Gluteal muscles play a major role in stabilizing the pelvis during walking, rotational low back movements and transferring forces from your limbs to your back. If your gluteal muscles are weak they do not provide enough support for your lower back to move through all the above motions. There is a correlation between weak gluteals and low back pain. The gluteus medius and gluteus maximus are weaker in people with low back pain compared to non-affected individuals or the unaffected side.
Gluteal strengthening has long been part of a multimodal treatment of low back pain. It can also be used to decrease the likelihood of developing low back pain by ensuring that there is an effective transfer of forces between your low back and limbs.
Written by: Melanie Jamali – Physiotherapist