Dead Butt Syndrome is a Real Thing, and I Think I Have It

File this one under, 'Things That Make You Go Hmm'. Dead Butt Syndrome is actually real.

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You might be sitting there going, 'Come on, Heather. TMI.' But have you ever heard the phrase 'sitting is the new smoking'. There's real clinical research about how being sedentary and sitting for too long takes a toll on your well-being. Health.com reports sitting for long stretches of time can increase a person's risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to draw the conclusion that staying planted on your booty all day can lead to weight gain.

I fear that, due to all the time I've spent at home over the last year because of the pandemic, that my gluteus medius (one of the main butt muscles) has stopped firing! Basically, according to researchers at Cleveland Clinic, I may have developed Dead Butt Syndrome!

Now, my fitness routine has been compromised in many ways over the years. That's just life sometimes. But there were only two kinds of people during the COVID lockdown: 1) the ones who used the time to exercise and lose weight, and 2) the ones who stayed glued to the sofa and the TV binge watching everything on Netflix. I'm in the '#2' group. Shame on me. And, I'm paying for it.

I SIT ALL DAMN DAY. I go from the bed, to my car, to the SoJO studio chair, to my office, back to my car, and back on to the sofa. Unsurprisingly, my butt has gotten flat, and almost feels likes it's falling asleep at times. I used to have a cute but, I thought, now it's just STRAIGHT. And, no matter how many squats and lunges I've done lately, the situation doesn't seem to be improving.

A chiropractor at the Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute named Andrew Bang, tells Health Magazine, that when there's not a give-and-take happening between muscles and nerves, say from exercising to engage the glutes, signals just stop being sent. Essentially, Bang says, "Over time, we're basically training our glutes to be weak". It's almost like butt amnesia!

Health.com offers these tips to combat Dead Butt Syndrome:

• get up and walk around once in a while, at least 5 minutes per hour
• practice squeezing your butt muscles, even when sitting
• target glutes with squats and bridges during your workout
• try sitting up straight (90-degree angle)
• stretch every day, even when you're not exercising

So, let's get at it! Memorial Day Weekend is only about 8 weeks away, who's with me?

For more on Dead Butt Syndrome, visit Health.com.

SOURCES: Health.com; kenhub.com

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