What Your Massage Therapist Wants You To Know: The Gluteal Group
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Massage Therapists are trained professionals who work out tension in your muscles tissues.
Your gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus are the muscles that make up your butt. Yep. I said it, they are the muscles that compose your rump and are collectively called the gluteal group. These are powerful, hard working muscular tissues that really need your massage therapist to work on them during your sessions. During your daily activities, any time you are moving your hip joint you are using these muscles to do so. They even help to stabilize your knees. They are always working when you are moving – they are powerhouses!
Anatomy Lesson:
(it’s easy, I promise)
Professional Massage Therapists have extensive training in human anatomy.
When your massage therapist is working on your gluteal group, most likely they are thinking about them as as the top part of your leg. They are not thinking, “what a (enter your adjective here) butt this client has.” The muscle group known as your hamstrings attaches to your pelvis underneath the layers of your gluteals. So, quite literally, your butt is really just the top of your legs. Many think of their bodies as being made up of individual puzzle pieces called muscles. This is not at all correct. Instead, we are a collection of human-shaped bones with muscle tissues connected to them by tendons. We have a continuous and layered connective tissue called fascia that wraps all around us like plastic wrap (or bee wrap if you’ve read my DIY post). This fascia is capable of changing density and shape when massaged. When it softens through a massage therapists expert touch, this allows for your muscle tissues to change shape as well. If your massage therapist skips working on your gluteals, they have also skipped softening of the fascia that holds the top of your leg to your torso. By working on the gluteal group your massage therapist is making sure that you will feel more freedom of movement in your lower back, your hips and all of you when the session is completed.
Who Benefits from Gluteal Massage…
Short Answer: EVERYONE
If you’ve been on my massage table, you have learned that I believe strongly in full-body massage. Whether we are doing a 60 minute session or a 90 minute session, I will work on your gluteals. You always remain properly draped and I often work on the gluteals through the sheets and blankets. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of me working on your gluteal group, please say so. I will respect your wishes as we are working with your body. If you are experiencing lower back discomfort, or hip discomfort, we will most likely not get to the root of this issue without massaging your gluteals.
As a professional massage therapist, I have a spiritual respect of the human body. It is a honor to work with others in this way and I believe that doing so creates a more peaceful world. Thank you for trusting me with your body.
If you have questions about massage or anything I’ve written here, please comment below. I’d love to hear what you think. And if you’d like to know what else your massage therapist wants you to know, check out my previous blog posts:
