If I had a dollar for every clients that had problems with their glutes / piriformis being too tight I would be living in a bigger house and driving a luxury vehicle! The majority of society sits at work or school, then sits for long periods on time in their car while they commute to work. In doing this, they sit on the very muscles that connect at their hips and lower back. When these muscle get too tight (from being in a prolonged stretched state) they have the ability to cause lower back pain, knee problems and many other issues that radiate up and down your body.
The only way to remedy the problem is by relaxing these muscles, which in turn, takes the stress of of the joint and relieves inflammation which causes pain. In an ideal world, I would have everyone “Foam Roll” their piriformis, then follow it with this excellent stretch.
Sit on the foam roll and cross on leg. Next roll all of your body weight onto the hip that has the leg crossed. Roll forward or back to find a place on your glutes that feels tender. Stay on that spot for 30 seconds and then roll to the next spot.
Start on your elbows (or hands) and knees. Lean forward and flip one foot in front of the other knee. Keeping your hip in line, lean further forward while putting slight pressure from your one foot on the knee. Continue until you feel a gentle stretch in your buttocks.
Note: If you have always had a “flat butt” or one that never seemed to get defined, then most likely … it’s too tight! When the muscles get overly tight, your body recognizes this and avoids using them so it doesn’t tare the muscle fibers. In order to have the butt you want, you must stretch them and keep them relaxed so all muscle fibers will fire during exercise!
Adria Ali
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