsAdductor longus

The adductor longus is the most forward and most visible of the inner thigh muscles, running from the pubic bone to the middle of the thigh bone. It pulls the leg inward.

Adductor Longus highlighted on an anatomical figure, from the front.
Where it sits, from the front.

Adductor longus is the most anterior of the adductor group and the one closest to the surface. It arises by a narrow tendon from the front of the pubic bone and fans out downward and backward to attach along the middle of the back of the thigh bone.

Because it is superficial and its upper tendon is narrow and palpable, it is the adductor you can actually find on yourself: press into the top of the inner thigh with the leg pulled inward against resistance and the cord that stands out is this one.

It adducts the thigh and assists hip flexion, and its line of pull gives it a rotational component as well. Its exact rotational effect is described inconsistently across references, which is common for the adductors — their rotational role changes with hip position.

It forms the medial boundary of the femoral triangle, a well-known landmark in the front of the upper thigh, which is why it appears in anatomical descriptions more often than its function alone would warrant.

Training notes

Wide-stance squats, sumo deadlifts, lateral lunges and Cossack squats all load it, and adduction machine work loads it through its range.

Because it assists hip flexion, it also contributes during the swing phase of running and during any movement that brings the thigh forward and inward.

It is the adductor whose development is most visible, sitting at the top of the inner thigh close to the surface.

Anatomy

Origin
  • Front of the body of the pubis, just below the pubic crest
Insertion
  • Middle third of the medial lip of the linea aspera of the femur
Actions
  • Adducts the thigh
  • Assists flexion of the hip
  • Contributes to rotation of the thigh
Innervation
Obturator nerve (L2–L4)

Exercises

Antagonists

Synergists