Gluteal Strain

What is a gluteal strain?

Your gluteal muscles are the muscles in your buttocks. A strained muscle is when the muscle fibers are stretched or torn.

How does it occur?

A gluteal strain usually occurs with running or jumping. It is often seen in hurdlers or dancers.

What are the symptoms?

A gluteal strain causes pain in the buttocks. You may have pain when walking up or down stairs and pain when sitting. You have pain moving your leg backward.

How is it diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will examine your hips, buttocks, and legs and find that you have tenderness in the gluteal muscles.

How is it treated?

Initially, you should put ice packs on your injury for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for 2 or 3 days or until the pain goes away. Your healthcare provider may prescribe an anti-inflammatory medicine. Adults aged 65 years and older should not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine for more than 7 days without their healthcare provider's approval. You will be given a set of rehabilitation exercises.

While you are recovering from your injury, you will need to change your sport or activity to one that does not make your condition worse. For example, if running causes you pain, change to swimming.

How long will the effects last?

The length of recovery depends on many factors such as your age, health, and if you have had a previous injury. Recovery time also depends on the severity of the injury. A mild gluteal strain may recover within a few weeks, whereas a severe injury may take 6 weeks or longer to recover. You need to stop doing the activities that cause pain until the muscle has healed. If you continue doing activities that cause pain, your symptoms will return and it will take longer to recover.

When can I return to my normal activities?

Everyone recovers from an injury at a different rate. Return to your activities will be determined by how soon your muscle recovers, not by how many days or weeks it has been since your injury has occurred. In general, the longer you have symptoms before you start treatment, the longer it will take to get better. The goal of rehabilitation is to return you to your normal activities as soon as is safely possible. If you return too soon you may worsen your injury.

You may safely return to your normal activities when, starting from the top of the list and progressing to the end, each of the following is true:

• You have full range of motion on the injured side compared to the uninjured side.
• You have full strength of the injured side compared to the uninjured side.
• You can walk straight ahead without pain or limping.

How can a gluteal strain be prevented?

Gluteal strains are best prevented by warming up properly and doing stretching exercises before your activity.