The Mighty Glutes

From ‘lazy glutes’ to ‘peachy bum’ obsession, the gluteus muscles group often makes it into the limelight.

Sounding like a Roman Emperor, your gluteus maximus is the undeniable leader of the gluteus muscle group that includes also gluteus medius and minimus.

The whole group is essential for your hip stability. With hip fractures being one of the most common reasons for loss of independence in the older population, it is worth bringing attention to this lovely muscle group once again.

As you already know, in the clinic we look at the body as a whole. The gluteus muscles group links several fascia lines together: the lateral, which is on the side of the body, the back and the functional sling that joins the Gluteus Maximus with the Latissiums Dorsi.

Yes, your shoulder or neck problem may be linked to weakness or tightness in your glutes!

Gluteus Maximus, the biggest of the entire group, can also be seen as a link between the muscles that run along the spine's length- Erector Spinae and hamstrings. Because of this, tightness in the gluteal area can create back, hips and shoulder problems.

Tight Gluteus Maximus can create a pull on your sacroiliac joint as well as the ITB band, affecting your gait and leading to imbalance and pain in your hips, groin and lower back area.

On the other hand weakness in this area can create more strain on the lower back, affect gait- the way you walk- by forcing the torso to shift forward or laterally, depending which of the muscle from the group is affected. As you can easily imagine, this leads to more uneven weight distribution through your hips and legs and further problems.

Therefore if you want to feel more freedom of movement and more confidence in your body while doing the things you love, it is crucial to keep your glutes in top condition.

With the general trend of having more and more sedentary lifestyle as a nation it is easy to neglect these very important muscles. And each week in the clinic we see people, who have developed shoulder, lower back, knees or ankles problems that are linked to issues around the hip area.

If you feel like your hips are swinging or pushed forward when walking, you are getting back pain when walking, standing or coming back up from leaning forward then there may be problem with your glutes muscles, and your nervous system may need some help in form of chiropractic adjustment and myofascial work to get them to functioning again.

Would you like to know more and get to the root of your pains and aches, then get in touch to book a free discovery visit!