Do you have tight glutes? This blog can help.

Do you use a lacrosse ball for myofascial release? You should! Here’s why and how to. 

Its that time of year again.  The off-season for runners has ended and most of us have begun training for our spring races.  Here in the GTA many runners are eyeing the Chilly half-marathon in March, High Park Spring Run-off in April and the GLF Toronto marathon events in May.  We are a few weeks into our training plans by now and the increase in daily mileage and intensity is beginning to take a toll on the muscles of our legs, hips and glutes.

      

To manage this muscle soreness the use of a foam roller is often employed as a form of self-myofascial release (self-massage). This seems to work well on the longer muscles of our legs (e.g. quads, hamstring, calves), but not quite as well on the smaller muscles of the hip and glutes.  There are several key muscle groups in your gluteal deltoid that can be hard to release with a foam roller alone, and left untreated can lead to back, hip and the general pain in the butt nuisances we all have dealt with at some point. 

 

Your gluteal deltoid is made up of your gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The glute max is your main powerhouse muscle, while the glute med and glute min are very important for stabilization and proper form.  A runner who wants to perform well and remain injury free will need to strengthen and stretch all of these muscle groups.  Exercises like squats, banded bridges and clams will activate these muscles groups, but when they become sore and tight sometimes stretching alone is not enough for gluteal recovery, and the foam roller is awkward to use in this region of your body. This is where the lacrosse ball comes into play. 

The lacrosse ball is small, round and dense - the perfect size and shape for getting into the curves and trickier parts of your gluteal regions.  For best technique, I like to stand next to a wall, press the lacrosse ball into the desired portion of my glutes and gently work in circles until the trigger-point knot is found.  This may be intense at first, especially if you’re sore and have never done this before, so vary the time and pressure of the massage to a point you can manage.    

Its important to work the entire gluteal region, noticing the different areas where the glute med and min extend around to the outer/lateral region of the glute. This area is often overlooked with too much focus spent on the larger glute max. Keep pressing in and around the entire gluteal region, you know when you've hit a sore spot.  When you do, take a deep breathe and keep working the area until the triggerpoint is released and soreness subsides. This may take several sessions over a few days depending on how tight you are.  Take your time to massage the entire gluteal deltoid and you will be running pain free and in full stride once again.  Good luck and I hope to see you at the road running events this spring!