Kinesiology THURSDAY - Gluteus Medius v Adductors (Tug-o-War Series)

Human hip muscles and skeleton anatomy illustration

Ever have a patient squat with their knees falling in (valgus)? How about one knee falling in? This is one of the most common agonist/antagonist battles waged in the lower extremity: a weak gluteus medius v. a tight adductor group.

The battle between gluteus medius and the adductors is often associated with over pronation. Remember, the two most common causes of over pronation are:

A weak gluteus medius
Limited ankle dorsiflexion

And with a weak gluteus medius there is often fascial restrictions or trigger points noted in the adductor. Remember, if one muscle is short/tight, it’s antagonist is long/weak.

Test and fix a weak gluteus medius is the modified side plank with hip abduction:

Man performing side plank exercise on floor

Lie on one side making sure your body is straight as a line.
Bend your bottom knee
Prop up on your forearm
Lock your top leg straight and lift it up towards the ceiling 10 times (you are testing the hip closest to the floor)
Repeat on the other side

Success in fixing a valgus squat could also involve releasing the adductor with this manual technique.

An exercise fix idea:

Man demonstrating glute and adductor exercises.

Strengthen the gluteus medius with mini-band lateral stepping and hurdle step overs. The idea is to strengthen the gluteus medius in the short position AND
Dynamically activate the adductor in the long position with activities like sumo squats and revolving forward bends.

Why does this matter?

A valgus squat often lies at the root of common over pronation problems such as: plantar fasciitis, patellofemoral pain, Achilles tendonitis and greater trochanteric bursitis. Considering the tug-o-war between gluteus medius and the adductor just may fix some bigger problems.

Because nobody has time to be in pain.

Until next time…