I have specialized in learning the best stretching, trigger point and foam rolling techniques for your entire body.
This guide will give you the tools to improve your glute health. That’s my promise to you.
Below, we’ll walk you through:
- Glute anatomy overview
- Common glute issues and symptoms
- Effective treatments including stretching, foam rolling, and trigger point release
Let’s get into it.
Glute Anatomy: Maximus, Medius & Minimus
Your glutes consist of three major muscles:
- Gluteus Maximus – the largest muscle in your body, responsible for hip extension and powerful movements
- Gluteus Medius – sits on the outside of your hip, important for stability and balance
- Gluteus Minimus – the smallest, deepest glute, helps with internal rotation and pelvic positioning
Understanding which muscle is causing pain (or holding tension) is key.
My trigger point guide can help with that: Trigger Points in the Glutes: A Deep Dive into Medius, Maximus & Minimus
Common Glute Issues: What’s Causing Your Pain?
Pain in the glute region can show up as:
- Tightness or deep soreness after sitting
- Pain with walking, running, or squatting
- Sciatica-like symptoms that shoot down the leg
- Instability or weakness in the hips
- Pain in your glutes (duh), knees and lower back!
Not sure where it’s coming from?
This article will help with Piriformis specific issues and this one will talk about targeting the Glute Maximus and Glute Medius.
Your Glute Health Toolkit
I like to break glute recovery into 4 key treatment categories:
1. Stretching
Tight glutes can tug on the pelvis, restrict hip motion, and cause pain in your lower back and legs.
Think about it like this – the hip is supposed to be one of the most mobile joints in the body. Tightness in that area, will cause other areas to compensate which will affect your biomechanics over time.
Use glute stretching to increase flexibility and release tension in the glute max, med, and surrounding muscles. This can allow for better movement, especially when paired with a mobility practice like foam rolling your glutes or trigger pointing your glutes.
If you have restrictions in your ability to get up and down off the ground, a standing or seated glute stretch may be better for you!
2. Foam Rolling
Foam rolling your glutes is a precursor to trigger point therapy. Some people find trigger point therapy too intense to start with. So try this first!
Foam rolling improves circulation, reduces soreness, and helps reset tight or overactive muscle tissue.
But not all techniques are equal — and foam rolling spreads out the force that you use when trying to fix these muscles which will make it harder to isolate a single muscle.
if you think the problem goes beyond your glutes, try this foam rolling guide for the glutes hips and hamstrings.
3. Trigger Point Therapy
I swear by trigger point therapy (and mobility/stretching practice). It’s my secret to performing at my best and maintaining longevity in my sporting career.
Knots in the glutes can refer pain to your lower back, sacrum, hamstrings, or your knees. Identifying and releasing these trigger points in the glutes is a great way to get relief.
The glutes can be tricky to target because there are so many muscles involved. That’s why I broke it down into a few articles:
- Trigger Points in the Glutes
- General info on How to Trigger Point in the Glutes
- Piriformis Trigger Pointing
- Gluteus Medius Trigger Pointing
4. Strengthening and Mobilizing (Coming Soon)
Once your glutes are moving freely, the next step is building resilience. I will release strength training guides to help you build glute power that supports posture, protects the spine, and improves athletic performance soon.
Need Relief Fast?
Pairing trigger point therapy with stretching is the best and most effective way to improve quick. Fix your glute and explore my other articles using my body guides drop down menu above.
As always, let me know if you have any questions!
Good luck!
-Nick