Tennis Ball Exercises For Glutes

The gluteal muscles are a group of three muscles in your buttocks responsible for the extension, abduction, and external and internal rotation of your hip joint. If you’ve ever noticed, athletes have well-developed glutes because they’re important in sports.

If you’re experiencing pain in your hips and knees, you can get relief through glutes mobilization exercises. Here’s one you can do at home with a tennis ball.

1. You’ll be targeting the muscles on your buttocks and on the sides of your hips for self-massage with a tennis ball.

2. Recline on the floor with your arms behind you for support and your feet flat on the floor.

3. Place the tennis ball between your buttocks and the floor, and roll it around to find the sore spots.

4. Where people go wrong is not placing their weight on the tennis ball, instead of placing weight on their hands and feet. Use your body weight against the tennis ball to find the areas of discomfort and massage them.

5. Once you find the spot, contract and relax your glutes. Contracting and relaxing will really break up those trigger points.

6. Let your knee fall to the side to work the glutes.

7. With the leg of the glutes you’re massaging, cross your ankle over the opposite knee for a deeper massage.

8. Next, rotate over onto your side and work on the TFL there, using your weight against the tennis ball.

9. Repeat these steps on the glutes on your other side.

10. Perform the glute mobilization exercise 2 minutes a day every other day.

Everyone, not just athletes, can benefit from mobilizing your gluteal muscles. If you have back pain and hip dysfunction, work on your glute medius and other gluteal muscles for relief.

Contact us today to schedule a session with a licensed physical therapist to get strong and healthy.