Do You Have Dead Butt Syndrome?

Many of the people at Urbanfitt could attest to my anal fixation. I know how to work bums and I know how to make them hurt the next day. It's not just a random fixation that is about looking hot in jeans. It's also based on the fact that we can't have healthy lower body biomechanics without good glute strength. Often times, physiotherapists or functional therapists will advise me to focus on glute and core strength when working with clients with any sort of lower body injuries or osteoarthritis etc. I could pull up numerous blog posts devoted to bum strength.

I love it when knowledge that has been circulating for years amongst experts finally gets mainstream coverage. The New York Times published an article titled "When the Diagnosis is Dead Butt Syndrome" on December 21st. Urbanfitt's senior trainer Sara-Clare passed along the link.

Here's an excerpt.

“A new thought in running medicine is that almost all lower extremity injuries, whether they involve your calf, your plantar fascia or your iliotibial band, are linked to the gluteus medius,” said Dr. Darrin Bright, a sports medicine physician with Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and medical director of that city’s marathon. “In the last five to 10 years, we’ve just realized how much of an important role the gluteus medius plays in stabilizing the hips and the pelvis in running.”

If you think of the pelvis as a cup, the muscles that attach to it, including the three gluteal muscles and the lower abdominals, interact in an intricate choreography to keep the cup upright when you run or walk. If these muscles are strong, the cup stays in place with no pain. If one or more of those muscles is weak, the smaller muscles around the hip take on pressure they weren’t designed to bear.

Of course, the answer for your current injury or undiagnosed pain might be more complicated than just fixing your glutes, it never hurts to work them well since they are stretched out and lazy whilst sitting at a desk. If you've been dealing with an injury without actually getting a proper assessment, we've got some great people to refer you to. Just drop us a line.

If you want to wake up your lazy bums, sign up for your first free class at Urbanfitt and fire up your asses!

help@urbanfitt.com or call 416.964.3309