Low Back Pain? Strengthen Your Glutes!

If you generally enjoy being able to sit down and get up with effortless ease, you should be squatting. As you get older, your glutes weaken and can cause issues with posture and even low back pain. If you’ve had a lower body injury, it’s likely that your body shut off your glute muscles to protect you (jerk move, right?) and you may need to to turn them back on! Here are some tips to make sure your form is great and to help create body awareness around making sure the RIGHT muscles are doing the work.

• Can weak glutes cause low back pain?

  Yes. Weak or underactive glute muscles are one of the most common contributors to low back pain. When the glutes aren’t doing their job stabilizing the pelvis and generating force, the low back often compensates. Over time, this extra workload can lead to tension, compression, and pain in the lumbar spine.

• Why do glutes “shut off” after an injury?

  After an injury, the nervous system often down-regulates nearby muscles as a protective response. This is especially common with lower body injuries affecting the hips, knees, or ankles. When the glutes shut down, movement patterns change, posture shifts, and the low back can become overworked—sometimes long after the original injury has healed.

• How does squatting help with low back pain?

  Squatting is a foundational movement that trains the glutes, hips, and core to work together. When performed with proper form, squats reinforce healthy movement patterns, improve body awareness, and teach your glutes to generate force instead of relying on the low back. This can significantly reduce strain on the spine during daily activities like sitting, standing, and lifting.

• Why does glute strengthening work better after fascia release?

  If the fascia surrounding the hips, quads, or low back is tight or dehydrated, the glutes may not be able to activate fully—even during strengthening exercises. Fascia release restores space and hydration, allowing muscles to fire more efficiently. Strengthening the glutes after releasing fascia helps lock in better movement patterns and prevents pain from returning.

• What are signs that my glutes aren’t activating properly?

  Common signs include feeling squats mostly in your low back or quads, difficulty standing up from a chair, tight hip flexors, or recurring low back stiffness. If you feel like your low back is always “doing the work,” there’s a good chance your glutes need both release and re-education to come back online.