Pain in the buttock (buttock pain)

The buttocks are at the back of the pelvis and are formed by different muscles. These muscles stabilise the pelvis and move the hips. Pain in the buttock is often felt deep in the buttock and usually develops gradually. Sometimes the symptoms can also arise acutely or suddenly shoot in. This happens, for example, by misstepping or making a wrong movement.

Anatomy of the buttock

The buttock consists of different muscles, of which the gluteal muscle lies most superficially and is the largest. In addition, there are a number of deeper muscles. Around the muscle tissue is fat tissue. The gluteal muscle consists of three different muscles: 

• M. gluteus maximus.
• M. gluteus medius.
• M. gluteus minimus. 

An important blood vessel and an important nerve run through the buttock to the leg. The nerve (the n. ischiadicus) can cause pain symptoms in the buttock. The cause of this pain is usually not directly in the buttock, but is due to a pinched nerve in the lower back. 

The deeper muscles can also cause pain in the buttock, especially if they put pressure on the nerve due to too much muscle tension. The excess tension in these muscles can be the result of overuse, for example in frequent hip rotation (dancers). Pain in the gluteal muscles also occurs regularly in runners when the gluteal muscles that stabilise the pelvis have to work too hard and therefore become overloaded.

The hamstrings are attached to the so-called sit bones, which are located at the bottom of both buttocks. Injured hamstrings can therefore cause pain in the buttock region and at the back of the thigh when sitting.

Check your buttock symptoms

Buttock pain can be very annoying. Do you suffer from this? Then we advise you to do the online physiotherapy check. Indicate where you feel the pain in your buttock and then answer the questions about your buttock symptoms. Once you have answered the questions, your symptoms are compared with the most common conditions and injuries in physiotherapy.

If you wish, you can contact a physiotherapy practice for professional advice and treatment.

Buttock conditions

There are many conditions and injuries that can cause pain in or around the buttocks. Below we list the most common conditions for you.