Tight glutes

Author: Sarah

Your glute muscles are the big, powerful muscles found at the back of your hip - the butt muscles!

Most muscles become tight from overuse or underuse, so your glutes will get tight if you are overusing them in exercise and they are not 'keeping up' with the activity or load. That means they may need additional strengthening to keep up or more rest/recovery periods to cope with the demand.

For underuse of your glutes it's often if you sit for too long. Sitting on your glutes means they aren't actively contracting. Muscles need regular contraction and stretch to maintain their health. So that means, try not to sit for longer than 30min in a row, alternating with standing and walking breaks to keep them active.

Muscle release such as massage, spikey ball release and foam rolling can provide short-term relief of symptoms, but addressing the root causes of tightness is often what helps stop things from becoming an ongoing issue!

Weak glutes can be the reason for other concerns:

• Associated with lower back pain, hip pain and runner’s knee

• Poor hip stability

• Pain getting in and out of the car