Dan Benson, DPT
Orthopedic Certified Specialist
Fellow of Applied Functional Science
Certified in Applied Functional Science
Nike Golf Performance Specialist
Certified in 3D Movement Analysis & Performance System
​
CEO Forefront Physical Therapy

Forefront Physical Therapy
Belltown & South Lake Union
2720 4th Ave Ste 115
Seattle, WA 98121 ​

It lurks from behind
With every step its presence does grow
Portending havoc
It will become a legendary foe
The dead butt gnaws at its neighbors
Making them cry and scream no!
For they soon will feel the wrath
That dead butt will bestow


Scary, huh? (And I don't mean the forced rhyme scheme)  Dead Butt Syndrome is a general term for when the glutes become deactivated and non-functional.  There are no scholarly articles describing Dead Butt Syndrome and its causes, but it is well-known in the healthcare community, and is believed to be pervasive.

It’s shocking that a dead butt threatens its neighbors; and no, this isn't a reference to a butt malfunctioning in a way that affects the noses of the people around it.  Rather, it's the neighbors inside the body that are at risk.  The moment the glutes fall into a sleepy state, the body should prepare for the worst – the risk of injury increases not only for the close neighbors like the knees and low back; rather the risk increases for the entire body.

The most common cause for glutes go to sleep is excessive sitting, a bad habit ingrained in our culture.  We learn to sit still in elementary school and every stage of life reinforces that lesson.  Unfortunately, sitting tightens the hips making it hard for the glutes to stretch.  

The glutes are designed to stretch 3-dimensionally – specifically, they stretch via hip internal rotation, adduction and flexion.  Sitting tends to reduce our ability to internally rotate and adduct at the hips, meaning we lose the ability to stretch our glutes through two planes of motion – this is a huge loss of potential and kinetic energy.

The second common cause for glutes to go to sleep is the body outsmarting itself.  The human body is great at conserving energy and finding easy pathways to move through.  Most people workout using primarily the forward and backward plane of motion (sagittal plane).  Workouts involving jogging, biking, rowing, squatting and lunging tend to require very little motion in the side to side (frontal) and rotational (transverse) planes of motion.  This makes the glutes happy because they find it easy to take a nap and let other muscles do the work for sagittal plane based activity.  Conversely, when we ask our bodies to move in the frontal and transverse planes, our glutes find it very hard to play dead.

There is an argument that moving in the transverse plane, especially at the hips, is more dangerous (in terms of injury potential) than movement in other planes.  But movement in that plane may also be the most important type of movement for injury prevention and successful motion.  Inability to move through the transverse plane at the hips (or inability to move through any other plane), risks creating excessive, compensatory motion elsewhere.  The results of this compensatory motion can include a huge list of scary injuries:  ankle sprains, ACL tears, disc bulges, rotator cuff strains, the list goes on and on.

If you want to avoid the silent stalker hiding on your backside, threatening to destroy the rest of your body, it’s not a bad idea to make sure your hips can move through and control all 3 planes of motion.  Speak with your physical therapist about safe ways to introduce frontal and transverse plane based exercises into your workouts and develop a progression for participation in sports and activities like ultimate frisbee, soccer, tennis, dance or volleyball.  Functional glute exercises will be posted shortly!

Dan Benson, DPT, OCS, FAFS, CAFS, 3D MAPS
CEO Forefront Physical Therapy
Nike Golf Performance Specialist

Forefront Physical Therapy
South Lake Union
2720 4th Ave Ste 115
Seattle, WA 98121 ​

Almost monthly, some form of media brings to light the ill effects of sitting.  Those effects may actually seem counterintuitive – instead of feeling well rested and energetic, we are more likely to feel tired and achy.  Countless studies prove that sitting shortens our lifespans as a result of increased cardiovascular disease and general musculoskeletal deterioration.  So why is it that we sit so much?  And what can we do about our sitting epidemic?

Our culture starts us sitting early.  Beginning in pre-school, we learn to sit.  And that lesson is reinforced as we progress through our school systems.  Then, aside from a limited number of active jobs, we sit even more once we are in the workforce.  

The habit of sitting that we learn in education and professional life often carries over to extracurricular activities.  Those activities might include watching television, going out to dinner or grabbing a drink.  It is surprising how much time we spend not moving.

There are many simple ways to limit the negative effects of sitting.  Switching to a sit-to-stand workstation is a great option to allow both sitting and standing throughout the day.  Setting an alarm to take a walk or perform standing stretches is a fantastic strategy to break up long periods spent sitting.  Taking phone calls via Bluetooth or some similar mobile call option can provide additional opportunities to stand rather than sit.  

Below are some simple, effective exercises to do at work while sitting or while on a short standing break:

The above exercises are designed to drive more motion in your hips and thoracic spine (mid/upper back).  Keeping these areas flexible and keeping the surrounding muscles strong will help prevent low back pain and many other injuries. 

Conclusion: Fixing Our Culture of Sitting

Breaking our culture of sitting starts with teaching our kids the value of moving and teaching them how to learn without sitting all day.  Their bodies also need more mid back and hip mobility as well as strength to control their joints.  Integrating functional exercises - like those shown in the videos above - into the classroom is a great way to help kids move and feel better during the day.

References

Gray Institute:  Gray Institute created a program called Free2Play which is being integrated in many schools throughout the nation and teaches students about movement and offers exercises for students to try while in class.  Although targeted to children, Free2Play is a fantastic and free resource for anyone interested in movement. 
               http://f2pacademy.com/ 
 
Breaking up prolonged sitting reduces postprandial glucose and insulin responses
               http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/5/976.short

Occupational sitting time – employees’ perceptions of health risks and intervention strategies
               http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=HE11038

Prolonged sitting: is it a distinct coronary heart disease risk factor?
http://journals.lww.com/co-cardiology/Abstract/2011/09000/Prolonged_sitting___is_it_a_distinct_coronary.8.aspx

Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: the take-a-stand project 2011
               http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477898/

Sitting time and all-cause mortality risk in Australian adults
               http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108810</p>

Too much sitting – a health hazard
               http://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(12)00208-2/abstract

*Disclaimer – if you attempt these exercises, you are doing so at your own risk.  Although these exercises are designed to help you, there is always a risk of injury with any exercise.

Dan Benson, DPT, OCS, FAFS, GPS, CAFS, FMR

CEO Forefront Physical Therapy
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Orthopedic Certified Specialist
Fellow of Applied Functional Science from the Gray Institute
Nike Golf Performance Specialist
Certified in Applied Functional Science
Certified in Functional Manual Reaction 

www.forefrontpllc.com
Forefront Physical Therapy
Belltown, South Lake Union, Lower Queen Anne
Seattle, WA