The Gluteal Muscles

There are 640 muscles in the body and the ITEC syllabus require you to know the 40 that we cover in our anatomy and physiology e-course. I know it can pretty hard to get to grips with the origins and insertions (which is where they attach to bones in the body) and also their actions (what movements they are responsible for), so we suggest that  you do one a day and make some flash cards to revise from.

Also the pass mark is just 50%  for the ITEC certificate in Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology for the Complementary Therapist,  so there is lots of room for error!

What is the function of the Gluteus Medius and Minimus

My thoughts were that it abducts the hip and medially rotates the femur.. However, the report says I was incorrect and the answer was May rotate the femur both laterally and medially, which i would have selected if the Gluteus Maximus was part of the question. 

The question asks for the function of both the Gluteus Medius and the Gluteus Minimus - if we look at the Gluteus Medius the function of this muscle is : Stabilisation of the pelvis, Abduction of the hip, (all fibres)  flexion and medial rotation of the hip is via the anterior fibres of the muscle and extension and lateral rotation is via the posterior fibres of the muscle.

With regards to the Gluteus Minimus the muscle function is: Abduction, Medial rotation and flexion of the hip (all fibres).

Therefore the answer is May rotate the femur both laterally and medially. 

The Gluteus Maximus will give stabilisation, Extension, Lateral rotation and Abduction of the hip (all fibres). 

You can learn about muscles in our special ecourse; https://www.anatomyandphysiologyonline.com/items/muscle-actions-origins-insertions

Learning your muscles is really important for body workers such as sports massage therapists and instructors of physical activities such as yoga and pilates. If you are studying a therapy such as nutrition or reflexology, they wont be quite so important. 

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