“Having aching on the outside of the hip (commonly diagnosed as bursitis) is usually a late sign of weakness in the glutes, while pain in the front of the knee while running is also a common sign of weakness in the glutes,” says Matt Bayes, MD, sports medicine and regenerative orthopedic specialist at Bluetail Medical ...
If you're running gait or walking gait displays a noticeable side-to-side undulation in the level of the iliac crests of your pelvis, it's a good sign that your glutes are weak.
Pelvic Tilt
Another sign of weak glutes is the dreaded but oh-so-common pelvic tilt. Ideally, your pelvis can tilt freely but rest in a neutral position. “The pelvis should be able to move, however when someone has weak glutes, it is common to see a greater anterior or posterior pelvic tilt,” Powell says.
Weak glutes or glutes that aren't 'switched on' can result in over-compensation from the lower back muscles. This can in turn cause pain and, potentially, injury.
Weak glutes can be addressed through a variety of exercises, including squats, lunges, bridges, and hip abduction exercises. Strengthening these muscles can help improve posture, stability, and movement, and can help reduce the risk of lower back pain, knee pain, hip pain, and ankle pain.
A sedentary lifestyle causes the muscles to become lengthened and inactive. Prolonged sitting at the desk, long hours of driving, and being a couch potato can reduce the functionality of your gluteal muscles and are some of the major causes of lower back pain.
For less-serious cases of glute imbalances, this process might take 4 weeks. For more serious glute imbalances, the process could take 3-6 months. It's impossible to tell. Just be consistent and diligent and you should be able to restore proper function.
One such option? Take your steps up a notch by walking for glutes strength. Regular ol' walking does work your glutes (along with your hamstrings, quads, calves, and core), but certain tweaks to your form or technique can give your glutes muscles some extra love.
Our brain sends a signal to muscles close by when the Glutes cannot activate sufficiently, these muscles then cause a change in our walking pattern which can lead to increased stress and damage on our joints. This over activation and compensation is what leads to pain, muscle spasm and nerve pain.
The piriformis muscle
A common dysfunctional movement pattern that is prevalent in patients with lower back pain is an overactive piriformis muscle compensating for underactive gluteal muscles.
Your Gluteal strength and function can sometimes be the cause, and the solution to a number of problems. Hip pain, back pain and knee pain can all be caused by a weakness of your Gluteal muscle group.
Constant sitting weakens the gluteus medius, one of the three primary muscles in the buttock. It also tightens the hip flexors. The job of the gluteus medius is to stabilize your hips and pelvis.
Hip thrusts are a great way to target your glutes and increase your strength, speed and power. By encouraging optimal hip extension, incorporating hip thrusts into your lower body workout will also help to improve your squats and deadlifts – everyone's a winner.
Researchers found that those who performed gluteal squeezes increased their hip extension—or glute—strength by 16 percent compared to an 11 percent increase in those who performed glute bridges. Gluteal girth also increased in the group who performed gluteal squeezes.
Lower Cross Syndrome (LCS) is a common muscular imbalance that causes low back and hip pain. Often seen in individuals with a sedentary lifestyle, LCS involves muscles in the low back and hip flexors that become tight over time while the abdominal muscles and glutes become weak.
If your glutes are either too tight or too weak, your movement and posture will be affected, which can lead to pain. The glutes are so powerful that, as well as feeling this pain your back, you might feel it in your hips, knees or even your feet.
The most effective exercises for sculpting the glutes include hip thrusts, step-ups, lunges, squats, bridges, kicks, and deadlifts. As you build strength in this area, you can incorporate weights into these glute exercises for even better results.
Weak hip flexors may make climbing stairs, running or even walking on a flat surface difficult or painful. It can also can cause other muscles in the area to work hard to compensate. This changes your gait (the way you walk).
Lie down flat on the back, bringing one leg to the chest, using the hands. If it is difficult to keep the leg up close to the chest after letting go of it, a weak hip flexor may be the culprit.
GM strength is typically assessed using a prone hip extension task, with the knee flexed to 90 ° (to minimize force contribution of the hamstrings, through active insufficiency). This is typically performed via manual testing for muscle strength, but we encourage the use where possible with a hand-held dynamometer.
If you gluteus minimus muscles are weak, you will be prone to injuries of the lower extremity, which includes the hips, knees and ankles. It can even cause bad back pain. Of course, with weak glutes, comes poor hip stability, which means bad balance.