Stuart McGill has written a great article for IDEA fitness on the pain of the lower back. The gluteal amnesia he refers to is a familiar syndrome in the Pilates context isn’t it?
“People with troubled backs use their backs more. Generally, they walk, sit, stand and lift using mechanics that increase back loads. Many of them have stronger backs yet less endurance than matched asymptomatic controls (McGill et al. 2003). Those with back issues also tend to have more motion in their backs and less motion and load in their hips. A common aberrant motor pattern is known as gluteal amnesia (McGill 2007), which may commonly be both a consequence and a cause of back troubles. This gluteal amnesia occurs in people who do not engage the gluteal muscles because of a history of pain during hip extension tasks.”
