Gluteal Strain Rehabilitation Exercises

You can stretch your gluteal muscles using the first 2 exercises right away.

• Single knee to chest stretch: Lie on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Bring one knee up to your chest and grasp the back of your thigh. Pull your knee toward your chest, stretching your buttock muscle. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat 3 times on each side.
• Piriformis stretch: Lying on your back with both knees bent, rest the ankle of your injured leg over the knee of your uninjured leg. Grasp the thigh of your uninjured leg and pull that knee toward your chest. You will feel a stretch along the buttocks and possibly along the outside of your hip on the injured side. Hold this for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times.

You can begin strengthening your gluteal muscles as soon as the sharp pain goes away and you only have a dull ache when doing the gluteal isometrics exercise.

• Gluteal isometrics: Lie on your stomach with your legs straight out behind you. Squeeze your buttock muscles together and hold for 5 seconds. Release. Do 3 sets of 10.

You can begin strengthening your gluteal muscles as soon as the sharp pain goes away and you only have a dull ache when doing the gluteal isometrics exercise. After gluteal isometrics become easier, you can do the next 3 gluteal strengthening exercises.

• Prone hip extension (bent leg): Lie on your stomach with a pillow underneath your hips. Bend your injured knee, tighten up your buttocks muscles , and lift your leg off the floor about 6 inches. Keep your knee straight. Hold for 5 seconds. Then lower your leg and relax. Do 3 sets of 10.
• Resisted hip extension: Stand facing a door with elastic tubing tied around the ankle on your injured side. Knot the other end of the tubing and shut the knot in the door. Pull your leg straight back, keeping your knee straight. Make sure you do not lean forward. Do 3 sets of 10.

  To challenge yourself, move farther away from the door so the tubing provides more resistance.

• Hip abduction (with elastic tubing): Stand sideways near a doorway with your uninjured side closest to the door. Tie elastic tubing around the ankle on your injured side. Knot the other end of the tubing and close the knot in the door. Extend your leg out to the side, keeping your knee straight. Return to the starting position. Do 3 sets of 10.

  To challenge yourself, move farther away from the door.

After the gluteal strengthening exercises become easy, strengthen your buttock muscles by doing lunges.

• Lunges: Stand and take a large step forward with your right leg. Dip your left knee down toward the floor and bend your right leg. Return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise, this time stepping forward with the left leg and dipping the leg on your right side down. Do 3 sets of 10 on each side.