Has anyone ever told you that you are a pain in the *behind*?

From now on, your comeback to the first statement made by another person, is that you could be suffering from a condition called ‘Gluteal Tendinopathy’.

Do you actually have pain in your behind? Who’s fault is it, and why does it happen?

What is Gluteal tendinopathy?

This condition is characterised by pain and inflammation of the tendon portion of the gluteal muscles where they attach into the bony point, most commonly on the outer portion of the hip/thigh bone.

What are the gluteal muscles? These are the muscles that you sit on. They make up some of the power house of your leg movements. (Picture of gluteal mm)

Who’s fault is it? And why does it happen?

A tendinopathy, is a fancy banner term for an “overuse injury”

• This means that the main cause of this condition can be repetitive activities like walking, running, swimming or certain exercises that incorporate these muscles significantly.
• Other causes can be a change in activity
• For example, you may have done walking every day for the last 20 yrs on a flat surface, however this last week you started walking hills, and now you have a pain in your “behind”
• Have you recently changed your shoes?
• Maybe you have just started walking/running, and have never done activity like this before.
• You may have difficulty engaging or controlling movement at the hip/gluteal region that is driving the onset of this condition.

What am I likely to feel with this condition?

• Pain in the gluteal region toward the outer portion near where the muscle and hip bone meet.
• Pain on the start of activity
• This pain gets better as you push through movements. This is due to fluid being able to move in and out of the tendon, enabling lubrication of the tendon
• Stiffness and or weakness after activity at the site.

What is the outcome?

• Early diagnosis and management can help minimise the length of time this condition has to take hold.
• This condition can take between 6 weeks recovery in mild cases to 3-6 months in more severe cases.

What can you do to help Gluteal tendinopathy?

While a mild degree of rest can be helpful at the start, exercise has been shown to be most effective in uncomplicated cases of Gluteal tendinopathy.

These Exercises may include:

When performing exercises, the catch is that it will likely cause some of your familiar pain at the start. It may even require you to meet fatigue from the exercise to gain the benefit from it.

Often, things feel like they get worse before they get better.

Other things you can do:

• Alter activities that are causing the onset, gradually build up to a change in activities
• Wear in shoes progressively
• Warm up before activities
• If you sleep on your side, place a pillow in between your knees.

What can Osteopathy do for you?

Our trained Osteopaths are skilled in examining you and diagnosing the problem at hand.

It is important to remember that there are many diagnoses that can have the same symptoms or presentation, so it’s important to get assessed properly to ensure appropriate management.

An Osteopath may provide the following:

• soft tissue massage
• repetitive/ rhythmic movement of joints
• dry needling
• advice
• a rehabilitation program that is suitable for you.

These types of therapy are designed to:

• Improve range of motion
• Potentially decrease pain
• Increase fluid in and out of the joint/ affected area
• Improve outcomes

Every procedure carries risk, these should be discussed with your Osteopath as to whether any treatment is suitable for you the individual.

This advice is general in nature and not to be constituted as medical advice.

If you would like help with your Gluteal Tendinopathy you can book an appointment online or by calling 9736 9408.

Written by Dr. Schae Harrison (Osteopath)