Our gluteal muscles, “glutes” or buttock muscles are incredibly important for most of our day-to-day activities. The glutes help to extend our hip, lift our legs out to the side and to keep our pelvis level when standing on one leg. Weak or underactive glutes have been linked to the majority of lower limb injuries that we see and even with lower back pain.
How do weak glutes cause issues?
Because our glutes help to control the hip and lower back movement, weakness in these muscles can lead to poor positioning of our hip or lower back. Also, our lower limb functions as a chain, therefore any change we make at the hip causes a change in position in our knees, ankles and feet as well. These altered positions can lead to inappropriate forces going through these areas and are known to increase the rate of injuries.
Glute strength is important at any age. A lack of strength can also lead to poor balance, difficulty walking, using steps or even getting up from lying or sitting.
How do I know if I have weak glutes?
A classic sign of gluteal muscle weakness is when someone’s knees collapse inwards while squatting. This particular position is linked to an increased chance of traumatic injuries such as an ACL rupture, and also overuse injuries such as Achilles tendinopathy or gluteal tendinopathy.
Some simple tests at home may involve a squat, single leg squat, standing on one leg or a lunge; depending on your overall level of fitness. If you struggle to keep your knees in line with your toes during a squat, single leg squat or lunge then you may have gluteal weakness. You may also notice that it is very hard to keep your pelvis level when you are standing on one leg. A physiotherapist will be able to perform some specific tests to let you know if your glutes are strong enough for your age and level of activity.
How do we fix this?
There are a huge number of exercises that can help strengthen your glutes. It will take consistent effort of between 3-4 months depending on your age before significant and lasting improvement in strength occurs. It is best to speak to your physiotherapist and they can tailor the specific exercise to your individual needs.
The good news
The good news is that by strengthening your glutes you will have a lower risk of developing a lower limb or lower back injury. You may also be at less risk of falling and we also know that if you are already experiencing these problems, strengthening your glutes will help your recovery.
Author: Kent Jordan, Physiotherapist