This is a story of two muscles. Gluteus Maximus and Biceps Femoris, aka butt and hamstrings. Gluteus was a hard working muscle whose everyday task was hip extension (the backward swing of the leg during walking, standing up, etc.) with some stabilization thrown in to keep things exciting. Biceps Femoris was Gluteus' assistant, hand picked to aid in hip extension, stabilization, and flexing of the knee. Both muscles worked for "The Body". One day, Gluteus decided to go on strike and completely shut down, citing "The Body's" inactivity, incessant chair time, and improper training at the gym as grievances. This created dysfunction within "The Body" as Biceps Femoris stepped into the breach for hip extension duty. The work quickly took its toll on Biceps Femoris and "The Body" was fraught with daily claims of low-back pain and hamstring strains.
Gluteus maximus is a powerful extensor of the hip when it is active. It can get into trouble and become weak and inactive from our modern yet sedentary lifestyles (yet another reason to eschew sitting down). To compound the problem, gluteal exercises in the gym are frequently seen as "girl" exercises that are left out of many workouts. This leaves the job of hip extension solely on biceps femoris, which becomes overtaxed, tightens up, and pulls the pelvis into a posterior tilt (hips tucked under you). What you're left with are possible strains, pulls, cramps, and pain.
Dysfunction can also come from how the hamstrings are trained. The job description for these muscles is hip extension first, and knee flexion second. The most common exercise for hamstrings are leg curls that strengthen the muscle for knee flexion, leaving hip extension as an afterthought. Consider this. How often in "real life" do you have to lay facedown or sit upright and bring your knees to your butt? Weigh that against the number of times your entire leg has to swing backward from the hip. The answer and your objective becomes very clear, train the body for better movement, end the strike. With proper training, the hamstrings will release the pelvis from a posterior tilt, and the glutes will be back on the job.
The action plan begins with assessing hip extension to confirm gluteal inactivity. If the glutes are in fact "on strike", the nervous system needs to be "turned on" and gluteus maximus must re-learn hip extension. The movements start out small and expand as clients learn to engage their glutes. Noted physical therapist Gray Cook uses a terrific "re-learning" exercise called a Cook Hip-Lift, which involves only three inches of hip movement. When a client masters this deceptively simple exercise they are allowed to progress to greater ranges of hip extension. All this talk about re-learning simply refers to something called proprioception, which is best described as moving a body part to send a lot of signals to the nervous system. This helps the body get used to movement and become efficient at it.
The second step in restoring order to "The Body" involves training the hamstrings to extend the hips. Early efforts may consist of supine hip-extensions that teach clients to identify the feeling of biceps femoris at work. Like the work for gluteus maximus, start with small movements and branch out as skill and strength improves. It is important that the exercises progress to a standing position because that is the environment in which the muscles are most used. The expected outcome for this approach is large-scale movement that integrates all muscles efficiently.
Back at "The Body" things were starting to look up. An independent group of consultants managed to get Gluteus and Biceps Femoris back on track. A team-building workshop and a commitment from "The Body" to change its ways soon had the two muscles working seamlessly together to provide quality hip extension. Walking, running, jumping, pedaling, and many other products of "The Body" began garnering accolades for their ease of use and immeasurable endurance.
The end.
