After a long day at the office or hours spent in the car, it’s normal to feel a little stiff. It could be that your hip flexors and lower back are simply tight. But you could also be suffering from a potentially debilitating condition called gluteal amnesia or dead butt syndrome.
“The name may sound silly, but the side effects are serious,” says Jane Konidis, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “The gluteus maximus is one of the most powerful muscles in the body and the greatest shock absorber,” she explains. “If it’s not working properly, it can cause a range of problems, from hamstring tears and sciatica to shin splints and knee arthritis.”
Gluteal amnesia occurs when the muscles in your butt become so weak from inactivity that they seem to forget how to work, meaning they stop working or become slow to activate. It’s not like a leg or arm “goes to sleep” because of a pinched nerve; you won’t feel any tingling. Some people may feel a dull ache when they sit, but most people don’t feel any pain until they go jogging or hiking.
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According to Konidis, soft glutes can lead to increased tension in other muscles and joints, particularly in the lower back and knees. The pain can particularly affect runners and rotational athletes, such as golfers and tennis players. (Tiger Woods was forced to retire from competition because of the condition.)
Just like learning to engage your core, learning to engage your glutes can prevent this. But it doesn’t come naturally to most people, even those with strong butts. If you spend hours sitting, it’s important to learn how to recognize when your glutes are off and how to get them working again.
What causes the ass to stop
The glutes are actually three muscles located on the outside and back of the hips that stabilize the hip, lift the leg and rotate the thigh. Together, they act as a foundation for the spine, keeping the pelvis and core stable, Konidis said.
“If the glutes were truly dead, we wouldn’t be able to stand up,” she said.
When you take a step forward, your glutes need to fire first. But when you sit, the muscles in the front of your hip and thigh give them a rest. Repeated eight-hour days at the office can cause a delay in the neurons that signal them to fire, says Chris Kolba, a physical therapist at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Over time, this cycle can cause the glutes to weaken, which has been linked to lower back and knee pain, especially in active people.
How to Know if You Have Buttock Amnesia
When your biceps or quads are firing, you can see them bulge. However, with your glutes, just like your core, it’s harder to spot, Konidis said. You might think your butt is strong because you can do 25 squats, but your quads and lower back could be doing all the work.
Kolba said that if you regularly sit for more than two to three hours at a time,…
