My Butt Hurts

One of my reoccurring complaints about running is that my butt hurts.

Specifically, my IT Band that runs along my left buttock.

When this first started happening, I blamed it on carrying a filing cabinet disguised as a wallet in my back pocket. I had been warned about this some years before and had heard of people developing this problem.

Compounding this was noticing how many guys at the gym older than 50 all had long scars accross one of their buttocks. Oh yeah, hip surgery. Pretty common.

I had this feeling of dread that this was my future. If they made a movie of my life, it would be called "Scar Butt".

But then, Hare clued me in to ART and a useful little stretch you can do in the privacy of your own home. My life has improved and my butt thanks ART therapists everywhere.

Here's that stretch you can do that'll alleviate the pain temporarily:

We're going to be working on your left side first. Reverse this for your right side (I reco doing both sides if even only one side hurts).

1/ Stand perpendicular to a wall or a railing or anything you can hang onto and that will hold your weight. Your right side should be nearest the wall about 24-30 inches out (you'll fine-tune this distance later so don't sweat it too much right now)

2/ Put your left foot behind your right foot

3/ Extend your right hand so that it touches the wall (or grasp the railing, whatever)

4/ While holding the position, lean your upper body towards your right hand while your hips lean further to the left and your feet stay put. Your body should lower a bit while doing this.

5/ Right about now, you should be feeling your ITB stretching. Adjust/lower your hips and the stretch so that the area you most feel stretching is the area that most hurts when you're not doing this stretch.

6/ Once you've got that area stretching, try and hold the position for 30 sec. Go for a minute or longer if you can.

Once you've got the hang of it, this is a stretch you can quickly do anytime during the day where you have a bit of privacy (or are around family and they already think you're odd :) )