The butt has large muscles and when they begin twitching, this is hard to ignore.
“Twitching of various muscles are, in medical lingo, termed fasciculations, which are small, local, involuntary contractions of muscles in any location (usually outside the butt) that may be visible under the skin,” explains Morton Tavel, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, and author of “Health Tips, Myths and Tricks: A Physician’s Advice.”
Common sights for fasciculations are the eyelid, a finger or toe, the arch of the foot, the calf and the front and back of the thigh.
But the butt, though not among the most common locations for twitching, can definitely develop this.
The three main muscles of the buttocks are the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus: the “glutes.”
Causes of Twitching Muscles butt
Dr. Tavel explains, “They arise as a result of spontaneous depolarization [de-charging] of nerve cells causing synchronous contraction of muscle fibers within a single group of these cells.
“Although fasciculations have a variety of causes, the majority are benign.
“They are encountered by virtually all healthy people, though for most, they are quite infrequent.
“In some cases, however, their presence can be rather annoying.”
The top reasons for a twitching muscle are exercise (particularly strenuous or prolonged), anxiety and mineral deficiency.
If your butt has been twitching lately, ask yourself if you recently did any glute-engaging exercise.
Shutterstock/Oleksandr Zamuruiev
More than once, the muscles in my butt were twitching away after I went on a long grueling hike.
The twitching wasn’t noticeable until I settled into a comfortable chair later on that day and began working on my computer. I then felt the fasciculations.
And the truth is, I LOVED them! They felt like the fingers of a deep tissue massager. I enjoyed this built-in massage!
Pathological Cause disease
Dr. Tavel says, “Unusually, they can also be due to disease of the nerve cells, in which case they are persistent and associated with other, more widespread muscular disorders.”
If your only symptom is the twitching in your butt (the type of twitching that you’ve very likely experienced many times with an eyelid), and especially if your rump muscles have very recently carried you through a Zumba class, running, strength training or yoga …
… then you should just relax, empty the fearful thoughts from your head and sleep like a baby.
“If a neurological examination and other tests are otherwise normal, a diagnosis of benign fasciculation syndrome is usually made, and it is best ignored,” says Dr. Tavel.
Dr. Tavel’s medical research includes over 125 publications, editorials and book reviews in peer-reviewed national medical journals. He was formerly director of the cardiac rehabilitation program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana. mortontavel.com
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Top image: Shutterstock/Pixelato by Pearl
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