Together with the core muscles, the gluteus medius cannot be omitted when talking about musculoskeletal problems including disc herniation.

When you see its location, you can see why. These side hip muscles are the best pelvic stabilizers that hold the pelvis upright on both sides. Weak gluteus medius can lead to 'unstable gait patterns' where one side of the pelvis drops when walking (See the image below). The more the pelvis drops, the more it is likely to affect vertebral disc, because our lumbar spine sits on top of the pelvis.

In fact, there are only 10-20% of my patients whose gluteus medius are normal on both sides. It is probably because nowadays people spend a long time sitting down causing this muscle to be stretched out. Also, this muscle easily becomes weak when your pelvis is asymmetrical.

Nevertheless, there are so many people who don't know how to exercise or use their side hip muscles properly. The 'Clamshell' is known as the most famous exercise for the gluteus medius but it does not address its posterior part, which is the most functional part of the muscle. We will cover this in more detail in the exercise part.