Ok it might sound amusing but if you’ve got piriformis syndrome you’ll know it really isn’t!
The piriformis seems like a small and rather innocuous muscle in the hip – be honest, had you even heard of it before? Located underneath the gluteus maximus (your bum cheek), it is one of the lateral hip rotators and is, by nature, prone to tightness. I’ve written before about the negative effect that sitting at a desk all day has on your muscles and the piriformis is no exception. As it is already predisposed to tightness, sitting (with contracted quads and hip flexors) compounds the shortened state of this small muscle. As the muscles gets tighter, it gets shorter and increases in diameter.
This might not sound so bad but the implications of this are.
The piriformis is situated by the sciatic nerve, so as the piriformis increases in diameter, the space in the sciatic notch lessons. The result? The sciatic nerve becomes pitched and therefore, potentially pretty painful!
People with piriformis syndrome often think they have sciatica as the pain is very similar: a radiating pain running from the glutes, down the leg and sometimes into the foot. Other signs include:
- soreness in the gluteus maximus
- localised pain over the piriformis area
- hips prone to lateral rotation
- possible limitations to medial rotation of the hips
- possible lack of the strength in the leg of the affected side
The good news is you don’t have to put up with it indefinitely.
The piriformis responds well to muscle release techniques and using these in conjunction with stretches and strengthening exercises should mean you can get rid of that annoying pain in the butt!
If you want to find out more about sports massage can help you with piriformis syndrome, get in touch today and book an appointment.