Weak buttocks can ruin your Asian soccer star dream!

So you want to be an Asian Soccer Star?

I know I do, and I just found out that I can ruin my dream because of weak buttocks, of all things.

I used to get a lot of knee pain and thought it was because of a growth spurt. But when I went to have my running analysed and video-taped one of the problems was in how I was using my buttock muscles, the gluteus medius.

"The gluteus medius should be considered in every running injury", says Sean Fyfe in the opening words of his article in the new Sports Injury Bulletin.

He also says "so many athletes with running overuse injuries of the lower limb present with poor gluteus medius function that I have come to the view that the strength and function of this muscle is probably the most important active component in the achievement of a biomechanically efficient running technique".

Even I can understand what that means (when it's explained to me a couple of times, and it helps to have a family of coaches and personal trainers 

Basically, the gluteus medius (or buttocks as I like to call them), are very important because they act as a stabilising force when you are running.

So if you are getting knee pain or other muscle injuries in the legs or hips, it's worth getting a professional analyses to make sure your running technique is correct.