You May Not Realize It, But You Probably Have A Thing Called Dead Butt Syndrome

It looks really good in those yoga pants you probably shouldn't have dropped half your paycheck on.

And it can give you way too much trouble sometimes when it comes to finding the perfect pair of jeans.

But somehow, it still lives its entire life in your shadow.

Yup, it's your butt.

And I hate to break it to you but, it's most likely dead.

At first, dead butt syndrome sounded like a fake medical diagnosis that my brother would try to convince me I have.

But it's a real thing.

And you probably don't even know you have it.

Apparently your booty doesn't know either, because this medical condition is also known as gluteal amnesia.

Dead butt syndrome develops when the gluteus medius (one of the three main muscles within your glutes) stops firing correctly.

This leads to overall inflammation of the muscles in the area, and sometimes even lower back pain or unhappy hips, as your body tries to compensate for your inactive glutes.

You can develop dead butt syndrome if you happen if you spend too much time sitting down (hello, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. desk job), or if you simply don't engage the booty as much as you should during your workouts.

You know when your friends tell you to stop being lazy and get off your butt?

Rather than receiving their pestering as an unwelcome reminder of your Game of Thrones obsession, you can now consider that some quality medical advice.

They're just lookin' out for your deceased posterior.

It may seem bizarre for a muscle to just stop functioning out of nowhere.

But it's actually a lot easier than you think for your glutes to weaken and stop working properly.

The muscles in your behind have to work to maintain a very particular balance in order to keep you moving and get you where you need to go.

When that balance is thrown off, you've got a dead butt on your hands (or, your behind, technically).

So, if you're in the large group of people who are sitting down for the majority of your day, your hip flexors are constantly contracting, while your glutes are just doing nothing at all.

You're basically training the muscles there to be weak, and eventually inactive, without even realizing it.

RIP rear end.

And this actually doesn't just apply to those of you working desk jobs every day. The same syndrome can arise for athletes and fitness fanatics (especially routine runners) that have super strong hammies and quads, but neglect their glute muscles.

TBH, nobody is safe from the doom of dead butt.

But don't lose hope for a full and prosperous life for your booty.

There are plenty of simple ways to revive your rump -- but you've got to commit.

If you suspect you have dead butt (you'll know it if you do -- it's literally a sharp pain in your ass), you can remedy it by taking little breaks from sitting throughout the day, or even just reminding yourself to squeeze your cheeks periodically at your desk (anyone else involuntarily clench when you read that?).

No one will know, and you'll be the one with a butt full of life in the end, amirite?

However, if you're on the fitness end of dead butt, be sure to add squats, leg lifts, and bridges to your regular routine.

Oh, and ankle weights and resistance bands should definitely be your new BFFs if you're trying to bring your butt back to life.