Piriformus syndrome

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

I fell about a month ago on the dance floor. Nothing broken but now I have Piriformus syndrome which is muscle spasms when I walk most of the time.

I have gone to a chiropractor, a physical therapist, and "bone" doctor. All good sources but they never seem to agree. If anyone has had any luck please let me know how.

I have exercises. I have a tenz machine I have ice. Heat does not woirk.

I wonder if a massage therapist might be the one who will help me.

I am a dancer so I am very deprssed. I start out walking and then the intense nerve pain in my hip and leg happens.

Note:

Piriformis syndrome is a condition in which the piriformis muscle, located in the buttock region, spasms and causes buttock pain. The piriformis muscle can also irritate the nearby sciatic nerve and cause pain, numbness and tingling along the back of the leg and into the foot (similar to sciatic pain).

violann · ‎03-10-2010

I was going to suggest a message therapist before I saw that you were already considering one.

I had access when I had my problem to a wonderful hospital based massage therapy program.

I too had tried EVERYTHING, and I was still all but unable to walk. ONE SESSION with the therapist, and I was back in business. Now I do the stretches without fail EVERY MORNING.

Horrible condition! I hope you have relief soon!

Debzzz · ‎11-20-2015

I was diagnosed with piriformis about this time last year. I could barely walk. I went to a brilliant chiropractor 2x a week, did the tenz at his office for about a month. I also took it easy and rested more than usual.

We we were going on vacation first of April and by then, I was about 70%. I wasn't able to ride bikes or hike during vacation but as least I was walking. It took about another month to heal.

Hoping for a quick and complete recovery for you, I know how debilitating the pain can be.

"The love you extend to others, will eventually find it's way back to you, no matter how many times it has left you hurt."

Debzzz · ‎11-20-2015

@violann Thanks for reminding me to stretch!

"The love you extend to others, will eventually find it's way back to you, no matter how many times it has left you hurt."

sweetee2 · ‎06-21-2015

When you went to the chiropractor did he a just you or did you just Talk? You might have something out of a linement that is pinching a nerve, also I'm a big fan of massage therapy. My DIL is a therapist and it is amazing what is can do when I have a pinch nerve in my shoulder. 5 minutes and it gone. She works with a chiropractor. I would find a good massage therapist. They work on not only muscles also nerves, relaxation of the muscles. I'm so sorry.

henderson · ‎03-18-2010

I can understand your frustrations. I have lower back pain and so far nothing has helped except pain meds. Have tried nerve blocks, don't qualify for an ablation, etc. and have seen a pain management dr. for over a year.

I now have acupuncture as an insurance benefit and I went last Friday. The needles were fine, but the electro part they did caused more pain when I got home. I can't use a TENS unit as it hurts (tried it at PT). I'm praying that acupuncture will help -- when I go next Wed. I'm going to tell them "needles only". I'm getting a massage tomorrow and I don't get as many as I'd like because of the cost.

ruthbe · ‎05-05-2016

I had had the condition and I totally understand how much it hurts. I used massage therapy and acupuncture. It worked for me. Best of luck to you.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Bone doctor? Do you mean orthopedic specialist? And it's aTENS machine. You are seeing a doctors, what did they say about massage therapy? You must have asked. Having said that, maybe you need to see a new doctor. The standard treatment for this muscle strain that puts pressure on the sciatic nerve includes sterioid injections, muscle relaxants and antiflammatory meds. They need to reduce the inflammaton which then takes pressure off the nerve which then alleviates the pain. Sometimes they do Botox injections into the muscle to relax the tight or contracted muscle. It can take while but honestly, it appears that you haven't received any real treatment at all. Which is bizarre.

Quse · ‎09-05-2014

A medical massage therapist can do wonders for this. You might have to try a few different ones to get one you like, but stick with the ones that work mainy with medical issues, not the spa type therapists.

The thing that helps me the most is stretching on the aeropilates machine and strengthening the inner thigh muscles. If you are a dancer you are likely very "laterally rotated" in the legs, meaning, when you lay on your back, your feet naturally tend to rest in an outward facing position. Likely your abductor muscles (muscles that pull your legs away from your body) are used more and cause an imbalance. Strengthening your adductor muscles will help the imbalance. The piriformis is a nasty little muscle that can cause problems depending on where it lies regarding the sciatic nerve. Some people have a piriformis that runs underneath the nerve, some over, and some unfortunate people actually have the nreve run through the muscle itself. The only way to find out how yours lies is to do an autopsy (not recommended..lol)
Stretching helps a lot, but you have to help the imbalance by strengthening the opposing muscles. Two other things that help me tremendously is a muscle spasm release system called Fenix Rehab System (Amazon has some I think) I call it laying on my bed of nails..lol but it releases the spasms. Also, a percussion massager for at home use called Pado helps me.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

@Quse wrote:
A medical massage therapist can do wonders for this. You might have to try a few different ones to get one you like, but stick with the ones that work mainy with medical issues, not the spa type therapists.

The thing that helps me the most is stretching on the aeropilates machine and strengthening the inner thigh muscles. If you are a dancer you are likely very "laterally rotated" in the legs, meaning, when you lay on your back, your feet naturally tend to rest in an outward facing position. Likely your abductor muscles (muscles that pull your legs away from your body) are used more and cause an imbalance. Strengthening your adductor muscles will help the imbalance. The piriformis is a nasty little muscle that can cause problems depending on where it lies regarding the sciatic nerve. Some people have a piriformis that runs underneath the nerve, some over, and some unfortunate people actually have the nreve run through the muscle itself. The only way to find out how yours lies is to do an autopsy (not recommended..lol)
Stretching helps a lot, but you have to help the imbalance by strengthening the opposing muscles. Two other things that help me tremendously is a muscle spasm release system called Fenix Rehab System (Amazon has some I think) I call it laying on my bed of nails..lol but it releases the spasms. Also, a percussion massager for at home use called Pado helps me.

I think that's good advice for when she's over the crisis she's in now. Right now, she has that injury and she's in pain and I think the very last thing she would want to do now is any time of exercise or stretching that her doc or PT did not specifically recommend.