Piriformis Muscle

[NWFD65]

I been having some really bad pain in my left Butt, tingling sensation and tingling running down my left leg, the tingling not as much as the pain, I have talked with several physical therapist and even went to the doctor and they are telling me that the Piriformis Muscle runs along the side of the syatic nerve and the muscle is infamed, pulled or something and it is pressing against the syatic nerve, well the doctor gave me a shot of Toridal and prescribed me some Meloxicam 7.5mg, told me take me 2x's a day, physical therapist gave me some stretching to do, I have been doing the stretches like he told me to do, this pain has been going on for about a month now, hurts pretty bad. Has anybody ever had this problem? If so, what did you do to cure it and how long did it last? I have not done any leg exercises since this occurred, and squats is 1 of my favorite exercises, but I have been working out,,,,,WHAT THE HECK DO I NEED TO DO?!!!!!!

Thanks for any information!!!!!!

 

[OutToLunch]

Oh yeah! Had it a couple of times. Takes time to heal up to 3 months for me

 

[NWFD65]

Oh yeah! Had it a couple of times. Takes time to heal up to 3 months for me

Oh crap!!!!!! Seriously????!!!!

 

[growing1221]

What stretches are you doing for it? Any heat or ice? Any other OTC anti inflammatories?

 

[Floxedone]

That muscle is DEEP, need a strong massage therapist to target it or a locrass/rubber ball around a wall. Rolling on a foam roller with your leg crossed works a little too.

You should do a whole routine to stretch your hips, abs, quads etc. Just focus more on stretching the back then front. A tight Piriformis is often created by sitting too long or having glutes that don't fire right (sitting and weak glutes go together).

Besides targeted stretching, massage, foam rolling, you should work on balance moves to retrain/integrate your nervous system to relax the piriformis.

Also you could try release through reciprocal inhibition. Use the opposing muscle in an isometric way to force the piriformis to relax.

But you would need to ask someone smarter than me to find out what muscles inhibit the P.

 

[GettingBackIn]

Go get your lower back looked at

 

[j4ever]

i was having this problem, I first started doing stretches for it, and it did improve, but the once I started rolling on a tennis ball to the effected area it got better fairly quickly.

 

[Deleted member 121863]

I got that before on my right side. It was kinda sore then I went to vegas, had 2 drinks at the pool and got up with a limp. After laying down for a bit I couldn`t stand. Ended up getting a wheelchair to my car and leaving the next morning.

Foam roll, piriformis stretches and don`t put any stress on that area. The sciatic nerve runs through the piriformis, so when it gets tight it squeezes on the nerve.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

Have a chiro check to see if your pubic symphysis is out of alignment. When alignment is out your piriformis will keep on spasming no matter how much stretching and trigger point stuff you do. It is a very quick adjustment that will bring immediate relief.

 

[BizzyB11]

I have the same issue, my chiropractor does stim and ultrasound on it. No idea if its helping reduce inflammation but it feels great at the time. Most guys that lift relatively heavy will probably have an issue in this area due to it being used inadvertently in so many lifts.

 

[NWFD65]

What stretches are you doing for it? Any heat or ice? Any other OTC anti inflammatories?

I am doing any kind of stretch that stretches the hamstring, also laying on floor bring left leg up, places left foot on top of right knee, wife puts one hand on my right pelvis and pushes down on left knee towards floor, then I cross left leg over right and twist my leg towards floor, kinda hard to explain the stretches, the Doctor didn't advise anything about Heat or Ice, PT said to sit on heating pad before doing the stretches, some people have even mentioned going to a Chiropractor

 

[metalmicky]

Got the same problem doing same stretches as you, also sitting on a base ball and massaging it helps. working legs too heavy aggravates it for me

 

[NWFD65]

Got the same problem doing same stretches as you, also sitting on a base ball and massaging it helps. working legs too heavy aggravates it for me

I'm gonna get my wife to take a tennis ball and try and message it,,I quit doing legs until this is healed, I really hate to do that, this is been going on way to long, getting tired of it

 

[Girth]

Being a sprint/power athlete, I've dealt with this MANY times. No offense to the chiropractors out there, but that is not a FIX, just a temporary relief, which is why you constantly have to go back.

As stated above some people are just unlucky in that their sciatic nerve actually runs THROUGH their piriformis muscle. But lets assume you are not one of those, and even so, nothing you can do about that anyhow.

What constantly worked for me and for others I trained was training legs with almost exclusively Front Squats. Every time I put the back squats in, the pain starts to creep back in. I love squatting as well and is in fact sometimes the only thing I use a weight room for.

A GOOD massage therapist will help immensely if they are strong and can get deep enough into the muscle. I had one spend 1 hour on just one leg at one point. But it provided LITERALLY 6 months of relief.

Foam rolling is a great way to keep the process staved off along with simple hip mobility work and PWO stretching as needed. But if you want to get it rolling immediately, find a GOOD ART massage therapist and get ready for some pain.

 

[metalmicky]

Good if you can do front squats tried so many times just can't hold the bar

 

[OgJohnSmith]

Today may just be your lucky day. The condition is called Piriformis Syndrome (aka Pain in the Butt) and the cause for me was poor sitting posture in a non-ergonomic designed chair for extended periods of time without getting up and walking/stretching/moving. I battled the condition for about 2 years and it’s difficult to explain how painful and debilitating the condition is to someone else without actually experiencing it for themselves.

Over the course of 2 years I tried (not necessarily in this order); stretching every which way, deep strong massage, the rubber ball, the foam roller, Advil, OxyContin, Percocet, trigger point massage, Tens electro stimulation, ultrasound, 3-4 different Physical Therapists, Yoga, Cortisone shot in piriformis muscle, hot baths, Fentanyl transdermal pain patch, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment.

The Tens electro stim works, Cortisone shots for a short period of time and provided some relief, deep piriformis massage with a very heavy duty ($175 at Brookstone) electronic massager (I broke 3 other lesser quality massagers on it), and obviously the pain pills helped. Most all of these provided some relief but only temporary, the pain is very, very, very, persistent, did I say very..

Anyway I was seeing a back doctor at the time and he wanted to do surgery on my spine, he said I had a compressed disk that was causing the problem. In researching the procedure more often than not back surgery can create more problems than it solves to I decided to get a second opinion so I went to Mayo Clinic.

I was pretty much self-diagnosed by this time (Piriformis Syndrome) so at Mayo they worked with me and ran all sorts of tests, x-rays, MRIs, and better pain meds. Mayo is where I got the Cortisone shots.

To make a very long story short in the end what cured it was a Botox shot in the piriformis mucsle. The piriformis never really gets a chance to rest and normalize from the inflammation and the Botox shot paralyzes the muscle long enough (3 months) for the inflammation to come down.

Once it’s healed just make sure you don’t do anything to set it off again. It’s been about 4 years now since the cure and it hasn’t come back, although I can feel it from time to time getting aggravated. I corrected my sitting posture and my employer purchased me a very nice chair and I make it a habit now to go for a walk every hour or so.

Good luck, you’ll need it…

 

[NWFD65]

Today may just be your lucky day. The condition is called Piriformis Syndrome (aka Pain in the Butt) and the cause for me was poor sitting posture in a non-ergonomic designed chair for extended periods of time without getting up and walking/stretching/moving. I battled the condition for about 2 years and it’s difficult to explain how painful and debilitating the condition is to someone else without actually experiencing it for themselves.

Over the course of 2 years I tried (not necessarily in this order); stretching every which way, deep strong massage, the rubber ball, the foam roller, Advil, OxyContin, Percocet, trigger point massage, Tens electro stimulation, ultrasound, 3-4 different Physical Therapists, Yoga, Cortisone shot in piriformis muscle, hot baths, Fentanyl transdermal pain patch, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment.

The Tens electro stim works, Cortisone shots for a short period of time and provided some relief, deep piriformis massage with a very heavy duty ($175 at Brookstone) electronic massager (I broke 3 other lesser quality massagers on it), and obviously the pain pills helped. Most all of these provided some relief but only temporary, the pain is very, very, very, persistent, did I say very..

Anyway I was seeing a back doctor at the time and he wanted to do surgery on my spine, he said I had a compressed disk that was causing the problem. In researching the procedure more often than not back surgery can create more problems than it solves to I decided to get a second opinion so I went to Mayo Clinic.

I was pretty much self-diagnosed by this time (Piriformis Syndrome) so at Mayo they worked with me and ran all sorts of tests, x-rays, MRIs, and better pain meds. Mayo is where I got the Cortisone shots.

To make a very long story short in the end what cured it was a Botox shot in the piriformis mucsle. The piriformis never really gets a chance to rest and normalize from the inflammation and the Botox shot paralyzes the muscle long enough (3 months) for the inflammation to come down.

Once it’s healed just make sure you don’t do anything to set it off again. It’s been about 4 years now since the cure and it hasn’t come back, although I can feel it from time to time getting aggravated. I corrected my sitting posture and my employer purchased me a very nice chair and I make it a habit now to go for a walk every hour or so.

Good luck, you’ll need it…

Thanks a lot,,,,you have answered all my questions and concerns,

 

[Floxedone]

LOL, I can't handle anti-inflammatory steroids but I have seen/felt 2 people that had shots don on forearms. Within days after the shots, the tight, spazmatic muscles completely relaxed into a soft, mushy condition.

You could also try taurine, magnesium, and CBD oil, some people get great muscle relaxing from those, I do not.

 

[growing1221]

I am doing any kind of stretch that stretches the hamstring, also laying on floor bring left leg up, places left foot on top of right knee, wife puts one hand on my right pelvis and pushes down on left knee towards floor, then I cross left leg over right and twist my leg towards floor, kinda hard to explain the stretches, the Doctor didn't advise anything about Heat or Ice, PT said to sit on heating pad before doing the stretches, some people have even mentioned going to a Chiropractor

Definitely go to a chiropractor! Make sure that it's a good one, do your research or ask a family member/friend If they know of any. Do you have any muscle spasming going on?

 

[OgJohnSmith]

Thanks a lot,,,,you have answered all my questions and concerns,

Oh, and last but not least, after I was cured from the condition I enrolled myself in a methadone clinic. These doctors get you on the pain meds with no real plan on how to get off so I took matters in to my own hands, it took 6 months...

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