Index
It generally occurs as a result of sedentary jobs.
As a result, the soft tissues around the buttock bones can become overly compressed.
Buttock pain is a pain in the back of the body.
This compression can cause direct trauma to the gluteal region, causing swelling and pain, or it can cause postural adaptations in the tissues of the pelvis and buttocks, often resulting in injury and subsequent pain in the buttocks.
Buttock pain usually comes from injured structures around the buttock area.
This is usually a result of injury, poor posture, lack of use, or, more commonly referred to, pain from areas over your buttocks, primarily your sacroiliac joint or your spine.
Symptoms of buttock pain
Buttock pain symptoms are “a pain in the butt.” Pain in the lower buttocks, especially when sitting and walking, is more common.
The pain can be aching, stiff, dull, tense, throbbing, or any combination.
Buttock pain is usually relieved by lying down. If you have buttock pain that is severe when lying down at night, see your doctor immediately, as it requires a thorough evaluation to eliminate sinister conditions.
The buttock area can also be tender to the touch. Simple tasks like putting on your socks can seem almost impossible. In severe cases, it can disturb sleep. Pain can also radiate from the buttock to the back of the leg.
Buttock pain is commonly worst in the morning and increases as the day progresses.
Without sounding too alarming, buttock pain can also be a symptom of metastatic cancer, most commonly in older people.
Stress fractures in people with poor bone density are also another possibility.
Again, a thorough examination will eliminate or expose these possibilities. If you have had pain in your buttocks for more than three days, seek the opinion of a physical therapist. If you need an X-ray or a scan, they will arrange it.
Call for an appointment if the pain doesn’t go away, gets worse, or also has symptoms such as the following:
- Numbness or weakness in your leg.
- Problems controlling your bowels or bladder.
- A sore that does not heal.
- Sharp or stabbing pain.
- A fever of 104 ° F (40 ° C) or higher.
- Pain that only occurs when you are walking and limits your movement.
Causes
You may not have paid much attention to your glutes since they are behind you. But you will notice if they start to hurt. Your glutes are primarily made up of gluteal fat and muscle, but they can be prone to injury and illness.
Several conditions can cause buttock pain, from minor muscle strains to infections. Most of these conditions are not severe, but some require a visit to your doctor.
Here are some of the conditions that can cause butt pain and tips to help you determine which one you might have.
Bruises
Bruising is a common cause of buttock pain. The black and blue color of a bruise are caused by blood from damaged blood vessels pooling under the skin. Wondering how long the bruise will last? The color will tell you.
You can bruise if you hurt your buttocks, such as falling while skating or being hit while playing a contact sport such as soccer. Often, you will notice a swollen lump and tenderness in the bruised area.
Muscle tension
Your glutes are made up of three muscles: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. You can strain one of these muscles by stretching it so far that it breaks.
This can cause:
- Swelling.
- Sensitivity.
- Stiffness and difficulty moving the affected muscle.
Common causes of muscle strains are exercising too much, not warming up before exercising, and flicking uncomfortably.
Sciatica
Sciatica is not a condition but a symptom. It’s a sharp or burning pain that radiates down your sciatic nerve, running from your lower back through your buttocks and down each leg.
You may also have numbness or tingling in the affected leg. Stretches can help you find relief.
Sciatica is often caused by a herniated disc or a narrowing of parts of the spine that then presses on the sciatic nerve. You are more likely to have sciatica between the ages of 40 and 50 because the conditions that cause it becomes more common with age.
Although studies vary according to the number of people who have this condition, some researchers estimate that up to 40% of people have experienced this disease.
Bursitis
Bursitis is a common condition in which the fluid-filled sacs called bursae to cushion the bones become inflamed. Areas such as the shoulder, hip, elbow, and knee are most often affected.
Symptoms include:
- Pain when you sit or lie down.
- Pain that radiates down the back of your thigh.
- Swelling and redness
You can develop ischial bursa bursitis if you damage the bursa or sit for a long time on hard surfaces. This type of bursitis is sometimes called “weaver’s bottom” or “tailor’s seat” after the professions that commonly cause it.
Disc herniation
Each of the bones in the spine is separated and cushioned by small pads filled with a jelly-like material. These are called discs. A disc can herniate if its outer layer ruptures, allowing some of the inner material to leak out.
A herniated disc can press on nearby nerves, causing pain, numbness, and weakness.
If the affected disc is in your lower back (lumbar spine), you may feel pain in your buttocks. Pain can also radiate down the leg. Other symptoms include:
- Numbness.
- Shudder.
- Soft spot.
You are more likely to have a herniated disc because discs degenerate with age. Other risks include obesity and working at a job where you lift or throw heavy objects.
Degenerative disc disease
As you age, the discs in your back can wear out. As the discs shrink, you lose the cushioning that keeps the bones in your spine from rubbing against each other.
Disc degeneration in the lower back can cause pain in the buttocks and thighs. The pain may worsen when you sit, bend, or lift something. Walking or another movement can ease it. You may also have numbness and tingling in your legs.
Piriformis syndrome
The piriformis is a muscle that runs down the lower back to the upper thigh. You also have a nerve that runs from the bottom of your spine through your buttocks to the back of your thigh, called the sciatic nerve.
Injury or overuse can inflame the piriformis muscle by pressing on the sciatic nerve. This pressure can cause a type of pain called sciatica that spreads from the buttocks to the back of the leg.
The pain may be worse when you walk, run, or sit. You may also have numbness or tingling. The piriformis stretch can help relieve these symptoms.
Piriformis syndrome is often misdiagnosed as other types of back pain. About 6% of people diagnosed with low back pain have piriformis syndrome.
Pilonidal cyst
A cyst is a hollow sac that can form in different body parts. Cysts often contain fluid, but a pilonidal cyst contains small pieces of hair and skin.
These cysts form in the cleft between the buttocks. You can get one of these cysts if hair grows on your skin (ingrown hair).
Along with the pain, you may notice:
- Reddened skin
- Pus or blood draining from the opening.
- A bad smell.
Pilonidal cysts are more common in men than women and in people who sit for long periods. You can also get them from friction, for example, while riding a bike.
Perirectal abscess
A perirectal abscess (also called a perianal abscess) is a pus-filled cavity that forms in a gland near the anus, the opening through which stool leaves your body. A bacterial infection causes the abscess.
This type of abscess is common in babies. Adults are more likely to get an infection if they have diarrhea, constipation, or another problem with bowel movements.
Some people have an abnormal connection between the inside of their anus and their skin. This is called a fistula. Bacteria can get trapped in this connection and cause an abscess to form. Your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the fistula.
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Your sacroiliac joint connects the sacrum, the triangular bone at the base of your spine, with the pelvic bone. When this joint becomes inflamed, it can cause lower back pain that can radiate up the buttock to the upper leg.
Activities like walking, running, or climbing stairs can aggravate pain, but there are options for relief. Physical therapy can help improve strength and maintain flexibility in the joint.
Sacroiliac joint pain is often misdiagnosed as another type of low back pain. About 10 to 25% of people with low back pain have a problem with their sacroiliac joint.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a disease that causes pain and stiffness in the joints. There are about 100 different types of arthritis, collectively affecting more than 54 million Americans.
Some types are caused by gradual wear and tear on the joints with age and activity. Others are due to an immune system attack on the joints.
Arthritis in the hip joint can cause pain that radiates to the buttocks. The pain and stiffness may worsen in the morning and gradually improve as you move the joint. Medication and physical therapy can help control pain.
Vascular disease
The aorta is the main blood vessel in the heart. It divides into two smaller vessels called the iliac arteries, which continue to get smaller and carry blood to the legs. A blockage in these blood vessels due to atherosclerosis can cause buttock pain.
Pain occurs when walking; this may force you to stop walking, after which the pain goes away. There may also be weakness and hair loss on the lower legs.
Types of buttock pain
Pain in the lower part of the buttock
This is the pain you experience in the crease of the buttock at the back of the thigh. It can cause problems when you walk, but it becomes especially pronounced when you lean forward with your legs straight.
This type of pain is usually a sign of an injury to the tendon (s) that connect the hamstrings to the pelvis. It’s usually the result of pulling your hamstrings too enthusiastically, significantly if they haven’t warmed up properly.
When yoga practitioners insist on keeping their legs stretched forward and then forcing themselves into a pose, they can injure the tendon.
Pain in the outer/upper part of the buttock
This type of pain usually appears in the upper or outer gluteal area and can resonate on the side of the leg. It is generally worse when walking and lying on the affected side at night.
This pain is often due to some asymmetric movement pattern for an extended period.
Pain in the central part of the buttock
The pain can appear in the middle of the buttock, in the lower back, or anywhere along the nerve path. It can also manifest as numbness or weakness in the leg.
Treatment
Buttock pain treatment depends mainly on the underlying injury and, more specifically, on the cause of the damage. Buttock pain is treated with manual release techniques to remove any tightness in the muscles and correct any skeletal misalignment.
It is essential to eliminate the cause of the pain in the buttocks at this stage. Follow this up with an appropriate strengthening and stretching program to reduce the chances of a new occurrence.
Your doctor may recommend:
- Corticosteroid injections to reduce inflammation.
- Physical therapy helps strengthen the muscles around the injury and improve the range of motion in the affected area.
- A procedure to drain a cyst or abscess.
- Surgery to repair a damaged disc or replace a worn gasket.
- Home remedies can help ease your symptoms until a treatment plan is implemented.
You can:
- Apply ice or heat to reduce swelling and relieve pain. You can use one or the other or switch between ice and heat. Keep the hot or cold pack on the affected area for about 15 minutes.
- Gently stretch your legs, hips, and buttocks.
- Rest to give the injury time to heal.
- Take over-the-counter painkillers, such as naproxen (Aleve) or ibuprofen (Advil).
When to see your doctor
If the pain does not improve in a few days or if it worsens, see your doctor. They will perform a physical exam and possibly take imaging tests, such as X-rays, to look for the cause of the pain.
Once your doctor knows what is behind your buttock pain, they will work with you on a treatment plan appropriate to your needs.
Where poor posture is the root cause, help is with posture correction, learning to use your muscles to improve your posture actively, and passively assisting posture with sitting aids when helpful.
A physical therapist will give you some simple strength exercises at your desk; these can eliminate your problems more effectively. Never rely on sitting devices without addressing the underlying muscles that should help you sit correctly. Sitting alone can make your back weak.
Buttock pain caused by a joint in the pelvis or lumbar spine out of alignment will need a physical therapy correction.
These exercises are essential; the problem will likely reoccur if you only had the standard correction without correcting the muscles around it.
Too often, once the buttock pain is gone, patients do not complete their exercise program. Always do your rehab to the end to ensure your butt pain doesn’t reappear.
Buttock pain arising from a tight ligament is complex. For the ligament to heal tension, it must be removed from it, and the surrounding muscles must be reeducated to perform their function more effectively.
Most ligament-related buttock pain results from poor sitting posture. Over time, excess pressure on a ligament in the pelvis results in inflammation and scarring, eventually causing pain in the pelvis. Buttocks.
The long-term resolution of this common condition is mainly based on a correct diagnosis and, subsequently, a proper postural education program to facilitate healing in time.
Good sitting posture is also essential to prevent many other squat-related back injuries.
Finally, the treatment of gluteal pain from the lumbar spine requires correction of the dysfunctional joint, stretching the sciatic nerve once it is unloaded, and strengthening the surrounding muscles.
Exercises for buttock pain
Buttock pain exercises vary greatly depending on the cause and type of dysfunction you have.
Buttock pain should not be self-managed without an excellent professional opinion, since if it is terrible management or if it is not diagnosed correctly, other problems will appear. So after understanding the nature of your butt pain, seek professional advice and help.
Also another form of pain that you may experience in this area is tailbone pain (coccydynia). This pain in your sitting bone causes significant discomfort when you try to sit up.
Prolotherapy: The Regenerative Medicine Approach for Buttock Pain
A better approach to relieving buttock pain is strengthening the ischial tuberosity area with Prolotherapy.
Injections are given along the ischial tuberosity, where the hamstring muscles and sacrotuberous ligaments meet, an area rarely examined by a traditional practitioner.
The sacroiliac joint, another source of buttock pain, can also be a site of prolotherapy treatment. Four prolotherapy treatment sessions generally eliminate pain.
Chronic pain is usually due to tendon or ligament weakness, such as pain in the buttocks or deterioration of cartilage. The safest and most effective natural medicine treatment to repair the tendon, ligament, and cartilage damage is Prolotherapy.
In simple terms, Prolotherapy stimulates the body to repair painful areas. It does this by inducing a mild inflammatory reaction in weakened ligaments. Since the body heals itself through inflammation, Prolotherapy encourages healing.
