Pain in the butt

My recent strain in the glutes  has taught me a lot about the muscles in our butt and hips.  Apparently, our butt muscle is the strongest muscle in our whole body. Who would've thought of that? I would've gone for the thigh muscles.  There are generally two forms of pain that occur in the butt. The first one is at the low end of the butt muscle where the hamstring muscle connects with the butt muscle. This is called the proximal hamstring strain.  This comes from pushing the muscles too hard or weakness in the surrounding muscles. Speed work and uphill running can worsen the pain. You may also experience the pain just sitting on your 'sitting bones' throughout the day. This area has low blood supply which means it will take this pain longer to heal.


The second kind of pain results from a strain to the piriformis muscle that runs behind the hip joint and helps in hip rotation. The pain may feel like it is deep inside the buttock muscles. It may also radiate down the back of the leg due to rubbing against the sciatic nerve.  The piriformis can get tight due to too much sitting causing it to get stiff and not allow enough hip rotation.  There is a multitude of other muscles within the glutes and around to the front of the hips all of which need to work together to propel the body and rotate the hips as you lift off one foot, land on the other, lift off now from this foot and land on the first.  The key is that the glutes should be strong and the hips flexible.  So it is important to perform exercises and stretches to open and stretch the glutes and hips.

It goes without saying that these problems may or may not show up when running a couple of miles. As you increase the mileage and intensity the imbalances and weaknesses that do not show up in lower mileages get amplified - a bit like your car which may run fine at 30 miles an hour running groceries, but when you go on an eight hour trip on the highway you start noticing vibrations and noises which showed no signs of their presence during short trips at low speeds.

Here are a few stretches for better hips and glutes.

Standing hamstring stretch


Stand with the right leg on a stool or chair. Bend the left knee slightly. Holding the back straight lean forward slowly until you feel a good stretch on the back of your right thigh. Hold for 15-20 seconds. Repeat with left leg. Do six sets.




Lying glute stretch

Lie on your back with your legs raised with thighs vertical to the floor and knees at 90 degrees.  Slowly cross your left leg over the right to rest the left ankle on the right thigh. Grab your left knee with both hands and pull gently towards chest. Pull until you feel a good stretch in your left glutes and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with right leg. Do three sets.



Piriformis stretch

Lie on your back with legs bent at the knees. Bring your right leg up and rest the ankle on the left thigh. Reach your left thigh or knee through inside with both hands and pull your left leg slowly towards your chest. Stop when you feel a good stretch in the glutes and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with left leg. Do three sets.


Pigeon stretch

There are several forms of pigeon stretch. All share the feature that one leg is stretched out in the back touching the floor on the front of the leg and the other leg is folded and rests across the torso.  Beginners may need some figuring out to get into the basic position.  It may be helpful to kneel down on the floor with your weight supported on both forearms out in the front - not on the hands. Slowly rest your hips on the right side, bend your right leg across the torso while stretching the left leg behind. Adjust position so the left leg is fully stretched out back and the right leg is folded across the torso to a good stretch around the glutes and hips. Support the upper body on the arms or hands. Hold to a good stretch for 20-30 seconds. Repeat with the left leg.

This is a simpler form of a yoga pose eka pada rajakapotasana.


Hip flexor stretch

There are several ways you can do this stretch.  Here is one version. Kneel on the floor on one knee with hands on either side of the foot. Extend the other leg back as in the picture.  Push your hips forward or slightly down to feel a stretch on the front of the left hip. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with the other side.  You could also do this stretch with the left knee on the floor as well as in other variations. Pick what works best for you.


They are now part of my regular regimen, as a pain in the butt can be a real pain in the butt :-)


Happy running.

If I can run, u can run