Piriformis syndrome... (Read 2578 times)

Try googling "Nerve Flossing Piriformis".  You should get some hits such as this one 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFtUgS69rPk 

I have had what I had been thinking was sciatica for the past 2 and a half years but I've lived with it (and it's really not that bad) but I started doing these Piriformis Flossing excercises and in the four or five weeks I've been doing them the discomfort in my glut is almost completely gone.  Best I've felt since it first started giving me trouble.  I don't know if the excercises are the thing that has helped of if it just got better on it's own but it IS much better and actually almost completely gone.  Give it a try. 

Credit for turning me on to these excercises goes to MrPHinNJ.

Thanks for the info, I've checked out the video and have done them twice today. It does feel good. Now I have to make myself KEEP doing it!!

srlopez- Ya the names a little off putting. lol

I see that kencamet mentioned the nerve flossing.  That really helped me.  Some other things that I do....

I do not stretch before running but now stretch religiously after running, when the muscles are warm.  I do not ice.  That video on the flossing also has a good stretch.  For more ideas on stretching that area, Google "pigeon pose".  You should see a bunch of variations of yoga poses that you can use to stretch the piriformis.

ART helped me a lot.  I really didn't start feeling better until I went through a couple of sessions.  Self massage will help as well.  Sit on the floor and cross a leg over the other knee.  Use a tennis ball on the piriformis of the crossed leg  (sit on the tennis ball).  An easy way to find the piriformis is to stand up, and raise foot behind you at 90 degrees.  Then, move the raised foot outward.  Feel on your rear, the piriformis is responsible for that movement so you should feel it contract.  That is where you apply the massage.  Also use the tennis ball on your outer glutes.  This I do by laying on my side on the tennis ball just above the hip socket.  I discovered some bad spots on the side opposite the one where I have the piriformis issue.

Important ..... Do not ignore the "good" side.  It is possible that tightness, weakness, etc., on the side that does not hurt is contributing to the issue.  Work both sides ..... everything needs to be in balance.  Besides the ART, I started getting better quicker when I began working the "good" side.

I do lunges, bridges, leg curls, crunches once a week for strengthening.  I probably should do them twice a week.  Only takes 20 minutes, not long.

Good luck.

I have recently been suffering from piriformis.  Pretty much shut me down for 3 weeks and I've slowly been getting back to running.  Recently, I read something about doing squats (shoulder width and wide) and lunges, as well as leg lifts, and have added this to the stretching.  The pain seems to have gone away within days.  I have even been able to speed up my runs a little which I was completely unavble to do the last month or two.

I forget the links, but searchig on web for piriformis exercises should find some articles.

All I have to add is that I have dealt with this issue for several years...it is a real pain in the ass.

I found a good therapist and regular visits help to minimize the issue.

Anya:

 

I have/had a funky pelvis/sacrum  that gets twisted around and completely unbalanced by trivial things - (like watching too many consecutive episodes of mad men in one sitting) and/or running.  I get something that seriously feels like periformis syndrome meets sciatica.   A couple of very painful adjustments to my pelvis + ice and both symptoms are gone.   I've purchased the many-mentioned "sacrowedgy" though i'm not sure what i think of it yet, as now it just makes my lower back feel numb-y.

 

I gotta say, though- the first chiro i went to said "disk issues!" did some ART and fucked up my lower back along with my ass.....the good chiro said what a chump and fixed me in one session.

Thanks, I'm looking at the Sacrowedgy thing now.

I went to a chiro a few years ago, when my hip was numb.  It helped a little.

I guess I'm just not sure if I have this or not.  Osteoarthritis  runs in my family, so I just don't want to do the whole self diagnosis thing.

While I don't want to have this syndrome, I am actually now hoping I do. I was honestly thinking I needed to just get my hips replaced one day.  Who knows, maybe I will anyway.  But, I need to find out if I should still be running. It doesn't hurt when I run.  My arse hurts right now, and my leg is a little tingley/numb, and I'm dying for some adville.  But I can't take it becuase of my stomach!

Joys of turning 46 !   :-)

My DH is making me make an appointment at an Orthopedic/Sports doc. We shall see.  I spent all last night watching YouTube excercises. Some of them are so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't know if I'm doing them right.