Help with piriformis issues? (Read 679 times)

anyone run through piriformis syndrome and recover while still running? I've upped my mileage the last month or so and was holding out pretty well, hoping it was getting better but it's not. All summer I dealt with my left piriformis and as soon as I started physical therapy it cleared up and then my right side started hurting. Not sure how one recovered because it seemed to happen overnight. My plan is to do no more than 4 miles a day for a week or two and work on my core strengthening exercises and stretching. Any other ideas? I'm really very discouraged.

Oh yeah. This is a major issue for me and they always get worse when I increase my mileage more than say 30 miles per week. The good news is I've mostly been able to work through it. Here are my recommendations. Use any or all of them. 1) STRETCH- mostly after running but some before running as well. Here's a great article I just found with pics of two stretches I like to do. http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/piriformis-syndrome.php 2) Massage - If you get a massage, make sure to get one with a therapist experienced in working with athletes who can work through that area with deep tissue massage. It will hurt like heck but you will feel so much better afterwards. 3) Use a softball and sit on it right on the spot of your piriformis. Using your body weight, let the ball press into your muscle and roll around a bit. It's tricky and again it hurts, but do it slowly and it will help work out the kinks. 4) Follow the suggestions in the article above regarding RICE if you need to. 5) Limit your sitting time or get up and move and stretch every now and again. I find I have more problems when I've been in a sitting position for too long or sitting with one leg crossed over the other. Good luck! I personally know this will always be an issue for me in that they get tight and I just try to follow the advice above.