Buzz
Amnesia usually affects the brain, but did you know it can impact your butt too? Gluteal amnesia, also called dead butt syndrome, can cause pain and decrease your performance in various activities. Sitting for long periods is often blamed for this, as it can lead to muscle inactivity. Here's what happens when your glutes 'forget' their role and how to prevent it.
What Is Dead Butt Syndrome?
Gluteal amnesia is exactly as it sounds: your glutes forget their job—supporting our posture and helping us move forward when we walk. The gluteal muscles become neurologically suppressed and fail to activate when necessary, says Jeff Fishel, MS, DC, a chiropractor in Arcola, Illinois.
This may seem minor at first, but the effects can be significant. "When the glutes are weak, other body parts may take on extra strain, potentially leading to injury," says W. Kelton Vasileff, MD, a sports medicine physician and orthopedic surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Tight hips, hamstring strains, lower back pain, and knee cartilage injuries are just some possible consequences. Gluteal amnesia can also reduce your performance in activities like weightlifting, running, or tennis, Fishel adds.
What Triggers Gluteal Amnesia?
The primary cause of gluteal amnesia is a lack of physical activity (hence the nickname 'chair ass'). "It tends to affect people who are inactive or those who remain seated for long stretches without moving," explains Jericho McMatthews, Beachbody super trainer in Los Angeles and creator of Morning Meltdown 100. If you spend long hours at a desk, commute for extended periods, or work in commercial driving, the risk of developing dead butt syndrome is very real.
Side sleepers, take note: "Sleeping on your side in a fetal position can contribute to muscle weakness in your glutes," says Dr. Vasileff.
How to Identify the Symptoms of Dead Butt
Dead butt syndrome (when your glutes stop firing) comes with a few obvious signs. These include an anterior pelvic tilt (you'll notice this if you look at yourself from the side in a mirror and see that your belt buckle points slightly downwards instead of straight ahead) and unexpected cramping or pain in your hamstrings during workouts, according to McMatthews. Tight hip flexors, bad posture, and weak abdominal muscles are often linked to this issue as well.
To check for dead butt syndrome, try performing a pelvic bridge on the floor, suggests Fishel. Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your ankles aligned under your knees. From here, raise your hips until they are in line with your knees. If you feel any discomfort or tension in your hamstrings or lower back, it’s likely you have gluteal amnesia.
4 Effective Exercises to Activate Your Glutes
The great news is that you can both prevent and fix this condition by taking regular walking breaks from sitting and choosing stairs over elevators when you can, says McMatthews. You can even discreetly engage your glutes while seated by sitting up straight, pulling your shoulders back gently, and tightening your abdominals. To do this, slightly tuck your tailbone and alternate squeezing each buttock for five seconds, repeating ten times per side (20 times total).
Try these four exercises, designed by McMatthews, two to three times a week, ensuring you rest for at least 24 to 48 hours between sessions:
1. Glute Bridges
Lie flat on your back with your arms at your sides, palms pressing into the floor. Keep your knees bent with your feet flat and hip-width apart. Gently tuck your pelvis and push your heels into the ground as you lift your hips directly upwards toward the ceiling. Squeeze your glutes as you rise. Lower your hips back down and repeat 15 to 20 times.
2. Rainbow Taps
Start on all fours with your knees beneath your hips and your wrists below your shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine and engage your core. Extend your right leg straight behind you, as if reaching to touch the back wall. Engage your glutes to lift your right leg up and across your body to the left, tapping the floor just outside your left leg. Then, move it in an arch—keeping it at or below hip height—towards the right, tapping the floor with your toe again. Complete 15 to 20 reps before switching sides.
3. Tabletop Hip Adduction
Get on all fours, with your knees directly under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders. Keep your core tight and your spine extended. Slowly raise your right leg to about hip height (imagine a dog at a fire hydrant), then lower it. Repeat 15 to 20 times before switching to the other side.
4. Side Plank Clamshell Thrust
Lie on your right side, supporting yourself on your right elbow with your elbow aligned under your shoulder and your knees bent to 90 degrees, stacked on top of each other. Press into your forearm to raise your hips directly toward the ceiling as you engage your glutes and thrust your hips forward. While doing this, lift your left knee towards the ceiling, keeping your heels together. Lower and repeat 12 to 15 times before switching sides.
