3 Types of Pain in the Butt and What To Do About Them (PLUS, Free Online Yoga Video!)

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In this article, Yoga Therapist Olga Kabel describes three types of pain in the butt, and how you can make sure your yoga practice benefits rather than exacerbates them.

Having a literal pain in the butt is not a fun experience; it can make walking, sitting, and sleeping difficult and uncomfortable. One would certainly want it to go as soon as possible, yet sometimes, we unknowingly exacerbate the issue by trying to stretch the injured area.

There is a special name for these types of practices: anga bangha. It basically means that you want to do something good but end up hurting yourself. Today we will explore three types of pain in the butt and how you can avoid making your practice anga bangha.

Pain in the Butt #1: Lower Butt Pain

A picture of lower butt cramps Many years ago, I was preparing for a fitness competition, and my routine included a split. One day, being young and silly, I plopped into the split right off the bat and heard “Crrkkhh” at the bottom of my right buttock. “Hmm,” I thought, “that didn’t sound too good.” I did manage to get out of the split, but ended up limping for couple of weeks and then dealing with butt cramps for months afterwards.

Location: This is the pain that you experience right in the crease of the buttock at the back of the thigh. It might give you trouble when you walk but becomes especially pronounced when you bend forward with your legs straight.

Offender: Hamstring tendon(s)

Reason: This type of pain is usually a sign of an injury to the tendon(s) that attach your hamstrings to the pelvis. It is usually a result of pulling on the hamstrings too enthusiastically, An anatomical diagram of a lower butt crampespecially if they haven’t been warmed up properly. When yoga practitioners insist on keeping the legs straight in forward bends and then force themselves into a pose, they may end up injuring the tendon. Yoga teachers who demonstrate a lot in their classes are also at risk since they are more likely to go into a difficult posture without proper preparation.

Common remedy: Here is the paradox: When the tendon becomes injured, the hamstring muscles naturally contract, trying to prevent further damage to the tendon. And we think my hamstrings feel tight and painful; if I only stretch them, the pain will go away. So, instead of allowing the tendon to heal, we keep reinjuring it by actively stretching the hamstrings. This cycle can go on for a very long time.

Better solution: Give your tendon(s) a chance to heal. This means contracting the hamstrings to increase circulation to the area, bending the knees generously in the forward bends, and only very mild stretching, if any. Once the acute phase has passed, you can begin to add gradual stretching.

An anatomical diagram of suggested stretches for lower butt pain

Pain in the Butt #2: Outer/Upper Butt Pain

Showing the location of upper or outer buttock cramps, which can be felt down the side of the legI have a client who came to me complaining about the pain in the hip that interfered with her walking and sleeping. She has been to a physical therapist who suggested core strengthening, an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed her with piriformis syndrome, and a licensed massage therapist who treated her for a tight iliotibial band.

After careful exploration, we have determined that the location and symptoms of her pain were pointing toward the weakened abductor muscles (the muscles on the outside of the thigh), which caused a displacement of the pelvis and a host of muscle compensation patterns. We began to work on strengthening her abductors, and shortly after, her butt cramps were gone.

Location: This type of pain usually appears in the upper or outer buttock area and can resonate down on the side of the leg. It usually worsens while walking and lying on the affected side at night.

Offender: Weak abductor(s), tight iliotibial band can be a contributing factor.

Reason: This pain is often due to some sort of an asymmetrical movement pattern that goes on for an extended period of time.An anatomical diagram of outer/upper butt pain that resonates down the leg

Common remedy: This pain is often perceived as an IT band issue and remedied by stretching the IT band or using the roller to apply pressure to it. This can be very useful, but it does not address the root of the problem – weak abductors. Until those are strengthened, the issue will continue to pop up.

Better solution. You need to strengthen the abductors by using them in the stabilizing role (standing on one leg) and moving role (moving the leg out to the side, preferably against gravity).

An illustration of suggested stretches for upper/outer butt cramps to strengthen the abductors

Pain the Butt #3: Central Butt Pain

A picture of central butt pain extending down the back of the legWhen the Body Worlds exhibit came to town, one of the reasons I went was to check out the structure of the hip since I do not have ready access to cadavers. Yes, it was creepy at times but also fascinating. For example, I was amazed at how big the sciatic nerve is – yes, it’s the longest nerve in your body, extending from the lower spine all the way down into the foot, but it’s also very thick – about the thickness of your pinky finger – between your spine and hip area.

Since the nerve is so big and long, it can get pinched at various locations, causing all-too-familiar sciatic pain. Two common impingement sites are the lower back (between the lumbar vertebrae) and underneath the tight piriformis muscle.

The piriformis is a small muscle that can cause a lot of trouble if it gets tight. It sits deep within the hip, and its job is to rotate the hip externally and to abduct the leg when the hip is flexed. Tight piriformis by itself can cause pain in the butt, but the situation becomes worse if it presses on the sciatic nerve that passes underneath (and, for some people, right through) the piriformis muscle.

Location: The pain can show up in the middle of the buttock, in the lower back, or anywhere along the pathway of the nerve. It can also manifest as numbness or weakness in the leg.

Offender: Herniated disks, bone spurs on the vertebrae, or tight piriformis muscle

Reason: Sitting or driving a lot, degenerative changes in the spine with age

Common remedy: If the sciatic pain is due to a herniated disk, it is a much bigger issue and is beyond the scope of this post. Core strengthening under the guidance of a physical therapist would be the best solution. If the pain is due to the tight piriformis muscle, we can work on releasing the muscle tension. The most commonly recommended pose for the tight piriformis is Pigeon Pose.

Unfortunately, for many people with this type of pain, Pigeon Pose is too much, too soon. Pigeon Pose places the piriformis in the maximum stretched position and pulls strongly on the sciatic nerve as well. This means that if the pain is acute, Pigeon Pose can worsen it.

Better solution: It makes much more sense to utilize our usual Contract-Relax-Stretch principle.

Step 1. We begin by contracting the surrounding muscles (particularly the gluteus maximus) to increase the blood flow into the general area.

Step 2. Then, we can gently contract the piriformis muscle itself, asking it to relieve the chronic contraction (only if it doesn’t cause pain) in combination with gentle stretching. Poses like Virabhadrasana 2, Utthita Parsvakonasana, and versions of a clamshell (lying on your side with your knees bent and lifting the top knee off the bottom knee) will contract the piriformis. A simple standing twist with a chair and Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose) would be good options for stretching it since they place your leg into a flexed/adducted position without the external rotation element, which is milder for piriformis.

Step 3. When you are ready to add the external rotation element to your stretching, it’s better to choose Thread-the-Needle Pose (Supine Half Lotus) instead of Pigeon or Gomukasana. Or you can practice Gomukhasana on your back instead of in a seated position, which will apply less leverage against your piriformis. Only after practicing those will you be ready for Pigeon or Gomukasana (and some students won’t be ready for a long time, if ever).

Anatomical diagrams showing the recommended stretches for central butt cramps

In addition, it makes sense to relieve chronic contraction in the adductors since tight adductors can internally rotate the leg, placing additional stress on the piriformis muscle. Tight hamstrings can also irritate the sciatic nerve, so it is useful to relieve tension there. Keep in mind that even the simplest hamstring stretches can be very painful to a student with sciatica, so it’s best to follow the same principle for hamstring work that we’ve outlined in Pain in the butt #1.

So there you have it. Keep in mind that sometimes there can be multiple things going on, so if your pain persists despite your best efforts, it’s probably time to seek professional help.

Free Yoga Practice Video: How to Relieve Butt Pain and Tension

Here is a sample practice to relieve tension in the piriformis muscle using all the principles we’ve outlined above.

This home yoga practice will help you release tension in the piriformis muscles and other hip rotators; it may or may not be useful for sciatica, depending on its source.

Reprinted with permission from sequencewiz.org

Educated as a school teacher, Olga Kabel has been teaching yoga for over 14 years. She completed multiple Yoga Teacher Training Programs but discovered the strongest connection to the Krishnamacharya/ T.K.V. Desikachar lineage. She studied with Gary Kraftsow and the American Viniyoga Institute (2004-2006) and received her Viniyoga Teacher diploma in July 2006, becoming an AVI-certified Yoga Therapist in April 2011. Olga is the founder and managing director of Sequence Wiz- a web-based yoga sequence builder that assists yoga teachers and yoga therapists in creating and organizing yoga practices. It also features simple, informational articles on how to sequence yoga practices for maximum effectiveness. Olga strongly believes in the healing power of this ancient discipline on every level: physical, psychological, and spiritual. She strives to make yoga practices accessible to students of any age, physical ability, and medical history, specializing in helping her students relieve muscle aches and pains, manage stress and anxiety, and develop mental focus.

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