Tap Tap Tap
Gluteal Amnesia -- aka Dead Butt Syndrome -- is Real
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
I couldn’t believe it when I read the New York Time’s headline. I knew it. Gluteal amnesia, aka “Dead Butt Syndrome,” is a real thing. I’ve been going around for years polling family, friends and physical therapists about whether they engaged their glutes when they walked because I was pretty sure I didn’t. I just got weird looks when I initiated the conversation, but gluteal amnesia might explain why my joints were wearing out prematurely. I was pretty sure I way over-relied on my knees to hoist myself up stairs. My working theory on why I might be doing this: those nice young springy joints were the path of least resistance for my lazy behind-the-scenes muscles. Except those joints are now neither young nor springy.
But now…validation. I wasn’t out in left field. Dead Butt Syndrome proves it is entirely possible to bypass that major powerhouse of muscles which can happen from sitting all day or otherwise not using your glutes. Without continuous activation, glutes can “forget” how to fire and function. Even golfing legend Tiger Woods has been guilty of this, sometimes having to
sit out of tournaments because his i
nactive glutes forced his lower back to compensate.
Muscles that forget how to fire and function immediately makes me think of my elderly mother who has Parkinson’s.* When she could still kind of walk for short distances I’d stand behind her and hold on to her gait belt to keep her from falling over. Then we would try to walk. Sometimes she could get one leg to take a step forward. Other times she’d just stand there and nothing would happen, so to get her going I’d bump the front of my knee against the back of hers as a reminder to her leg. Then she’d take a step. It would go like that. Sometimes our entire walk to the car was me bumping my right knee into the back of her right knee then bumping my left knee into the back of her left knee. We bumped our way down the sidewalk like some kind of crazy variation of a three-legged race.
Gluteals that forget how to fire is no joke. Dr. Jane Konidis, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota says, “The name [Dead Butt Syndrome] sounds silly, but the side effects are serious. The gluteus maximus is one of the strongest muscles in the body and biggest shock absorbers,” she explains. “If it’s not working properly, it can cause a domino chain of issues, from hamstring tears and sciatic to shin splints and arthritis in the knees.”
How to tell if your glutes have forgotten how to fire
Don’t be fooled if you can pull off 25 squats; your quads and lower back might be doing all the work according to Dr. Konidis. The easiest test for telling is to stand on one leg and let the other one dangle. Then shift your weight over to the dangling leg, squeezing that cheek with gusto. You should feel the muscle firming, even if only subtly. If it’s weak, it may take several tries before you feel it fire.
How to get your glutes to turn back on
First off, get your butt out of the chair every 30 – 50 minutes, even if you have to set an alarm. Take a 30-second break and march in place, or do some hip circles or squats, being very intentional about squeezing your glutes with each rep. When you’re doing a full workout, throw in lunges, clamshells, hip thrusts, side planks, bridges and one-leg bridges.
Here is a great 40-second video jam packed with ideas for getting those glutes firing.
Beyond exercises, there is another way to remind your glutes to fire: just tap on them. Yes, just tap on them. According to Dr. Konidis, that little bit of stimulation helps the muscle recall what it’s there to do. Now that I know that, when I’m out walking I just give myself a little tap, tap, tap every so often to see if there are any slackers back there. Usually there are so they spring action like they’ve been caught, head on desk, sleeping on the job.
I keep coming back to the tap and how a tiny little tap can bring us back. It’s amazing that bumping the back of Mom’s knee could, for a while, remind her body what to do. That makes me want to jump up right now and do a grand gluteal squeeze in celebration of butt muscles that know how to fire. Feel free to engage and activate!
Fire away,
E
* This article is shared with my mother’s permission.