Intrigued, I reached out to Dr Andrew Gorecki, DPT, FAFS, for his thoughts on why glute bridge marches might be easing the pain.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGlute bridge marches are one of the most useful exercises in my clinic for knee pain,\u201d says the physical therapist, owner of Superior Physical Therapy and co-founder of MovementRx<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they only work when the knee pain is being driven by weak glutes. Most of the time it is.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \u201cGlute bridge marches strengthen the glutes without putting weight on the knee. You’re building the muscle that protects the knee without aggravating the knee itself.\u201d<\/p>\n After speaking with Gorecki, I decided to try an experiment: I would do glute bridge marches every day for two weeks to see if I could continue lessening my knee pain.<\/p>\n Things to keep in mind before trying glute bridge marches<\/p>\n Before starting any new activity or exercise program, be sure to get clearance from your doctor. A certified personal trainer can ensure you\u2019re performing this exercise safely and with the correct form.<\/p>\n Gorecki points out that glute bridge marches aren\u2019t recommended for everyone. \u201cIf the knee pain is acute, recent, post-surgical, or coming from something other than weak glutes, this isn\u2019t the right exercise,\u201d he advises.<\/p>\n \u201c[If you have] a meniscus tear, a fresh ACL injury, a swollen knee, or significant arthritis with effusion, skip it.<\/p>\n \u201cGlute bridge marches can also flare up low back pain or SI joint<\/a> problems if the technique slips,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n \u201cThe pelvis has to stay level while one leg lifts. A weak core lets the back take the load. The rule I give patients is: if it produces a mild burn in the side of the hip, you’re doing it right. If it produces sharp knee pain, low back pain, or hip pinching, stop and get evaluated.\u201d<\/p>\n How to do the glute bridge march<\/p>\n Marching Glute Bridge – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Sets: 1 Reps: 5-15 each side<\/p>\n You\u2019ll just need a yoga mat for this exercise. If you\u2019re unable to get onto the floor, lie on a bed, couch, or massage table instead.<\/p>\n How to do it:<\/p>\n Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.Engage your core<\/a> muscles.Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips off the mat.Lift your left foot off the floor and bring your left knee towards your chest.Pause briefly.Lower your left foot back to the mat.Lift your right foot off the floor and bring your right knee towards your chest.Pause briefly.Lower your right foot back to the mat.Continue, alternating sides with each rep.How often I did the glute bridge march<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m no stranger to glute exercises, I started off my experiment by doing glute bridge marches for 12 reps on each leg as a part of my workout warm-ups.<\/p>\n Once I reached the halfway point of seven days, I realized that I wasn\u2019t getting the same fatigue in my glutes as I was on day one, so I increased my reps to 15 on each leg. That continued to be a challenge until the final day of my experiment.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a beginner and want to try glute bridge marches for yourself, I\u2019d start with no more than 8-10 reps on each leg. Be sure to focus on proper form.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I found after two weeks of daily glute bridge marches.<\/p>\n 1. My knee pain diminished during runs<\/p>\n My first instance of IT band syndrome\u2014a condition that causes pain on the outside of the knee\u2014popped up during my training for a 10K race. I\u2019ve been battling it on and off for almost 10 years.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, returning to running after pregnancy has also meant a return of my IT band pain.<\/p>\n Overtraining and improper running form are two major culprits of this type of pain, so I knew that I had to address those factors.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the gluteus medius is weak, the femur rotates inward,\u201d Gorecki explains.<\/p>\n \u201cThe kneecap tracks poorly. It grinds against tissue it shouldn’t be touching. That shows up as patellofemoral pain, IT band irritation, or a dull ache in the front of the knee that gets worse on stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n I dropped my mileage and started my daily glute bridge marches. Since I only run twice a week, I wasn\u2019t sure that I\u2019d see any noticeable improvement until after the two-week period was up.<\/p>\n However, my run on day eight of the experiment felt great. I usually feel my knee pain kick in around mile four, but I was able to make it over five miles without any issues.<\/p>\n My second run of that week, on day 12 of my two-week experiment, was also pain-free.<\/p>\n 2. My runs got slightly faster<\/p>\n With less pain and more confidence, I noticed that my runs in week two of the experiment were a little faster than usual.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a huge speed difference\u2014a few seconds per mile\u2014but it was nice to see that the daily glute work was having a positive effect on my performance.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be curious to see if my runs continue to get faster if I keep glute bridge marches in my pre-run routine.<\/p>\n 3. My knees felt more stable when going down stairs <\/p>\n I\u2019ve always had a little instability and pain when going down stairs, which can happen with a lot of knee conditions.<\/p>\n By the end of my two week experiment, I noticed that I wasn\u2019t gripping the railing anymore when going down the stairs at my gym. My knees didn\u2019t buckle or feel shaky, and I didn\u2019t feel the familiar ache I usually get.<\/p>\n I remembered Gorecki\u2019s comment on the gluteus medius impacting knee pain on stairs, and noted this new improvement as yet another positive from my daily glute bridge marches.<\/p>\n This was all the evidence I needed to keep single-leg glute work\u2014whether it be marches or another glute medius-targeting exercise\u2014in my routine.<\/p>\n About our expert Social Links Navigation<\/p>\n <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n Gorecki develops and implements Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) solutions to improve patient engagement and adherence to home exercise programs. He is also the owner of Superior Physical Therapy, an outpatient orthopedic private practice in Northern Michigan, and the founder of MovementRx, a digital health platform designed to enhance clinical efficiency and patient outcomes in physical therapy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recently, my physical therapist recommended glute bridge marches to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles, and while the exercise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":["post-538927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Marching](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783932072_459_maxresdefault.jpg\")
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About our expertDr Andrew Gorecki, DPT<\/p>\n