The Glutes

Understand:

When we consider human movement, locomotion, strength and function, it is hard to ignore the big power centre of the hip. When our feet hit the ground as we walk, the hip reacts and loads in a way that is central to our efficient and finely tuned gait cycle. The muscle mass that we have laid down here during our evolution indicates the importance of the hip. It is vital for the human body to appropriately use this available strength and movement in order to maintain efficient and successful function. Just as a building is only as secure as its strong foundations, we can argue the body's functional success is hugely dependant on the hips and glutes. By understanding the functional anatomy of the hips, we can understand how the hips load during our movement and why the modern human environment may not be overly suited to our ongoing gluteal and hip success.  

 

Assess:

When we assess the hips, we often do it in ways that are not related to our function. We may, for example, assess our range and success in couch or matt based movements. The hips and glutes, like the rest of our body, have an intrinsic proprioceptive blueprint for movement based on our UPRIGHT function. We should, therefore, be able to assess the hips in upright positions. We should also be able to understand how our hips are integrated with the rest of our body. How the feet affect the hips, how the hips affect the shoulders and back. By understanding our functional anatomy and movement, we can begin to identify dysfunction and relate this to pain and injury presentations. 

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Transform:

If we are able to identify restriction and lack of function, then we need to know how to improve it. The wonderful thing about the human body is its eagerness to move well and function efficiently when shown the right environment to do so. By loading and moving the body in a way that reflects true human function we can make profound changes to our movement ability. Not all gluteal exercises are created equal. If you isolate and squeeze your glutes while laying on a matt in a non-functional way, are you recruiting the neuromuscular signalling which will affect transformation in your strength and movement? We would strongly argue that you won't. If you lengthen and load your glutes in an integrated, upright position that sparks proprioceptive recognition, you create an environment that is far more likely to affect change and transformation. Enabling improved hip movement and strength can create transformative benefits for pain presentations and the ongoing tolerance and resilience of our patients and clients. 

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