Gluteus Minimus

Well, we're down to our last glute, and it's a small one so this will be a short post. Of course, it is the smallest of the gluteal muscles and hidden under the gluteus medius entirely so you won't be able to flex this muscle in the mirror no matter how hard you try.

In addition to being just deep to the glute med, the fibers of the gluteus minimus also basically run in a similar direction. They originate from wing of the pelvis just below the origin of the gluteus medius and then terminate on the anterior aspect of the greater trochanter of the top of the femur just in front of the gluteus medius. Words don't really do it justice, so check out the video below to see the anatomy. Once you see the origin and insertion of the muscle, it is easy to understand how contracting (shortening) the muscle leads to its action. Form follows function!!!

So now we see how the gluteus minimus (and the gluteus medius) move the hip away from midline (abduction) and because that little muscle inserts on the anterior portion of the femur then its contraction will also flex the hip and internally rotate. It's a relatively small muscle compared to all of the other muscles that act on the hip, but along with the gluteus medius is hugely important in stabilization. People with very weak gluteus medius and minimus can have a pathologic sign called the Trendeleberg sign or Trendeleberg gait. Check out the excellent video to the right for its description.

Hopefully we've added hip abduction to our workout routine based on last week's discussion of the glute med and work in the frontal plane. Lastly, though, the hips have a huge range of motion best seen in these freestyle soccer skills below. While the gluteus maxiumus gets all the glory, the little muscles in the hip like the gluteus minimus, pirifomris, superior and inferior gamelli, obturator, and quadratus should get some time in the limelight since they help control all these subtle and complex movements of the hip. Enjoy.