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My butt cheek is killing me!! (Read 17840 times)

Dianeelizabeth


    I recently increased my running back to 6 days a week. Nothing major...just 2 miles everyday but Sunday. For the past four weeks, my right butt has been killing me! Does this sound like Sciatic Nerve and has anybody a solution for this??
    Mile Collector


    Abs of Flabs

      That makes the two of us. There are two possible locations for the pain. Oooh, I get to finally link a picture for real! The more common location is the piriformis muscle. The pain is localized to one spot on your butt, and if you dig into it with your knuckle, the pain goes away: The other spot is right next to your tail bone, where the sciatic nerve exits the spine. I think both locations are symptoms of sciatica. If the piriformis muscle is pressing against the nerve, you'll get that pain. If the pain is in your piriformis muscle, then you should stretch it as well as the hamstring. It's usually caused by some kind of muscle imbalance. If it's near your tail bone, then you should consider seeing a doctor about it. I have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow about this and I'll let you know what he says.
      Al1


        I feel sorry for both of you, because this injury could take TIME to heal. I developed the same pain in the summer of 2005 while training for my first marathon. I started going to a chiropractor which seemed to help. I could hardly sit in the car without my right butt cheek and hamstring just killing. I took some time off in early 2006 trying to get it to heal and eventually had two epidural injections in my lower back in March which knocked down the pain by 90%. It wasn't until last September that the numbness and pain resided to the point that I claimed the injury was healed. So, in my case it took a little over a year to go away, two epidural injections and a whole lot of ibprofin. Good luck.
        Mile Collector


        Abs of Flabs

          Alright. Got back from my doc today. Yup. Sciatica. He recommends rest (ain't gonna happen). Short of that, I managed to get him to give me a prescription for physical therapy. I'm psyched! Am I the only person that enjoys physical therapy? I love it! It almost like having my own personal trainer, but paid for by my insurance. On top of that, they make my pains go away. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the case.
            My husband and my best friend have both suffered from this - piriformis all the way. One way to relieve the pain is to sit on a tennis ball on the affected side, strange as that sounds. Blush Move the ball around occasionally so you don't cut off any major arteries or anything. Especially if it bothers you when sitting in the car. Honestly, as much as doctors may love telling you to rest, it's really the only thing that'll help you recover. If you don't, it'll only get worse until you can barely walk or sit at all. And that would definitely be a bad thing....Hope you feel better soon.
            1000 mile club. "Pain is just the weakness leaking out."
            Dianeelizabeth


              OK, I have taken two days off from running and I feel NO better!! Just guilty because I haven't run!!!! I will go see a doctor if not better soon........thanks for all the info.
              Mile Collector


              Abs of Flabs

                I started taking 600mg of ibuprofen 2 times a day with food (very important). Don't do this unless you know what you're doing. I have friends in the healthcare profession and I'm doing it under their guidance. The plan is to take it for 3 - 4 days and see if that will help knock back the inflamation. I'm on day two. The pain is mostly gone by tonight. I'm sure that's the drugs taking effect, but I'm not sure if it's because it's killing the pain, or reducing inflamation. The leg is still kind of numb if I sit down for longer than 10 minutes. I'm also apply heat using a heat pad which seems to help a lot too. Before yesterday, sitting down can get quite uncomfortable pretty quickly. The only alleviation is to lie down on the couch and be a potato. As you know, that's quite hard to do as a runner. You should definitely see a doctor. Don't bother waiting to see if it gets better because you already have the problem. Even if the pain subsides, it doesn't mean you are getting better. I'm all in favor of finding out the cause because that's the only way to fix it for good. I heard of the tennis ball trick. I never tried it but I know it works. I'm not sure why it works though, because that's almost like poking at the sciatic nerve. I prefer stretching instead, because that seems to be a little safer.
                  With the tennis ball, it's like acupressure. I had my chiropractor work on it once and it was essentially the same thing as the tennis ball. Try to see a doctor who runs, or has treated runners, because they tend to be more understanding and realistic about how much time you need to take off. It's easier to hear from them, too, knowing that they understand the runner's mentality! One other thing - my husband visited a kinesthesiologist who analyzed his gait and suggested some exercises to even out imbalances that put more pressure on one side of his body than the other! Very interesting, if you have the time to see one. Please take more rest and keep us posted on your progress!
                  1000 mile club. "Pain is just the weakness leaking out."


                  De-slacking in progress

                    With the tennis ball, it's like acupressure. I had my chiropractor work on it once and it was essentially the same thing as the tennis ball. Try to see a doctor who runs, or has treated runners, because they tend to be more understanding and realistic about how much time you need to take off. It's easier to hear from them, too, knowing that they understand the runner's mentality! One other thing - my husband visited a kinesthesiologist who analyzed his gait and suggested some exercises to even out imbalances that put more pressure on one side of his body than the other! Very interesting, if you have the time to see one. Please take more rest and keep us posted on your progress!
                    I'm running 5 days/wk 20+ per week now for last couple weeks. Really enjoying the increased mileage. However now I have my PF muscle in my right hip iritated also. went to my Chiroprator, who's also a long distance runner, and he confirmed this as the possible problem. Adjusted my spine which helped after the 2 appointment for adjustment. It doesn't bother me while running, just during sitting, and i drive 50 mins to work each way plus sit in my office chair. He suggested the lay on your back, leg across the center point of body to stretch the muscle, and also a tennis ball or towel to use when sitting. He also suggested that I "should' cut back from 5 days running to 4 days per week running for awhile to give the irritation time to subside so that it doesn't turn into a chronic condition. He laughed when he used the word "should' becuase he knows how runners are- he has running goals also.But I'm taking his advise and we'll see what happens What a pain in the arse !!

                    started running @ age 48 [lost 70#+, quit a 30 year pack/day habit>> ran HM]  Ran a few years then quit. Gained 70#+ back and smoking like before. Time to get healthy again @ 52 years over with the C25K program and beyond again. RE-start date 1-13-14

                    GP160


                      I had a similar injury last year. I had to take off 6 weeks of running and did some major PT. After 10 weeks I was feeling better. The most helpful was stretching my quads and using the trigger point quadballer and a tennis ball. I went to an active release technique doc and he said it was a muscle imbalance which caused the flare up. Once I loosened up my quads I was feeling better. Takes time though...sorry!
                      Ironman Louisville 8-30-09


                      Member Since 2008

                        I have dealt with and will probably always deal with that type of pain. Google hip stretches and you will find alot of yoga type stretchs such as the one legged pidgeon that will help alot. Also you can get alot of help from you tube. Good luck.


                        Non ducor, duco.

                          Dont forget massage in all this! I have been having the same issues. I finally went to a masseuse Friday and got major relief. I was able to race Saturday because of the relief. Yesterday I spent 3 hours in the car (all within the city limits o my fair city) and it really aggravated it despite the tennis ball trick. Because it is likely inflammation, icing also helps. I fell asleep last night on an ice packet and woke up with way less pain this morning. Of course, I also felt like I wet the bed. Blush My hip flexors have been tight from hillwork and I wonder if there that created an imbalance that attributed to the pain..dunno, just guessing.
                          pitrunner


                            Dont forget massage in all this! I have been having the same issues. I finally went to a masseuse Friday and got major relief. I was able to race Saturday because of the relief.
                            I was going to say the same thing! I've had trouble with PF off and on and the one thing that always helps me is a good massage. I would highly recommend finding a massage therapist who specializes in massage for athletes...not just some schmo from a random spa Smile


                            Feeling the growl again

                              Piriformis? This classically hits me when I substantially increase my mileage in a short period. IN 80% of people, the nerve runs under the muscle but in 20% in runs through it and is prone to irritation and inflammation. I've found two ways to alleviate it: 1) Intensive stretching of the muscle (look up specifics, hard to describe) 2) Intense runs that "rip" things loose -- painful but effective (for ME) Both options end up loosening the muscle and alleviating the pain. #1 can take weeks; #2 is very painful during the process but can fix it in as little as 2-3 days.

                              "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                               

                              I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                               

                                I had a pain in the butt. Pilates took care of it.
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