Disclaimer: We’re not affiliated with Jimmy Butler or his team, and this post is for educational purposes only.
I’ve been a Golden State Warriors fan since the Tim Hardaway killer crossover days, so I have particular interest in observing the winding down of a dynasty as they are making a run, for maybe their last window of opportunity to attain the 5th championship for the Steph Curry era. In no small part, this opportunity arose when Jimmy Butler was acquired through trade via Miami in February of this year. His acquisition led to a blistering finish of a 23-8 regular season record, a stark contrast to the subpar 25-26 record boasted before the trade. This goes to show how things can turn around quickly in life when timing aligns with the right situation.
The Injury
The Warriors are currently in a playoff series with the Houston Rockets, leading 3-1, possibly closing it out. In Game 2 of the series, Jimmy Butler took a severe fall, landing on his left glute:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oH5ySVFOCu4 ‘
The diagnosis was a deep gluteal muscle contusion, which caused Butler to miss game 3 three days later. This sort of begs the question: What is a deep gluteal muscle contusion, and what can be done about it?
What Exactly Is A Deep Gluteal Muscle Contusion?
A contusion is a deep bruise around muscle and bony structures, often caused by trauma of some sort. As you observed in the video above, this can be due to a fall. Breaking it down even more simply: imagine Butler’s gluteal muscle being like a squishy water balloon filled with tiny stretchy strings (muscle fibers) and tiny tubes (blood vessels).
When Butler hit the ground, here is what happened to the balloon (gluteal muscle).
The landing essentially squished the balloon, breaking the tiny tubes (blood vessels) inside. Blood spilled out like juice as if you punctured a CAPRISUN juice packet with the straw (you were cool if you did it upside down back in the day), making a “bruise” which may or may not be visible under the skin.
Within 24 hours, Butler’s body began to clean up the broken area, sending immune cells, which included extra fluid, to the injury site to start cleaning up the debris left by the trauma. That extra fluid can be equated to the balloon filling up even more than before, which takes up too much space, causing compression on pain nerve receptors. This leads to Butler’s body wanting to protect the area, causing the muscle to tighten to avoid further damage. However, the tightening causes even more pain as blood cannot circulate like before, which makes it hard for Butler to do his job of running, jumping, and cutting to help the Warriors get to the next round.
Treatment
Lack of blood flow to injured tissues essentially decreases the maximal rate at which tissues can heal. Blood obviously carries oxygen (needed for all metabolic processes) and nutrients, and removes metabolic and inflammatory byproducts produced during healing. There was a picture of Jimmy Butler (which unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate), getting treatment that appeared to be him getting cupping of the affected limb shortly after being ruled out for significant structural damage from an MRI. Please note that the imaging below references what cupping is and does not replicate the treatment Jimmy Butler got.
The suctioning effect essentially brings blood to the surface and deforms the superficial fascia, allowing for improved limb mobility. Based on the information below, though he may or may not have received this treatment, dry needling with electrical stimulation may appear more appropriate for his situation.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling involves inserting a very thin needle into or around irritated muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and bone. It essentially gets to all deep layers of affected tissues, and research shows an even more pronounced effect when coupled precisely with guided ultrasound. Regarding Jimmy Butler’s injury, here is how he could benefit:
1. Relieves Muscle Guarding
The large muscles around the pelvis (like the gluteus maximus, piriformis, and deep hip rotators) often go into protective spasms when the area is injured. According to Kużdżał et al.’s (2025) systematic review, studies showed that dry needling could disrupt the muscle guarding cycle, allowing for improved athletic function.
2. Reduces Pain
Ceballos et al. (2021) and Etman et al. (2019) displayed that pain intensity decreased by 82.5% to 88.4% for the studies’ samples of athletes in as little as one visit to 9 visits in a three-week span. These numbers are impressive. It shows the potential pain-gating effects of dry needling, which is very effective for the athletic population, as we know the exact cause and location of injuries. This certainly could have benefited Jimmy Butler as he was limping at the end of Game 4, helping to secure a win to set the Warriors up 3-1 in the series.
3. Improves Blood Flow
Dunning’s 2014 literature review showed improvement in microvasculature by over 140% with dry needling coupled with electrical stimulation, targeting myofascial trigger points observed by Laser Doppler Flowmetry. As established earlier, Jimmy Butler’s gluteal muscles cannot heal optimally if blood flow is compromised. Dry needling can reach the deepest layers of injured tissues, whereas cupping may not.
4. Restores Muscle Function
After injury, muscles often stop firing correctly. Dry needling with electrical stimulation can help “wake up” key muscles like the glutes, as the electrical stimulation during treatment causes involuntary contractions deep within the muscles that have been guarding. The gluteals’ firing and activation normalize the knee and ankle motion, which is crucial for Jimmy Butler to even participate in a game.
As a long-time Warriors fan who endured many years of losing before they went on to this unthinkable decade-long run, I’ll pay close attention to Butler’s status. As always, I am a huge proponent of exercise as the base for any recovery from injury, maintenance of function, or performance enhancement. However, details matter when chasing the ultimate goal of a championship, and when it comes to millions of dollars being on the line for an organization and the player directly contributing to bringing in that money. Treatments such as dry needling can be that game changer that puts you over the hump. It will be fun to see if the battle-tested, mature-in-age Warriors still have enough physical strength in the tank to overcome the up-and-coming young upstart Houston Rockets! As always, reach out if you need, and enjoy life, Mobile Spine Family!
Sources
Fernandes, T.L., Pedrinelli, A., Hernandez, A.J., 2011. MUSCLE INJURY – PHYSIOPATHOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND CLINICAL PRESENTATION. Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia (English Edition) 46, 247–255.
Ceballos-Laita, L., Medrano-de-la-Fuente, R., Estébanez-De-Miguel, E., Moreno-Cerviño, J., Mingo-Gómez, M.T., Hernando-Garijo, I., Jiménez-del-Barrio, S., 2021. Effects of Dry Needling in Teres Major Muscle in Elite Handball Athletes. A Randomised Controlled Trial. JCM 10, 4260.
Dunning, J., Butts, R., Mourad, F., Young, I., Flannagan, S., Perreault, T., 2014. Dry needling: a literature review with implications for clinical practice guidelines. Physical Therapy Reviews 19, 252–265.
Etminan, Z., Razeghi, M., Nezhad, F.G., n.d., 2019. The Effect of Dry Needling of Trigger Points in Forearm’s Extensor Muscles on the Grip Force, Pain and Function of Athletes with Chronic Tennis Elbow.
Kużdżał, A., Trybulski, R., Muracki, J., Klich, S., Clemente, F.M., Kawczyński, A., 2025. Dry Needling in Sports and Sport Recovery: A Systematic Review with an Evidence Gap Map. Sports Med 55, 811–844.
Trybulski, R., Stanula, A., Żebrowska, A., Podleśny, M., Hall, B., 2024. Acute Effects of the Dry Needling Session on Gastrocnemius Muscle Biomechanical Properties, and Perfusion with Latent Trigger Points – A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes. jsportscimed 136–146.
