Understanding Gluteal Massage

Hip pains, buttock pains, leg pains as well as pains in the low back region are what people often experience on a regular basis. Going about our daily activities might be very challenging especially if such activities involve lots of walking or sitting at a spot, as in the cases of people who work behind desks. When pains originate from the regions mentioned above, they are certainly likely to be triggered by the gluteal muscles. The Wikipedia defines the gluteal muscles as a group of three muscles that make up the muscles. The functions of these three muscles, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, include the abduction, extension, internal and external rotation of the hip joint.

Most times during massage sessions, therapists leave out the glute region (buttock muscles) and focus on the other parts of the body. It should be noted that the gluteal muscles are the connection between the upper and the lower parts of the body; this makes them the most important part of every massage. For people who engage in physical activities such as sports, massaging the gluteal muscles regularly must be a priority. To know if your gluteal region needs massage, there are some common problems to look out for, these problems will be listed below.

Signs that show you need a Gluteal Massage

• Decreased hip mobility: When the hips stop moving, they are trying to make you stable. Inhibition of the glutes is the major reason why the hips become stiff.

• Knee pains: Bad glutes also lead to poor femur control since the knee will only do what the hip can control and the foot will allow.

• Lower back pains: The back hurts when the hips are no longer mobile, it shows the back is over working. The best thing to help your lower back is to activate your glutes through massage.

• Hamstring and groin pulls: The hamstrings work primarily by extending the hips, assisting the glutes. This extra work leads to strain. The groin on the other hand overworks by adducting the hips when the glutes get inhibited.

Gluteal Massage Techniques

Since the gluteals are a very dense group of muscles, there are specific ways we massage them at fabulous-relaxer. Firstly, the massage therapist warms up the area with full and broad strokes. This is because it does not work to rush into these strong muscles quickly, little or no progress will be made. After warming up the area, the deeper layers of the gluteal muscles will be relaxed with the use of certain tools. The best tools to use are the fists, forearms and elbows. The first of the three layers of muscle here is the gluteus maximus. The therapist will find trigger points and assist with those along the way. After releasing the maximus, the therapist can move to the gluteus medius and then gluteus minimus.

As massage therapists, it is important to go slow because some people get sore when being massaged in these areas for the first time. This sensitivity comes usually from trigger points which need to be released over time. In addition, self massage using a tennis ball works positively if done in between professional massage sessions. There is only one way to feel after completing a gluteal massage session at Fabulous Relaxer and that is better! Your hips will feel freer and your legs swing easily with previous pains gone. When the benefits are being considered, gluteal massage should become a necessary part of every professional massage session.