What are you to do when you have a literal pain in your butt? You know, that sharp/stabbing or dull/nagging ache that is present when sitting, standing, or doing just about anything. Is that pain your glut/piriformis, the sciatic nerve, or some referred pain from the low back? To know for sure, further investigation must be done.

Anytime a person has a pain in their butt, the initial assessment must examine the low back. It is important to know IF the issue is traveling from above. If so, then the low back is where to begin. This could include hands-on treatment, repeated movements, or specific exercises to strengthen the back.

If unable to reproduce or reduce the butt pain while assessing the back then the examination should shift to looking at the hip complex (including the glut muscles). It is common for weakness of the hip/glut to result in a pain in the butt. More in a moment on this.

People often attribute their butt pain to the “sciatic nerve”, but the issue is often more complex. While the nerve may be irritated, why is it angry? The 2^nd most commonly blamed issue for butt pain is the piriformis. This is a small “helper” muscle deep in the glut complex. It is true this muscle can become irritated, but again why? It is a helper muscle so it should not be doing the “heavy lifting”. But when the main glut muscle is weak, the piriformis then has to work harder. Eventually this increased effort can lead to pain.

So back to the key issue…glut weakness. People today spend too much time sitting on their butt which can result in weakness IF a person does not engage in enough physical activity to offset all the sitting. So…Strong Gluts are the solution for many body aches and pains. But none moreso than that literal pain in your butt.

So next time you experience that pain in your butt, consider the need to strengthen those glut muscles. Not sure if this is your problem or not? Then time to consult a muscle and joint specialist who can evaluate and prescribe the best plan of action for you. Click the following LINK to connect with an expert today.