All About Gluteal Amnesia (‘Dead Butt Syndrome')

Health Line

5 hours ago

Dead butt syndrome (DBS) makes the buttocks feel numb or sore. It can happen if you spend a lot of time sitting without getting up to move around. Stretching and movement can help.
If you spend hours a day sitting and not getting up frequently to stand, walk, or otherwise move around, you may have experienced a problem commonly known as dead butt syndrome (DBS).
The clinical term for this condition is gluteus medius tendinopathy, though it may be referred to as gluteal amnesia.
As you might expect from its common name, the condition results from the gluteal muscles essentially 'forgetting' their main purpose: supporting the pelvis and keeping your body in proper alignment.
Moving more and sitting less can help prevent or treat dead butt syndrome, but you need to be aware that this odd-sounding condition can lead to other problems if not taken seriously.
Keep reading to learn about the symptoms of DBS as well as how to treat and prevent it.
Symptoms of DBS
After sitting for a long time, the gluteal muscles (glutes) in your buttocks can feel numb or even a little sore. But walking and some mild stretching can help you recover more quickly.
If DBS is severe, the symptoms of dead butt syndrome can cause pain and stiffness to radiate elsewhere. You may experience pain in:
one or both hips
your lower back
knees
Pain may shoot down the leg, similar to the way sciatica feels.
A loss of strength in your glutes and hip flexors can also occur if DBS isn't treated. If one hip in particular is affected, it may hurt just by lying down on that side.
DBS can lead to inflammation of the hip bursa, a fluid-filled sac that eases movement within the hip joint. Other symptoms of bursitis (bursa inflammation) include pain and swelling around the affected area.
Pain in your lower legs can also result from balance and gait problems triggered by DBS symptoms.
You might change your usual stride to help ease hip and back pain when you walk or run. However, this can put a strain on your knees, ankles, and feet that they're not used to, causing soreness to emerge far from your butt.
Causes of DBS
Multiple factors can cause symptoms of DBS.
Contributing factors include changes in load, or when the muscles go from sitting for a long period to strenuous exercise.
Not getting enough movement, including if you spend hours sitting or lying down, can cause the gluteal muscles to lengthen and the hip flexors, or hip muscles, to tighten.
Hip flexors are muscles that run from your lower back, through your pelvis, and across the front of your thigh. They're responsible for moving your legs when you walk, run, and climb stairs.
If the hip flexors aren't stretched, just taking a brisk walk can trigger an episode of dead butt syndrome. Allowing your hip flexors to tighten and your gluteal muscles to lengthen can lead to inflammation of the gluteal medius tendons.
The gluteus medius is one of the smaller muscles in the buttocks, and the tendons that support it are vulnerable to this kind of injury.
Other factors that can increase the risk
Risk factors can include:
a sedentary lifestyle
a job where you sit for long periods of time
prior injuries
slouching
People who run a lot are at a higher risk of DBS if they spend too much of their non-running time at a desk. Distance running, or any strenuous exercise, can strain muscles and tendons that are in the same position for long periods. Other types of athletes and ballet dancers are also at higher risk.
Falling or other injuries can also make DBS more likely.
Diagnosing DBS
If you experience symptoms of DBS, especially during weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or stair climbing, it's best to talk with a doctor.
A sports medicine specialist or orthopedist may also be a good choice to evaluate your symptoms and, if necessary, start you on a treatment program.
The doctor will review your symptoms and medical history, and examine the areas experiencing pain and stiffness. You may be asked to move or stretch your legs in different positions and share any changes in symptoms.
They may also order an X-ray or MRI, but only to rule out other potential conditions. These types of imaging tests aren't especially effective for diagnosing DBS.
Treating DBS
The proper treatment for dead butt syndrome will depend on how far it has progressed and on your physical activity goals. If you're a runner trying to get back on track as soon as possible, you'll want to work closely with a sports medicine specialist to return to running safely.
For most people, including runners and other athletes, the usual treatment involves a break from exercise or sports routine. Depending on how severe your DBS is, doctors may also recommend:
applying ice or a heating pad for short sessions to reduce pain
compression and elevation, if a doctor recommends it
rest, including avoiding activities that cause pain
gentle stretching and exercise, to help stretch sore muscles and support healing
physical therapy to improve flexibility and strength
massage therapy to help relieve tight muscles
You may also take certain medications to relieve pain. These can include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as:
aspirin
ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
If you've had a serious injury to the tendons and muscles, a doctor may recommend injected treatments like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, which may support healing, or corticosteroids, which may reduce inflammation.
With PRP, you're injected with a concentration of your own platelets, the types of blood cells involved with blood clots and healing. The injections are done at the site of your injury. They're meant to speed the healing process.
Shockwave therapy, which involves delivering acoustic (shock) waves to the site of an injury, may also be an option to stimulate healing.
Preventing DBS
The simplest preventive strategy for dead butt syndrome is to break up long periods of sitting with short walks and movement, such as getting up each hour. Going up and down stairs can be particularly helpful.
If you need a reminder, set a timer on your phone or computer to alert you every hour or half hour. The movement can help stimulate blood flow to the tight areas and revive your 'dead butt.'
In general, try to take the stairs as often as possible. Not only does this activate the muscles and tendons affected by DBS, but it's a good weight-bearing and cardiovascular workout.
Exercises for DBS
You can do several simple exercises a few times a week to help preserve the strength and flexibility of your glutes, hip flexors, and hip joints.
It's best to talk with a healthcare professional before beginning an exercise routine for DBS. They may want to rule out other causes of your pain to make sure exercise won't worsen it.
Hamstring stretches
There are several ways to stretch the muscles in the back of your thigh, but a simple one is to stand with your left leg in front of your right.
With your right leg slightly bent and your left leg straight, bend slightly at the waist until you feel a slight pull on your left hamstring.
Hold for 10 seconds, then switch legs.
Work up to holding the stretches for 30 seconds at a time.
Glute squeeze
You can also do this exercise standing up.
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
Pull your abdominal muscles in and hold your shoulders back while you squeeze your glutes tightly for about 3 seconds.
Then relax your glutes slowly for 1 full repetition.
Aim for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Squats
This exercise works your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, abdominal muscles, and calves. You can do it with or without weights.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
With your core muscles tightened, slowly bend your knees so your thighs are almost parallel to the ground.
Then slowly return to your starting position. This is 1 repetition.
Do 12 to 15 reps a couple of days a week.
For added resistance, use a barbell across your shoulders or a specially designed squat rack.
Leg lifts
This is one of the best exercises for your core muscles and hip flexors.
Lie down on a firm, but comfortable, surface.
Keeping your legs straight, slowly lift them together high enough that you keep them straight, but feel your muscles flexing.
Then slowly lower them again until your heels are a few inches off the floor.
Do 10 reps.
Glute bridge
This exercise is also done lying on your back.
With both knees bent at about a 90-degree angle and your shoulders flat on the floor, lift your hips toward the ceiling.
Then lower them back down. Think of pushing down through your heels for stability.
Outlook for DBS
With proper treatment and exercise, you can bring your 'dead butt' back to life and keep it that way for a long time.
If you take time to move throughout the day and add DBS-preventing exercises to your weekly routine, you may help your body recover and prevent DBS from happening again.
However, keep in mind that with long periods of sitting and then taxing your glutes and hip flexors by running or other strenuous activities, those symptoms may return.
If you're a serious runner, you may want to talk with a sports medicine specialist about getting a functional movement screening (FMS). This screening analyzes the biomechanics of your running form and can help improve your performance and reduce the risk of a DBS return.
The bottom line
DBS usually causes numbness or soreness in the buttocks. If it's severe, it can also radiate to the lower back, hips, or legs.
You may be able to recover at home with rest, pain management, and gentle exercises and stretching.