Sitting all day comes with health risks, such as obesity, high blood pressure and blood sugar, and increased cholesterol levels. It may also be linked to death from heart disease and cancer, according to Mayo Clinic.
But a lesser known side effect of sitting all day is that it can impact the muscles throughout your body almost immediately. One example is a change to your glutes known colloquially as “dead butt syndrome.”
Dead butt syndrome, also known as lower cross syndrome, gluteal amnesia or gluteus medius tendinosis, is when the gluteus medius muscle — one of the three main muscles in the buttocks — becomes weaker due to sitting for prolonged periods.
Your glutes are crucial to numerous every day activities, so it’s worthwhile to fight dead butt syndrome as much as you can.
Trainer tip of the day: The No. 1 sign of dead butt syndrome
“You may have even felt (dead butt syndrome) happening: After a few hours in a seated position, you stand up and feel a pain or numbness in your backside. It can even advance further causing hip and back pain,” TODAY contributor and personal trainer Steph Mansour said.
To combat dead butt syndrome, it’s important to stand up and walk throughout the day and to perform movements that activate the glute muscles, such as glute bridges, crab walks and donkey kicks.
Why it matters
The glute muscles are important to many every day movements, like hip extensions, standing upright, walking and climbing stairs, Mansour explained. The gluteus medius in particular helps stabilize the hip joint and facilitates pelvic rotation.
Without sufficiently using this muscle, you can develop dead butt syndrome, leading to weaker glutes and a smaller range of motion in the hips. It can also make squats and other exercises targeting your glutes less effective.
Tips to get started
Try getting up and walking around once every hour or going up and down a flight of stairs. Some other exercises to combat dead butt syndrome include:
- Glute bridges
- Crab walks
- Squats with a side leg lift
- Clams
- Fire hydrant
- Donkey kick
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