Does low back pain or leg pain in gluteus medius syndrome contribute to lumbar degenerative disease and hip osteoarthritis and vice versa? A literature review.
Masahiro Kameda, Hideyuki Tanimae, Akinori Kihara and 1 others
PMID 32158082WHAT IT FOUND
Gluteus medius trigger points are described as a common source of low back, leg and hip pain, often alongside greater trochanteric pain, lumbar degeneration and hip osteoarthritis.
Hip abductor therapy is suggested, not proven.
Key findings
01In chronic or nonspecific low back pain, gluteus medius trigger points were reported in about 38 to 68% of cases.
02About 30% of leg pain cases were reported to be gluteus medius syndrome, and 50% of gluteus medius syndrome cases presented with leg pain.
03Greater trochanteric pain syndrome was reported in about 1.8% of primary care patients and about 20% of patients with hip pain or low back pain, and about 48.4% of greater trochanteric pain syndrome cases had lumbar degenerative disease.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a narrative review, not a trial, so it cannot show that treating the gluteus medius causes pain relief. The search used simple keywords and did not assess the quality of the included studies. The included studies defined greater trochanteric pain and gluteus medius syndrome differently, so their results are hard to combine. Most findings are associations between gluteus medius problems and back, leg, hip or knee pain, not proof that one condition causes another. Treatment reports came from many different interventions, doses and populations, so no single treatment can be recommended as best.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest and no specific grant from any funding agency.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that gluteus medius pain causes lumbar degenerative disease or hip osteoarthritis. It reports associations and treatment outcomes from existing papers, not a tested causal model.