Gluteus Minimus
Gluteus Minimus
Stretches
Stretches
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Laying
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Laying
How to perform the stretch:
1. Start laying on your back position
2. Choose the muscle or hip you intend to stretch
3. Flex the target hip 65 degrees towards your torso with a flexed knee
4. Keep the opposite leg flat on the floor
5. Medially (inwards) rotate the target hip 25-45 degrees over the opposite hip and grasp the knee with the opposite hand
6. Pull the knee towards the floor, increasing the hip rotation to increase the stretch
7. Hold the stretch for 20 Seconds
8. Release the stretch
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Standing Walking Lunge
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Standing Walking Lunge
How to perform the stretch:
1. Start in a standing walking lunge position
2. Choose the muscle or hip you intend to stretch bringing this leg to the front
3. Interlock the hands behind the back
4. Rotate the front foot ‘inwards’ 30 degrees, with the knees flexed and the forward knee positioned over the ankle
5. Flex forward at the hips to bring the chest directly over the thigh
6. Curve the lower back 15 degrees towards the target hip and rotate the shoulders and back ‘outwards’ 15-20 degrees
7. Hold the stretch for 20 Seconds
8. Release the stretch
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Kneeling Lunge
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Kneeling Lunge
How to perform the stretch:
1. Start in a kneeling lunge position
2. Choose the muscle or hip you intend to stretch bringing this leg to the front
3. Interlock the hands behind the back
4. Rotate the front foot ‘inwards’ 30 degrees, with the knees flexed and the forward knee positioned over the ankle
5. Rotate the lower back 15 degrees towards the target hip and flex forward at the hips to bring the chest directly over the thigh
6. rotate the shoulders and back ‘outwards’ 15-20 degrees
7. Hold the stretch for 20 Seconds
8. Release the stretch
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Sitting
Gluteus Minimus HIP Stretch for All Sitting
How to perform the stretch:
1. Start in a sitting on-the-floor position with legs straight out in front of you
2. Choose the muscle or hip you intend to stretch
3. Flex the target hip and knee towards the torso and place the foot over the opposite leg, above the knee
4. Rotate and twist the spine and shoulders ‘outwards’ placing the hand on the floor behind for support
5. Bring the elbow of the opposite arm and place it on the outside of the target flexed knee
6. Extend this shoulder ‘rearward’ (locked against the knee) and twist the torso further outward to increase the stretch
7. Hold the stretch for 20 Seconds
8. Release the stretch
Muscle Details
Muscle Details
The Gluteus Minimus has essentially the main function as the gluteus medius, although it lays inferior (deepest) to the gluteus medius. The muscle is divided into anterior and posterior sections.
Origin:
- Outer ilium between the anterior and posterior gluteal lines.
Insertion:
- Greater trochanter of the femur upon the anterior surface.
Action:
- Abduction of the hip. Stabilization of the pelvis and prevention of ‘dropping’ of the hip during the ‘swing’ cycle of gait. Anterior fibres – Flexion and medial rotation of the hip. Posterior fibres – Extension and lateral rotation of the hip.
It is quite often exceptionally tight and over worked in most people, especially ‘desk workers’, for the position that the hip spends long hours in whilst sitting, therefore shortening the muscle. Tension within the gluteal muscles can refer pain down the posterior leg or up into the lumbar back contributing to ‘back pain’.