A common reason many people come to physical therapy is for low back or hip pain. One of the common culprits to these pains is often the glute muscles. 

Due to the sitting nature of many of our jobs, our hip flexor muscles that span the front of the pelvis often get tight.  When the hip flexors are tight, our glutes in the back cannot fire as well as they should causing them to get weak or ‘lazy.’  If  the glutes are not able to do their job to support the pelvis, other muscles including the back and hips may work too hard and become painful.  

So how do you wake up lazy glutes?  

• Incorporate hip flexor stretches into your daily routine, especially if you have a sitting job.
• Pay attention to how you are walking, make sure you don’t sit back on your heels when you walk, instead push off your toes to ensure a nice stride.
• Purposefully think about squeezing the glutes with exercises like squats, lunges or bridges.  Think ‘pinch the pencil between your cheeks’ to ensure the muscles are purposefully firing.  You should not feel back strain or tension with squats or bridges.
• Do some type of lateral movements each day with an exercise band around your ankles or knees to strengthen the side glute muscles that are a key supporter of the pelvis.  Another easy exercise to strengthen the glutes is to stand on one foot.  

If you are not able to feel your glutes well when you try to squeeze them, try foam rolling them to loosen them first.  Often, tight muscles are difficult to tighten, so loosening the glutes on the roller, may allow you to feel the ‘squeeze’ better.

If you have any questions on your glutes or any other aches and pains, we can help!