Dead Butt Syndrome -Are you spending too much time Sitting???

What will happen if you keep sitting for hours in a day and do not take essential breaks , or practice walking or stair climbing or any other physical activity? The answer to this is your gluteal muscles forget their work , get's inhibited and go into what we call as ' Gluteal Amnesia' leading to Dead Butt Syndrome (DBS).

Clinically if we say Dead Butt Syndrome is also referred to Gluteus Medius Tendinopathy , i.e. inflammation of the Gluteus Medius Muscle tendon which could make that area sore, numb, or even make it difficult to lie on side .

We will talk majorly about 2 muscles of the butt - Gluteus Maximus & Gluteus Medius.

Causes Of DBS

1. Over tight hip flexors muscles ( Iliacus, Psoas Major & Rectus Femoris) is one of the primary reasons of Dead Butt Syndrome, it leads to excessive Anterior Pelvic tilt making the glutes furthermore inhibited.

2. Continuous sitting , without taking breaks or stretching the muscles can also lead to numb gluteal muscles , the fibers of the muscle loose their elasticity also.

3. Also, if the tendon of gluteus medius muscle gets inflamed it will lead to DBS.

* It is seen that people who run a lot or jog a lot they are more prone to DBS , hence stretching is a must pre & post your workout.

Symptoms of DBS

1. Pain in the hip (especially central part of the gluteus maximus muscle).

2. Difficulty lying on the painful side of the hip.

3. The bursa can also get inflamed and there might be slight swelling and pain over that area.

4. Pain in all the weight bearing activity at the hip like, climbing stairs. running or even walking.

5. The pain can radiate down like Sciatica till your calf , could be due the tight gluteus maximus and piriformis muscles.

6. The gluteus medius tendinopathy might induce waddling to your gait ( walking like a duck) and can give you knee pain.

7. Sore hip can lead to chronic low back ache and sacro iliac pain making it difficult to even turn in the bed.

How to know whether you have DBS

1. Wear your belt and stand looking sideways in front of the mirror. Look at your belt if it is tilting forward means you have an anterior pelvic tilt , if the belt is parallel to the ground means you have neutral pelvis.

2. Stand in front of the mirror , lift one of your leg from the ground- If the pelvis dips down on the side of the body where the leg is lifted, that indicates weakness in the gluteus medius on the opposite side. also when you are walking you will observe that your pelvis is dropping the other side in each step , known as Trendelenburg Gait.

3. Also whenever you are doing any workout especially Deadlift all the load is taken by your hamstring and back muscles and your gluteus are not engaged during the activity.

How to prevent

STRENGTHEN YOUR BUTT !!!!