Dead butt syndrome occurs when inactive glute muscles weaken, which can throw off your form and increase your risk of injury.
No runner thinks of themselves as being a couch potato, but, believe it or not, the time you spend binge-watching White Lotus or working at your desk might cause a serious problem for your runs and your overall health.
Runners who sit a lot or don’t do glute exercises need to watch for “dead butt syndrome,” also known as gluteal amnesia. Basically, your butt forgets how to be a butt.“While the name might sound funny, it can cause problems and be a real pain in the butt to runners and non-runners alike,” Amie Dworecki, a RRCA- and USATF-certified running coach and personal trainer, tells Runner’s World.There are four glute muscles on each side of your body, the gluteus maximus , the gluteus medius , the gluteus minimus , and the tensor fascia lata . Together, these muscles support human balance when standing up by keeping your pelvis stable and allowing your legs to move with power.Strong butt muscles keep you moving, while weak butt muscles make it hard to stand and walk, and it’s not the size of your butt that matters, but the shape of the muscles, according to the research.Strong, shapely glutes contribute to powerful athletic performance, like running and jumping. Sit too much, and that muscle, the biggest and potentially strongest in the body, can not only weaken your performance, but also lead to an inability to stand without support as you age. And it’s not just a factor for athletes. A 2025 University of Westminster School of Life Sciences study found that changes in butt shape over time may indicate issues such as frailty and osteoporosis, as well as type 2 diabetes, in both men and women.This is another reason to integrate lower-body strength training into your weekly workout routine. These exercises will improve your running, and help you continue to stand tall and walk strong as you age.What is dead butt syndrome?“Dead butt syndrome is when your gluteal muscles, particularly the gluteus medius and maximus, essentially ‘forget’ how to do their job,” Dworecki says. This tends to happen if you sit for long periods, so they can “switch off,” becoming numb or sore.Dead butt syndrome doesn’t present like your typical injury, Anuja Ghate, D.P.T., a physical therapist who works with runners at Replay PT in New York City, tells Runner’s World. “For example, if you have a hamstring injury, you would feel pain in your hamstring area,” Ghate continues. With dead butt syndrome, the pain will be felt in the muscle groups that are being overworked due to glute inactivity, such as the lower back.Also, notes Ghate, the pain is cumulative. “It starts off as a slight discomfort that goes away and then eventually becomes persistent and more constant,” she says. If you have low back pain that doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks, consider seeing a physical therapist.Runners who alternate between intense bouts of training and prolonged periods of sitting are particularly vulnerable to dead butt syndrome. The repetitive motions of running often amplify strength imbalances between the glutes and the other muscles used in running, while tight hips from sitting can limit glute engagement, Dworecki says.Your risk of dead butt syndrome is even higher if you don’t incorporate targeted glute exercises into your strength workouts, explains Ghate.How does dead butt syndrome impact running?Given the pivotal roles your glutes play in running, dead butt syndrome can have significant effects on your performance and injury risk.The primary glute muscles used when you run are the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. The glute max extends your hip as your foot pushes off the ground, while the glute med keeps your hips and pelvis level when landing on one foot, per Gait Posture. When these muscles don’t fire correctly, the body shifts the workload to the hip flexors, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. The overworked and fatigued muscles change your running stride and make it harder to maintain proper form. “These factors can reduce your overall running economy, making you tire more quickly and limiting how far or fast you can comfortably go,” Dworecki says.It also increases your risk of pain and injury. “Any time one muscle group isn’t firing properly, other muscles will compensate; over time, these muscle imbalances can lead to injury,” Ghate tells Runner’s World. “For example, if your glutes aren’t firing properly, your lower back muscles could end up picking up the slack and eventually develop a chronic backache.”If you’re battling unexplained aches and pains, see a physical therapist to find out if dead butt syndrome is the culprit. This way, you can get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.What helps to prevent dead butt syndrome?Dworecki suggests a two-part strategy to prevent dead butt syndrome: minimize the causes and strengthen the glutes so they stay active and engaged. That means sit less and do glute exercises during your workouts.To keep your glutes from falling asleep, break up prolonged periods of sitting by setting reminders to get up, stretch, or walk around every 30 to 60 minutes, says Dworecki. Also, consider using a standing desk and periodically switching the type of chair in which you sit. This can help reduce the strain on any one part of your body, says Dworecki.Ghate also recommends performing a sprint workout once a week. “Sprinting works the fast-twitch, type 2 muscle fibers, which will help increase the strength of your large glute muscles,” she says.Next, supplement your running with cross-training workouts to ensure the glutes aren’t constantly over- or under-worked. Activities like yoga, Pilates, swimming, and walking up an incline reinforce balanced hip strength. Meanwhile, hip flexor stretches and foam roller exercises loosen the hips for better glute activation, Dworecki says.When it’s time to run, perform a dynamic warmup that includes the following exercises to activate the glute muscles. “People shouldn’t be running and thinking of squeezing their butt as they’re doing it,” Ghate says. Instead, before a run, do glute-centric exercises regularly to wake up those fibers so they fire more. This will also help them fire correctly when you run, and you won’t have that muscle imbalance as a consequence.What moves activate the glutes?Dworecki suggests doing 10 to 20 reps per side of each exercise as a circuit then repeat.Glute BridgesHow to Do it:Lie on back with knees bent and feet flat on ground.Squeeze glutes and lift hips off the floor to form a straight line from knees, hips, and shoulders.Hold briefly before lowering hips to floor.Donkey KicksHow to Do it:Start on hands and knees with hands under shoulders and knees under hips, abs engaged.Keeping back flat, lift right leg and bend knee. Engage right glute and press right foot toward the ceiling.Squeeze glute at top of move before returning knee to ground.ClamshellHow to Do it:Lie on side with legs stacked and knees bent at 45 degrees.Engage abdominals. Then, keeping heels together, raise your top knee as high as possible without tilting pelvis forward or backward.Hold briefly before returning your knee to start position.
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