The Gluteus Medius acts as a hip abductor, meaning that it raises the leg up to the side of the body. In everyday life, this muscle primarily functions to keep the pelvis level during walking. Specifically, as one raises a leg to step forward with it, the Gluteus Medius on the opposite side contracts to keep the weight of the free leg from tilting the pelvis downward on that side.
The Gluteus Medius muscle is frequently overloaded by activities that require a person to be bent forward and also bent to one side, like shoveling dirt or snow.
The Gluteus Medius muscle can contain up to three active trigger points, spaced out evenly across the top portion of the muscle: