Why do my glutes hurt?

[ski diva]

Subtitle: a pain in the rear! :D

During the off season I go to the gym 5x a week. Weights, elliptical machine, the whole thing. Yet now that I've started skiing, I can really feel it in my glutes. What does this mean re my skiing, and is there some way I can avoid this in the future?

 

[Lisamarie]

Believe it or not, for the most part, this is a good thing. In skiing, a good deal of the work should be done by the hamstrings and glutes. Most people, especially women, tend to use too much quad.


On the other hand, walking around with a pain the but can get old. My suggestion would be to do this stretch after skiing:

https://www.exrx.net/Stretches/GluteusMaximus/Lying.html


On the other hand, there could be another issue that completely contradicts what I said above. Do you have very tight hip flexors? If you do, that causes a phenomenom known as reciprocal inhibition. Tight hip flexors are paired with weak glutes. If this is the case, you will need to stretch your hip flexors.

Hope this helps!

 

[ski diva]

Thanks, LM! Glad to hear it's a good thing! I go through this same thing every year at the beginning of the season. I'm definitely going to try that stretch. Looks like a good one.

 

[liquidfeet]

What are the hip flexors? Where are they? Are they the adductors? Or lower abs?

 

[ski diva]

Your adductors are indeed hip flexors, but that's not their primary role, which is to adduct the hip. Mostly it's your iliopsoas, which is actually two muscles: the iliacus and the psoas major. The iliacus originates on the pelvic crest and attaches at the femur; the psoas originates at the lumbar vertebrae and also attaches at the femur. Another hip flexor is your rectus femoris, which is a quad muscle that crosses the hip joint.

(Did you know that I'm a certified massage therapist? :D )

 

[eng_ch]

Thanks for that SkiDiva - would you mind translating that into English now? LOL :D

 

[liquidfeet]

I know these muscles, but am not familiar with the umbrella term "hip flexors." Thanks.

Do you do massages professionally, or did you ever? I have a friend in Missouri who, after her divorce from her software-writing husband, married her massage therapist. They are living happily ever after, and have visited up here twice.

My only other connection to massage therapy is that I had a massage at a weight-loss spa I attended one summer. It was a vigorous 60 minute deep tissue massage; it felt great.

Take care.

 

[Lisamarie]

Your hip flexors are located at the top of your thigh. They connect your quads to your pelvis. If you can't afford a massage, look into a foam roller. They are awesome!

I have a few assignment deadlines, so I can't elaborate, but if you search Epic, there are a number of threads on that topic.

 

[ski diva]

I know these muscles, but am not familiar with the umbrella term "hip flexors." Thanks.

Do you do massages professionally, or did you ever? I have a friend in Missouri who, after her divorce from her software-writing husband, married her massage therapist. They are living happily ever after, and have visited up here twice.

My only other connection to massage therapy is that I had a massage at a weight-loss spa I attended one summer. It was a vigorous 60 minute deep tissue massage; it felt great.

Yeah, I went to school for massage therapy while undergoing a career/mid-life crisis a couple of years ago, and I used to work part-time at a spa. I'm nationally certified.

I think a lot of people overlook massage therapy as a great way to relieve sore muscles. So next time you're aching from the slopes, give your local massage therapist a call! :D