Are you Activating your Glutes?

Firstly, let’s establish where and what your glutes actually are! Your glutes or gluteal muscles refer to the muscles in your buttock region. Specifically, there is the gluteus maximus (the largest muscle which provides most of your power), the gluteus medius and minimus (two smaller muscles which are very important in stability and control).

Your glutes are essential in controlling your hip and lower leg positions. If they become weak or do not switch on when they are supposed to, other regions of your body will have to work harder to compensate. This can lead to pain or injury in areas such as your lower back, hips, knees and ankles as they are now taking on more load than they are supposed to!

Your glutes are also the biggest powerhouse in your lower body so making sure they switch on properly is essential for explosive speed, power and strength – regardless of whether you are a weekend warrior or a professional athlete.   So how do you know if you have weak or inactive glutes? Some key identifiers may be if you experience recurring hamstring or knee injuries, low back pain when doing exercise or difficulty reaching your full athletic potential when playing your sport. You may notice that when you walk one of your hips drops down towards the ground ever so slightly with each or every second step. You may notice that when you stand you prefer to keep all your weight on one leg and drop the other hip. Or you may have noticed when you squat or stand up from a sitting position your knee likes to drift in towards your midline. If you lead a predominantly inactive lifestyle where you spend a large portion of your time sitting, you may also have weak and inactive glutes because you aren’t using them!

Call 9873 2770 or Book Online (https://bookings.nookal.com/bookings/company/39XKS) today to have one of our physiotherapists assess your glutes! Stay tuned for more glute talk.