Amanda Ventura, Physiotherapist
What should I do for a Gluteus Minimus Tear?
We see an enormous amount of lateral hip pain in the clinics
A common presentation we see are recreational runners or walkers who have recently increased their volume or intensity, and go on to develop pain on the side of their hip.
What started out as an annoying niggle has developed into consistent hip pain that is limiting how much activity they can do.
One of the more common diagnoses are gluteal tears.
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What is a Gluteus Minimus TENDON Tear?
There are three Gluteal muscles: Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius and Gluteus Minimus.
Gluteus Minimus is the smallest of the three and it works predominantly together with Gluteus Medius to stabilise, abduct (bring it out to the side) and internally rotate (turn it inwards) the hip.
Gluteus Minimus is active through lots of movements where hip stability is required
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Running and walking- it works with gluteus medius to keep you hips level when your weight is on one foot .
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Jumping and landing- they can help to stabilise your knee when landing
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Changing direction- the lateral hip stabilisers can control how force is distributed down your leg and in what direction
Therefore it is used frequently and as a result, it can sustain either acute tears from activity or develop tears from simply having load that it is unaccustomed to over time
Why is Gluteus Minimus important?
A Bursa sits between the tendon of Gluteus Minimus and the Greater Trochanter meaning that any tears in the muscle fibres can alter the load being transferred through the tendon, ultimately causing a tendinopathy. Inflammation processes in the tendon can cause irritation of the bursa resulting in bursitis.
Tears in the tendon itself are especially important to identify given the gluteus minimus’s role in stabilising the hip.
If the tendon can't function properly the muscle may not be able to stabilise the hip and may lead to falls or an altered gait pattern commonly known as a Trendelenburg gait.
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Gluteus Minimus Tendon Tear Symptoms
Because of its location Gluteus Minimus tendon tears can present in a number of different ways. Symptoms can include or be any combination of:
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Pain in the buttock, lateral hip, low back or even proximal hamstring.
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A change in gait due to pain
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Pain with compression ie sitting on the affected side, sleeping on it etc
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Pain with vibration ie car trips
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Aching or pain for prolonged periods several hours after activity or next morning stiffness/soreness - this could indicate an inflammatory source
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Treatment of a Gluteus Minimus Tear
The question is: do I need to see a physio for my gluteus minimus tear? Will it heal on its own?
Well… ultimately yes.
Muscle tears can vary considerably in size, degree, location and composition. Just because a tear is small or of a low grade, doesn't necessarily mean it will heal well.
It might be in a tricky position, there may be a lot of bleeding (or a little) and tendon tears behave differently to simple muscle tears.
Likewise, large or high grade tears can often heal in a good timeframe with minimal recurrence if they are rehabbed well.
Good rehabilitation of a tear will include targeting the anterior and posterior fibres (because they both have different functions!) and then integrating that into the whole hip complex and then integrating that into your functional activities.
For example:
If you are a runner, a good rehab program will focus on strengthening the components of the hip throughout your running stride and then being able to add different load characteristics such as speed, distance, intensity without symptoms.
Simple low grade tears can heal within 2-3 weeks whereas tendon tears can take as long as 8-10 weeks.
A health professional can guide you through this process whilst maintaining or modifying activities to ensure that you can still participate whilst ensuring you heal as well.
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Prevention Of Gluteus Minimus Tears
So how do we avoid having a gluteus minimus tear?
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Make sure you incorporate gluteal work into your gym program. Crab walks, hip hinges, lunges etc can all develop the lateral hip stabilisers so they can withstand load
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Monitor your load. Increasing your running load by either too much or too soon can place unnecessary stress on the tendon and in extreme cases cause tearing.
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Niggles can often develop into an injury if they are ignored. If pain isn't going away or reducing, get it seen to before it gets worse.
A good physio will be able to take you through each step of the rehab process from diagnosis to return to sport.
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LEARN How OUR MELBOURNE SPORTS PHYSIO TEAM can help you?
At Melbourne Sports Physiotherapy our goal is to get you moving pain free as soon as possible.
But, we also want you to actually move better and live a healthier, more active and fulfilling life!
If your sports, fitness training or work has been wearing your body down, book in with one of our expert massage therapists so we can help you reduce your pain or stiffness.
If you are showing some signs of this condition or simply want help prevent this from happening in the future then book in with one of our highly experienced Remedial Massage Therapists today!
You can make an appointment by calling or booking online.
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