How your hips function and the muscles that your body recruits to stabalise your pelvis plays a major role in how other joints below the hips including the knees and ankles perform. It is important to identify and understand what muscles in your body are performing different movements to help ascertain if there is any weakness inhibiting your performance.

A strong gluteus medius is extremely important as it helps to stabilise the hips so that you can maintain a level pelvis when you are walking or running. It also assists with lateral movement away from the mid-line of the body, eg. hip abduction. When this muscle gets weak or you have developed other compensatory patterns due to bad habits or tight muscles the body will use other muscles to try to stabalise itself.

When gluteus medius is dysfunctional it has implications all the way down the chain. Weakness allows the femur (upper leg bone) to adduct and internally rotate causing impingement on the hip labrum. It also causes the tibia (lower leg bone) to rotate internally and increases the weight transfer to the inside of the foot compromising the ankle. All these compensatory patterns cause problems to the other joints due to the extra stress imposed on them.

When there is a weakness in the Gluteus Medius other muscles such as the TFL, adductors and quadratus lumborum become overactive to compensate. This not only compromises your hip stability but places extra stain on the back, hips and knees and can cause serious injury if it is not remedied.

If you are concerned about your hip function or strength or are experiencing knee or back pain get your trainer to assess your glute medius with your movement patterns to ascertain if it is working. Not only must this muscle work but it needs to be strong enough to stabilise you with every other movement you perform in your daily life.

Once glute medius dysfunction or weakness has been identified you can resolve it with the correct recruiting and strengthening exercises to ensure the least amount of wear and tear on your joints and the correct posture and hip position while you exercise. The right muscular function will enable your body to perform at its best and decrease the chance of injury.