What is Dead butt syndrome?

If you sit for long periods of time without getting up to stand, walk, or otherwise move around, you may be suffering from “dead butt syndrome” (DBS).  This illness is known clinically as gluteus medius tendinopathy, but it is also generally accepted as gluteal amnesia.

As the name implies, the disease is caused by the gluteal muscles effectively “forgetting” their primary function: supporting the pelvis and maintaining your body in appropriate alignment. Moving more and sitting less can help avoid or treat dead butt syndrome, but you should be warned that if not treated seriously, this strange-sounding condition might progress to additional issues.

Causes & Symptoms are:

A sedentary lifestyle characterized by excessive sitting or lying down and little activity can cause the gluteal muscles to lengthen and the hip flexors to stiffen.

After a lengthy period of sitting, the gluteal muscles (glutes) in your buttocks may become numb or even uncomfortable. However, walking and mild stretching can soon bring them back to life.  In more severe situations, dead butt syndrome symptoms might cause discomfort and stiffness elsewhere. You may feel discomfort in one or both hips, lower back, or knees. Pain may radiate down the leg, comparable to sciatica.

If DBS is not addressed, you may lose strength in your glutes and hip flexors. If only one hip is afflicted, laying down on that side may cause pain. DBS can also cause inflammation of the hip bursa, a fluid-filled sac that aids in hip joint mobility. Pain and swelling surrounding the afflicted region are also symptoms of bursitis (bursa inflammation). Pain in your lower legs might also come from balance and gait issues caused by DBS symptoms.

Physiotherapy treatment of dead butt syndrome:

Cryotherapy – using an ice pack or Cryo air and cold compression will ease pain and swelling.

Strengthening exercises –

• A Glute squeeze is an example of a strengthening workout. > Stand with your feet around hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Pull your abdominal muscles in and hold your shoulders back while strongly squeezing your glutes for around 3 seconds, then gently relax your glutes for 1 full repeat. Set a goal of three sets of 10 repetitions.
• Squats: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and steadily bend your knees until your thighs are virtually parallel to the ground. Return to your starting position cautiously. This is one repetition. Do 12 to 15 repetitions a few times a week.
• Leg lift; Lift your legs and lie down on a sturdy yet comfortable surface. Keeping your legs straight, steadily raise them together to a height where you can maintain them straight yet feel your muscles flex. Then, gradually lower them until your heels are a few inches off the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.
• Additionally, glute bridges.

Stretching exercises – such as

• Stretch your hamstrings by bending your right leg slightly bent and your left leg straight until you feel a tiny tug on your left hamstring. Hold for 10 seconds before switching legs. Work your way up to 30 seconds at a time holding the stretches.

The best exercises to target the gluteus medius muscle are – deadlift with weight, hip extension with weight, lunges, bridge, and weighted squats.

Soft tissue massage – this will reduce back and leg pain, and improve the Range of motion.

Posture correction exercises – use proper posture while sitting and stretch every day.

Apart from all these, we use electro therapy which utilizes various modalities that will help you in early pain reduction, improve healing, and regain functionality. those modalities are

• Extracorporeal shock wave therapy,
• The super inductive system,
• Cryo air,
• High-intensity class 4 laser.

Physiotherapists also use various manual techniques such as –

• Soft tissue mobilization,
• Dry needling,
• Cupping therapy. Etc.