Gluteal Strain Symptoms & Diagnosis

Symptoms

Symptoms include:

Pain and tenderness in the buttocks
Stiffness in the gluteal muscles
Weakness of the gluteal muscles
Bruising on the buttocks (if blood vessels are broken)

Diagnosis

The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, your recent physical activity, and how the injury occurred. The doctor will also examine your buttocks for:

Tenderness and bruising
Pain when contracting the gluteal muscles, particularly against resistance

Muscle strains are graded according to their severity:

Grade 1

Stretching with some microtearing of muscle fibers
Recovery—2 weeks

Grade 2

Partial tearing of muscle fibers
Recovery—1-2 months

Grade 3

Complete tearing (rupture) of muscle fibers (This is rare with the gluteal muscles.)
Recovery—more than three months

For a severe gluteal strain, you may have an MRI scan . Professional and collegiate athletes sometimes have MRI scans to predict the length of recovery.