Dormant Butt Syndrome

Much has been discussed with regards to chronic pain and the myriad of reasons to cause this: poor posture, repetitive stress, poor ergonomics, etc.  A “new” medical diagnosis is becoming more common…Dormant Butt Syndrome or DBS.

Your gluteus maximus muscles are the largest (and one of the strongest) muscles in your body.  The gluteus maximus, along with the smaller gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles, are responsible for helping you maintain upright posture and also controlling pelvic mobility during activities such as walking and running.  These muscles help support the entire body and when they are weakened can have significant effects on the injuries to the arms and legs.

What is a major cause DBS?  The biggest cause is sitting for long periods of time, which can lead to atrophy through pressure and disuse of these muscles.  Studies have shown that sitting for long periods of time can have the same effects on our body as smoking.

What can help prevent this?  The simplest way to prevent DBS is to watch how and how long you sit.  Having an ergonomic chair that provide support is beneficial.  Also, after sitting for 30+ minutes you should stand up for a minute to change position of the spine and to activate your gluteal muscles.

If you are required to sit for long periods during the day you should start a regular stretching and strengthening regime for the hips and back.  A quick program of stretching your hips by bringing your knees to your chest and placing your ankle across your opposite knee (making the number 4) will help with flexibility.  Simple strengthening exercises are lunges and squats, which can be performed in your home or office!

Do you have chronic low back pain from sitting?  Click Here for more information!

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Andrew Vertson

Andrew received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from California State University, Fresno in 1991. He then earned his Master’s degree of Physical Therapy in 1996 and his Doctorate degree of Physical Therapy in 2002 from Loma Linda University. In 1996 he also earned his Certification as an Athletic Trainer. He has also completed extensive post-graduate course work in orthopedic manual therapy through Kaiser-West Los Angeles and the Ola Grimsby Institute.

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