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Gluteus medius
The fan-shaped muscle on the side of the hip that stops the pelvis dropping every time you stand on one leg.
Latin name: Musculus gluteus medius. In plain English, the side-hip muscle that keeps the pelvis level. It is filed here under hip and buttock.
Reference information, not a diagnosis. Where a symptom is described below, it is there so you can describe your own more precisely to a clinician — not so you can name what you have.
Where it is
Gluteus medius sits on the outer surface of the pelvis, largely covered by gluteus maximus at the back but superficial in front, where you can feel it just below the crest of the hip. It fans downward to a tendon on the outside of the greater trochanter — the bony point you feel at the side of your hip. Gluteus minimus lies underneath it with a similar line of pull.
The superior gluteal nerve supplies it along with minimus and tensor fasciae latae. This nerve is a landmark in hip surgery and in intramuscular injections, which are deliberately given in the upper outer quadrant of the buttock to avoid the sciatic nerve further down and inward.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Outer surface of the ilium between the anterior and posterior gluteal lines |
| Insertion | Lateral surface of the greater trochanter of the femur |
| Nerve | Superior gluteal nerve (L4-S1) |
| Main actions | Abduction of the hip; anterior fibres internally rotate and flex, posterior fibres externally rotate; stabilises the pelvis in single-leg stance |
What it does
Its textbook action is abduction, but its real job happens in the other direction. Every time you take a step, you are momentarily standing on one leg, and the weight of the body tries to tip the pelvis down on the unsupported side. Gluteus medius on the standing side contracts to prevent that. It does this roughly every second, all day, for a lifetime.
When it fails, the sign is visible: the pelvis drops on the opposite side during single-leg stance, the Trendelenburg sign, and people often lurch the trunk toward the affected side to compensate. Weakness here is also linked in the clinical literature with knee pain, because a dropping pelvis changes the angle of the thigh at the knee, although the direction of cause and effect is not always clear.
Exercises that load it
| Exercise | Category | Muscles the exercise library lists |
|---|---|---|
| Lunges | Strength | Quads, glutes, hamstrings, balance |
| Brisk walking (5.5 km/h) | Cardio | Legs, heart |
| Stair climbing | Cardio | Quads, glutes, calves, heart |
| Easy running (8 km/h) | Cardio | Legs, heart, lungs |
| Bodyweight squats | Strength | Quads, glutes, hamstrings, core |
Single-leg work is the honest load: split squats, step-ups, single-leg deadlifts, lateral step-downs and side-lying or banded abduction. Two-legged movements load it far less, because the pelvis has support on both sides. Walking and running load it repeatedly at low intensity, which builds endurance rather than strength — useful, but not a substitute for loaded single-leg work if it is genuinely weak.
How it is lengthened
Cross the leg to be stretched behind the other, then push the hip out to the side while side-bending away — a standing IT band and lateral hip stretch. A lying figure-four also reaches the posterior fibres. But this muscle is far more often weak than short, and pain at the side of the hip is usually a tendon problem where aggressive stretching, especially crossing the legs, makes it worse.
When it goes wrong
| Problem | What it typically feels like | Usual setting |
|---|---|---|
| Gluteal tendinopathy | Pain and tenderness directly over the bony point at the side of the hip, worse lying on that side and on stairs | Compressive loads on the tendon — sitting cross-legged, standing hip-dropped, sleeping on the side; most common in women in midlife |
| Trendelenburg gait | The pelvis drops on the swinging side, or the trunk lurches over the standing leg | Weakness or nerve injury affecting the hip abductors |
| Trochanteric bursitis | Pain over the side of the hip; historically blamed on the bursa, now usually attributed to the tendons | Overuse and compression; the label has largely been replaced by greater trochanteric pain syndrome |
Hip pain after a fall in an older adult, particularly with inability to bear weight or a leg that looks short and turned outward, needs emergency assessment for a fracture.
Nothing on this page is a treatment plan. If a problem is limiting what you do, is not improving, or is getting worse, the right next step is an assessment by a doctor or a physiotherapist who can examine you.
Sources: descriptive anatomy from Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th US edition (1918), which is in the public domain; Latin names follow Terminologia Anatomica, published by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology. Nerve root levels are the conventional ranges taught from those sources and vary between individuals and between textbooks. Exercise cross-links use the TempoLife exercise library. Checked 2026-09-06.
Frequently asked questions
What does gluteus medius actually do?
It pulls the thigh out to the side, but its main everyday job is the opposite: holding the pelvis level while you stand on one leg. That is what it is doing during every step you take.
Is side-of-hip pain the same as bursitis?
The name has changed as understanding improved. Most cases previously called trochanteric bursitis are now understood as tendon problems of gluteus medius and minimus, grouped as greater trochanteric pain syndrome.
Why is my hip sore only when I lie on that side?
Lying on the side compresses the gluteal tendons against the bony point of the hip. Compression is a classic aggravator for that tendon, which is why a pillow between the knees and avoiding crossed legs often helps.
Nearby in this reference
Iliopsoas
The deep hip flexor that runs from the lower spine to the thigh
Gluteus maximus
The main buttock muscle
Piriformis
The deep rotator behind the hip, next to the sciatic nerve
Tensor fasciae latae
The small front-of-hip muscle that tightens the IT band
Hip adductors
The inner thigh muscles
Deltoid
The cap of the shoulder
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