well, thought i’d had about all the ailments, but got a new one that’s self diagnosed as piriformis. severe pain in the inner butt on right side that goes down leg, but is not ITB or hammy. hurts when and after i run, bike, or swim. nothing new or dumb in training, just steady off season stuff. looking for suggestions, anybody got any besides ibprofen and rest ?? thanks.
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I had it. TP massage helped, but it only went completely away after rest. I think mine was caused by my bike seat being a tad too wide at the back, or at least that is what aggravated it.
Good luck!
Jodi
stretch a LOT! warm up 5 min, stretch glutes, quads, hamstrings, low back. Go easier for a few days. If no improvement, definitely go see doc/PT. I had it for 2-3 weeks last April, felt like I dodged a big bullet as it went away w/ a focus on stretching.
The way I get rid of it is by sitting on a tennis ball at an angle that gets the ball right into the piriformis itself. The tennis ball should loosen it.
The problem is that in about 10% of the population the sciatic runs right through the piriformis, so if it is tight it is clamping down on the sciatic (hence your shooting leg pain). I have it quite frequently and the only way that I can stop it is by the tennis ball method.
tennis ball definitely feels good ! sitting on it right now. heat or ice better ? hate to put ice on my butt, but…
well, thought i’d had about all the ailments, but got a new one that’s self diagnosed as piriformis. severe pain in the inner butt on right side that goes down leg, but is not ITB or hammy. hurts when and after i run, bike, or swim. nothing new or dumb in training, just steady off season stuff. looking for suggestions, anybody got any besides ibprofen and rest ?? thanks.
2 good stretches:
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either standing or lying on back - take one foot put it over the other knee - if you are standing then just ‘sit’ into the standing leg/butt - you might want to hold the wall. If lying on your back gently pull leg into chest - you can increase the stretch by pushing the knee away (the knee attached to the foot over the ‘standing’ leg)
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put foot up on chair. turn your body towards the leg up on chair. Gently lean over and hold. should feel it all the way up your glute.
then ice the hell out of it.
Any low back pain that accompanies current symptoms? Tight piriformis will not usually cause the radicular symptoms down leg that you report by itself, but can contribute to them with an aggravated disc or the like. That being said it’s possible maybe if your piriformis is like ridiculous tight. Are you able to cross your leg across other knee when sitting in a chair? Stretching piriformis is a good idea as mentioned as is the tennis ball. Just for kicks throw in the prone press up stretch for your low back as well. It’s the same as the cobra yoga pose. Kind of like doing a push up except your low back and hips stay down on the bed or floor. Everyone should do that stretch anyway. We would all have healthier backs.
Does it get worse when you drive? Mine pain in my right butt/leg was horrible within 5 minutes of driving back in 2001 before IM CA. I did an internet search, as I had done everything else I knew about to try to treat it (massage, antiinflammatories, icing, jacuzzi, stretching, etc) without success. I found the sacrowedgy and invested $30 and I was 50% better within a week and nearly 100% within 3 weeks. I love telling people about this simple little device since it can be incredibly effective. However, it doesn’t work for everyone. For the $30 investment, it’s probably worth trying, if you really think it’s piriformis syndrome. Here’s the web site: www.sacrowedgy.com
It seems they sell them on eBay now for even a bit cheaper, as I did a search to confirm the web site address and found it on eBay. Good luck!
doesn’t bother me when i drive. i’m intrigued by sacrowedgy, though. so you just lay on it ??
Yep…that’s it. Just lay on it.
As a chiropractor I’ve treated this condition quite a lot over my many years in practice. Usually the sacro-iliac joint is also involved. Success rate has been about 95% using manipulation, trigger point techniques and prescribing stretches.
You just want to be sure that it is piriformis syndrome. Other conditions can give similiar symptoms as described.
Do a google and you can find the stretches. If that doesn’t work go see somebody.
sit on a tennis ball… roll around a bit on it and you’ll find the spot
i had big problems with my piriformis on the left side in 2001. but i didn’t know it and kept training. and then it kicked off a huge spasm, which got me into the PT office. the PT correctly diagnosed it as a sprain, & the program was:PT 3x/week for a month; stretches, core build-up, walking, walk-runs, run-walks. to this day i still do a full set of stretches after every run and bike because it does, in fact, keep that same thing from happening again.
ice is very much a part of the healing, so i would encourage you to do that. i hated doing it and kept putting it off, but had to admit that it made it better.
peggy
Got it now for the second time in two winters. I’m not sure what I do to bring it on, but it sucks. Like many injuries, be thorough to determine what the cause of it really is. For me, the cause is not necessarily a direct injury to the piriformis. Rather, there is an imbalance in my hip area that pulls the piriformis out of whack. While it’s important to treat the injury with a tennis ball, etc, for me it’s equally important to do stretches that get my entire pelvic region back in alignment.
i forgot to add that the PT stuff included changing the run to always being 90 steps (one side) per minute. that was to immediately and permanently change the footfall from heavy on the heel to a more mid-foot strike. that, in and of itself, has helped a lot.
peggy
Got it now for the second time in two winters. I’m not sure what I do to bring it on, but it sucks. Like many injuries, be thorough to determine what the cause of it really is. For me, the cause is not necessarily a direct injury to the piriformis. Rather, there is an imbalance in my hip area that pulls the piriformis out of whack. While it’s important to treat the injury with a tennis ball, etc, for me it’s equally important to to stretches that get my entire pelvic region back in alignment.
Large,
what stretches do you do to get your entire pelvic region back in alignment ? an alternative to a chiropractor would be good. thanks.
I found regular visits to a decent chiropractor helped as did PT with a therapist who really knew deep tissue massage. My friends thought it was cool I was getting butt massages from my cute PT, but there was nothing enjoyable about them when you’re jumping off the table in pain. Good luck and really work at it. Trying to find the cause is a good idea. I found it was due to lack of stretching and running on concrete too much.
I only had the problem to such an extent that it really caused me pain once - during the last five miles or so of my second IM - probably due to poor running posture. I’ve treated it almost daily since then with the Trigger Point ball and, recently, with two different stretches and it’s no longer painful - although I can feel it during long runs. The stretch that seems to help the most is called the “pigeon pose” (you’ll have to look it up). It’s either a yoga or Pilates position which was given to me by my PiYo instructor. The other stretch was given to me by a former pro triathlete who is a massage therapist. Lie on your side on a flat surface like a table or hard sofa or bed your affected side up and with your backside to to the edge. Let your upper leg drop down behind you to give a stretch in the affected area in your butt. I found the pigeon really effective - take the time to breathe into the stretch to get your butt down to the floor. Good luck.
Lots of good advice here. What I would add, from my experience with this, is to add some core strengthening work to your routine. Piriformis is almost always from compensating for an unevenness somewhere in your stride. Balance board work, single leg knee bends on one of those cushy footpads that induce instability will also help your core stabilize the weak area. If you are like most of us, you will probably find your balance, and hence your core muscle strength, is better on one side than the other. Try to even it up. I have had no recurrence in a year and a half since getting this advise from my PT.
I had this too as a result of slipping on ice. Doctors thought initially had herniated my disc but in my case my piriformis became inflamed and pinched the siactic nerve. I had to have the piriformis released by a physio. Essentially she used a form of active release therapy about three or four times and I was good to go. Muscle imbalances can cause this, so core and yoga/stretching cause also significantly reduce this problem.