Your gluteal muscles (your powerful buttock muscles) can cause pain in your hips, sacroiliac joints, your legs, lower back and feet.

You can massage your own gluteals (or glutes, for short) and it’s pretty easy.

A tennis ball or similar ball that is quite firm is a good tool you can use.  This ball will cause pressure on the muscles and that will cause them to relax.  Directions are below.

You could also use something larger like a small piece of carpet rolled into a tight tube, oh, maybe 2 feet long.  Or, you can make your own “tennis ball” by rolling a face cloth into a relatively round ball shape and tying it with rubber bands.

Here’s how to use your pain-relieving pressure tool:

You will lie on the firm carpet roll or ball.  Yes, it is as simple as that. 🙂

Lay on your back (preferably on the floor–if you lay on the bed, a lot of the ball gets lost in the mattress but if you have to be on the bed, then look for a larger firm ball) and place the tube or ball in the center of your glute on one side.

Look for the most uncomfortable place on your glute and place it there or roll onto it.  Just move thoughtfully around until you find the place that hurts most and leave it on the ball.  (You’re aiming for soft tissue/muscle.  You don’t want to press on bones although sometimes really tight gluteal muscles might make you think of bones.)

And then just lay there.  No moving is necessary.

Let gravity work for you.

In about 5 minutes, you will notice that you really don’t feel the ball much anymore in that spot.  That means your gluteal muscles are relaxing.  So move a little bit to find the Continue reading How To Massage Gluteal Muscles For Back Pain Relief →