Why Clenching Your Glutes Could Be Causing You Pain
Oct 22, 2023
If you are clenching, gripping or squeezing your glute muscles or holding in or sucking in your abdominal muscles, you need to stop doing this right now. You are damaging your whole body which will cause pain and make any existing painful conditions worse. Kara, my lovely client, experienced firsthand just how damaging clenching her glutes can be.
Kara was just starting to overcome her chronic back pain through Pilates when we unknowingly isolated one of the major contributors to her pain. Two weeks ago she was so happy with her progress and I was just as excited as she was to see her pain level was greatly reduced. This week, it was a different story. At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Why had she gone back to her old movement patterns again? Moving through the exercises looked like such an effort for her again and she was experiencing pain. She was trying to act like she wasn't in pain but she wasn't fooling me. I know the signs! She admitted she felt very tight and sore but wasn't sure why this would be happening. We discussed what she had been doing in the lead up to the session. As a former runner, Kara wanted to get back into running again but needed to overcome her back pain caused by a lumbar disc injury. She had introduced some short sprints into her walks the previous week and stair climbing. When I asked her if she could feel her glutes working as she walked, sprinted and stair climbed she assured me she could as she was clenching them the whole time. This was definitely not the answer I wanted to hear! When I questioned her she told me she really wanted to get back into running and wanted to ensure her glutes were really working for her so she clenched them. She also admitted to holding in her abdominal muscles too. She experienced pain when she did this because her muscles could no longer work efficiently to support her body as they were contracted all the time. She ignored the pain and focussed on her goal. I told her we needed to have a little talk and I proceeded to let her know what happens to her body when she clenches her glutes and why she needs to break herself of this habit as soon as she possibly can. Ignoring pain and continuing to walk and sprint like Kara did can lead to serious injury. Listen to your body and the warning signs before it's too late.
Kara was just starting to overcome her chronic back pain through Pilates when we unknowingly isolated one of the major contributors to her pain. Two weeks ago she was so happy with her progress and I was just as excited as she was to see her pain level was greatly reduced. This week, it was a different story. At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Why had she gone back to her old movement patterns again? Moving through the exercises looked like such an effort for her again and she was experiencing pain. She was trying to act like she wasn't in pain but she wasn't fooling me. I know the signs! She admitted she felt very tight and sore but wasn't sure why this would be happening. We discussed what she had been doing in the lead up to the session. As a former runner, Kara wanted to get back into running again but needed to overcome her back pain caused by a lumbar disc injury. She had introduced some short sprints into her walks the previous week and stair climbing. When I asked her if she could feel her glutes working as she walked, sprinted and stair climbed she assured me she could as she was clenching them the whole time. This was definitely not the answer I wanted to hear! When I questioned her she told me she really wanted to get back into running and wanted to ensure her glutes were really working for her so she clenched them. She also admitted to holding in her abdominal muscles too. She experienced pain when she did this because her muscles could no longer work efficiently to support her body as they were contracted all the time. She ignored the pain and focussed on her goal. I told her we needed to have a little talk and I proceeded to let her know what happens to her body when she clenches her glutes and why she needs to break herself of this habit as soon as she possibly can. Ignoring pain and continuing to walk and sprint like Kara did can lead to serious injury. Listen to your body and the warning signs before it's too late.
What Happens To Your Body When You Grip, Clench or Squeeze Your Muscles?
1. Muscle Tension & Fatigue: Clenching and gripping muscles excessively can lead to increased muscle tension and fatigue. When these muscles are constantly contracted, they do not have the opportunity to release and recover, which can result in discomfort and ultimately pain. That's why I always teach my clients to contract and release their glutes and abdominal muscles. The release is just as important as the contraction. This can take time to adjust to, if you have been gripping your muscles for many years.
2. Altered Movement Patterns: Overly tight muscles can disrupt normal movement patterns. This can cause changes in the way you walk or climbs stairs, leading to uneven stress on the spine and its supporting structures. These abnormal movement patterns can cause or exacerbate back pain.
3. Increased Pressure on the Spine: Clenching the abdominal muscles tightly can increase intra-abdominal pressure. This extra pressure can be transferred to the spine, potentially compressing the vertebral discs and causing or worsening back pain and putting the pelvic floor muscles under strain.
4. Reduced Blood Flow and Oxygen Supply: Continuous muscle clenching can restrict blood flow and oxygen supply to these muscles, which can lead to muscle ischemia (lack of blood flow) and a buildup of waste products. This can cause discomfort and contribute to muscle soreness and pain.
5. Dysfunctional Muscle Recruitment: Overactive muscles may dominate movement, leading to poor recruitment of other muscle groups that are essential for proper posture and movement. This can result in muscle imbalances and increased stress on the spine.
6. Psychological Stress: Clenching muscles can also create emotional stress and tension, which can contribute to perceived pain. Stress and anxiety can amplify pain sensations and make it more challenging to manage discomfort effectively.
7. Hypertonic Pelvic Floor : Clenching the glutes and abdominal muscles can cause the pelvic floor muscles to become too tight and unable to release which can cause sexual dysfunction, pelvic pain, as well as difficulty urinating and starting a bowel movement.
Many of us grew up being told to hold our tummies in by well meaning family members as children. I have memories of being told to clench my glutes whilst learning gymnastics when I was very young. Bracing, holding and clenching were all terms used to cue the glutes and abdominals in in the past in a range of sports and exercise but we now have a growing body of evidence to show that it is damaging to the body and mind and should be avoided at all costs.
How Do Know If You Are Subconsciously Clenching Your Glutes?
If you are actively clenching your glutes you can stop doing this straight away. Be aware of your glutes working for you as you climb stairs for example and allow them to contract and release accordingly. If you are unsure and want to check if you are clenching unconsciously, mentally bring your awareness to your glutes and abdominal muscles 3 or 4 times per day to determine whether or not you are clenching your glutes.
How Do Break Yourself Of This Habit?
If you do find that you are clenching or holding, awareness is key to breaking this habit.
Kara, my client, was actively clenching as she climbed stairs but I suspect she is unconsciously clenching her glutes most of the time without releasing it. She is checking this throughout this week to see if this is the case for her. To break the habit, mentally check them 3 or 4 times per day and actively let them release if they are tight. Be aware that in general people are more prone to gripping at times of high stress or when they are sitting ot standing for long periods of time. Perservere with mentally checking them and mentally releasing them. As a reformed unsconscious glute clencher myself, I can tell you, perserverance is key. Just keep checking them and keep releasing them if they are tight. Eventaully you will have broken the habit which will benefit your whole body and help to decrease your pain levels too. Rolling on a ball or a foam roller as I'm doing pictured above on your quadriceps and ITB can also help keep these areas released and your glutes working efficiently. The best time to do this is after glute strengthening.
If you have chronic pain and would like help to ensure your muscles are activating as efficiently as possible, my online Pilates studio is for you and you can email me at [email protected] to get started. Alternatively, you can book an Initial Assessment with me here or take the free 10 day trial of JS Mind Body Pilates, my online studio and start straight away. It would be my pleasure to assist you on your Pilates journey to establishing efficient movement patterns and pain-free living!
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