Menu Close

Which are the best compression shorts for glute injury?

Whenever you are performing a unilateral exercise involving your legs you rely heavily on your glutes. The glutes activate during running or cycling, not to mention squats. To protect your glutes wear compression shorts while exercising. Which are the best compression shorts for glute injury?

Best Compression Shorts for Glute Injury

What are the most common glute injuries for runners and cyclists?

There are three main glute muscles in your body – the gluteus maximus, minimus and medius. The medius is the muscle that sits under the gluteus maximus and is connected directly to the hip bone. The biggest of the three – the gluteus maximus – is what is primarily responsible for extending and rotating the hip joint itself. The minimus is the glute muscle that helps you flex and internally rotate your hip. Obviously, all three of these are important for runners and cyclists, but unfortunately they also represent some of the most common types of injuries these athletes regularly face. 

One such injury is gluteus medius tendinosis, which is a term used to describe an inflammation of the gluteus medius muscle. Pain can commonly be felt on the lateral side of the hip when standing or stepping on the impacted leg. As someone moves from one leg to the other, one hip may drop lower than the other, thus creating difficulty when both running and cycling.

Much of the issue with these types of common glute injuries has to ultimately do with a lack of strength in not only the glutes, but the core as well. Your glute muscles start to work harder than they should have to, contributing to these and other issues.

How do compression shorts work? How do they heal the glutes?

Compression shorts are made of stretchy material that, tightly forms to the body. They’re designed to produce compression – otherwise known as pressure – in the glute muscles, thus bringing with them a wide range of different benefits. Wearing compression shorts is a unique way to increase performance and prevent injuries.

Not only does wearing compression shorts help significantly reduce muscle soreness and fatigue in the glutes, but it can also help with your form. This will show in the added benefit of better, longer and faster runs and cycling sessions. Compression shorts are also a great way to reduce strains in the glutes, which is another common injury that many runners and cyclists are all too familiar with. 

Related: Best running spandex shorts review

How can compression shorts help prevent glute injuries?

A big part of how compression shorts help prevent glute injuries comes down to the fact that they create better muscle oxygenation throughout the body. To put it another way, your muscles need oxygen to function properly at all times, but especially during hard physical activity. Compression shorts, by association, help increase the amount of oxygen that your glutes receive, thus improving oxygenation in the muscle tissue in a way that also promotes blood flow in other parts of the body.

This is how compression shorts not only work to help prevent glute injuries, but also help enhance athletic performance in general as well. 

Related: Best compression shorts for spinning

How do compression shorts help you recover from different types of glute injuries?

Another major benefit that compression shorts for glute injury bring to the table is speeding up recovery. This is critical when recovering from different types of glute injuries. Compression shorts are specifically designed to promote muscle strength recovery after periods of resistance training. They can absolutely help you recover from an injury and get back on your feet as quickly as possible.

Keep in mind that recovering from any type of strenuous activity like running or cycling can be a long process. Particularly when you are a novice. New runners and cyclists suffer from muscle soreness more. They’re also far more likely to experience the aforementioned types of glute injuries. This is the case when you overload yourself while working out.

Thankfully, compression shorts can absolutely help aid your muscle’s own ability to recover after strenuous workouts. This is why compression shorts for glute injury have become so popular in a relatively short amount of time – they support your body in more ways than one and continue to do so for as long as you wear them.

What are the features to look for when selecting compression shorts for glute protection?

If you’re thinking about buying a pair of compression shorts for glute protection, there are a number of important things you’ll want to keep in mind. What are the features of the best compression shorts for glute injuries? Compression shorts come in men’s, women’s and unisex varieties so make sure you read the label carefully.

Men’s compression shorts usually have a longer inseam. This helps cut down on issues like discomfort and chafing. Women’s running shorts have a shorter inseam and are generally designed to fit better on a woman’s waist, hips and thighs. Unisex compression shorts don’t have any gender-specific features at all, but they’re still a viable option.

For men I recommend the UnderArmour Heatgear compression shorts. I love a number of things about these:

  • HeatGear fabric allows your skin to breathe. There is nothing worse than chafing and excess moisture buildup in those sensitive areas.
  • 4-way stretch construction allows full range of motion.
  • Seams are constructed so they don’t get in contact with any high abrasion areas.
Buy on Amazon

For women the compression shorts for glute injury are the Baleaf Workout Compression Shorts. Its positives include:

  • Very soft, comfortable stretch, non see-through fabric.
  • Longer inseam provides comfort and ability to go from pose to pose.
  • Huge side pockets for storing your phone, keys or energy bars.
Buy on Amazon

Additional features

Depending on your preferences, you may also want to look into a pair of compression shorts with pockets. These are usually hidden by the band of the shorts themselves. However they can be a great way to hold everything from your phone to your keys while running or cycling.

Finally, if you’re the type of person who likes to run or cycle at night, you may want to consider a pair of running shorts that have reflective coating, or other visibility features. If nothing else, this will help make you more readily apparent to drivers who you’re sharing the road with. Dramatically reducing the chances that you’ll get injured during your favorite activity. 

This concludes the review of the best compression shorts for glute injury. These models prevent injuries and help you recover faster.