The gluteal muscles steer the pelvis, the hip and, through the iliotibial band, the knee. When they fatigue into spasm from sitting, running, uneven loading or a protective reflex, they pull the pelvis out of alignment, tighten the IT band down the outside of the thigh, and drag the knee sideways. The result shows up as hip pain, sacroiliac joint pain, tailbone pain, IT band pain and a knee that hurts on the outside or along the joint line. Releasology releases the gluteal complex directly, and the pelvis, IT band and knee return to normal alignment together.

What this release relieves

• Hip pain and pain over the outside of the hip. Chronic tenderness over the greater trochanter, often labelled bursitis, is gluteal spasm pulling on its attachment there.
• Knee pain and meniscus-type pain patterns. A tight IT band pulls the knee laterally and loads the joint unevenly. Many knee pains resolve when the gluteals upstream release.
• IT band pain and runner's knee. The IT band is not a muscle and cannot be stretched or rolled loose. Its tension comes from the gluteals; release them and the band slackens.
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain. The gluteals attach across the sacrum. In spasm they twist the SI joint and hold it there.
• Tailbone (coccyx) pain. A coccyx locked to one side is being held by gluteal and pelvic floor tension; releasing it lets the coccyx return to centre.

The gluteal muscles are among the most powerful and influential muscles in the body.

 

They control:

• hip extension

• pelvic stability

• rotation of the femur

• tension through the iliotibial band (IT band)

 

When these muscles enter spasm:

👉 they distort alignment

👉 they transmit tension into the IT band

👉 they affect both the knee and pelvis simultaneously

Frequently asked questions

I have been foam-rolling my IT band for months. Why is it still tight?

The IT band is connective tissue; rolling it does nothing to the muscles that tension it. The gluteals and tensor fasciae latae are the source, and they release by hand, not by rolling.

Can this help knee pain if an MRI shows a meniscus tear?

Many people have meniscus findings on imaging without pain, and many with knee pain have a normal MRI. When the knee is being pulled laterally by the IT band, releasing the gluteals takes that load off and the pain frequently settles regardless of what the image shows. Surgical decisions belong with your physician.

Is hip pain from the joint or the muscle?

Pain over the outside of the hip that is tender to touch and worse lying on that side is almost always muscular. Deep groin pain with the hip is more often the joint or the obturator pathway (Modality 29).