If you spend all day sitting at a desk, you could be at risk of damaging the lower half of your body, thanks to a sensation known as Dead Butt Syndrome.
In the post-pandemic era of working from home, remote workers are beginning to experience a new wave of health concerns that many of us hadn’t encountered before the days of lockdown. And while Dead Butt Syndrome may have a funny name, the effects it can have on your lower body are less than amusing.
What is Dead Butt Syndrome?
Dead Butt Syndrome, or Gluteal Amnesia to give it its technical name, is a condition caused by lengthy periods of sitting down – in which your glutes begin to become inactive.
If you feel a numb sensation in your glutes and a pain that begins in your lower back before traveling down your legs – you may well be suffering from Dead Butt Syndrome.
The increasingly common ailment is also known to cause pain in the calves, knees, ankles and hip flexors – all of which can have long-term effects on your ability to exercise.
Bouts of Dead Butt Syndrome can often be appeased by standing up and getting some steps in, or stretching out your hip muscles. But if you worry you’re at risk of falling victim to the condition, it’s always best to try to stop it before it becomes an issue.
Fitness expert reveals key preventative measures
As explained by fitness expert Brendan McBirnie of the exercise blog MiraFit, there are many benefits to looking to prevent sitting-induced injuries before they occur: “Prevention is always better than cure but changing our lifestyle if you are caught up with work and being in front of a computer is not always easy.
“Set a timer for every hour and make sure you take a break from the seated position and move around for a couple of minutes. Also, take note of your sitting posture. A more upright posture will open up the hip flexors more and ease the stress on the glutes.”
According to McBirnie, these three exercises, when performed with your hips in a neutral position, are a great starting point for keeping your legs and joints injury-free:
- Banded Squats: perform a regular squat with a resistance band around your knees, which will help to specifically target your gluteus medius.
- Monster Walk: place the resistance band around your ankles, distance your feet just wider than your hips and simply walk forward, taking small, leisurely steps.
- Frog Glute Bridge: The Frog Glute Bridge is like a normal glute bridge, but instead you are placing your feet as close to your glutes as you can get them, while extending your knees out to your side – forcing the outside of your glutes to be more active than in a typical glute raise.
If you feel you are, or are at risk of picking up an injury while sitting at your desk, heed McBirnie’s wise advice: “Don’t allow yourself to experience pain and discomfort simply because you are sitting too much. Give yourself time during the workday to move about and don’t neglect your strength training. If you are experiencing the symptoms of Dead Butt Syndrome, don’t self-diagnose. Seek the appropriate medical advice from a GP or physio.”
McBirnie’s full advice and the complete list of exercises can be found here.
