Piriformis syndrome, how did you get rid of it?

I will suggest that thanks Its been since feb of 09 i tore my hamstring and have had problem ever since haven't ran in 7 months sucks

In the last 6 months I have found that Botox trigger point injections have brought me complete pain relief I would ask ya doc to see a Physiatrist that specializes in trigger point injections Good luck to you

Kayte

Dear Jen,

So glad to see that I am not alone. 2007 accident, immediate pain in (l)gluteus maximus area. HUGE bruise where I was hit right over the piriforums/gluteus max. area. Numbness in left leg alternating with pain. Hurts to press even now, 4 years post injury. Been through 4 years of physical therapy of all types, through HMO and still having bouts of mild to extreme pain depending on what I try to do. Self paid for chiropractic, accupuncture, accupressure, massage therapy, etc. HMO network ortho orders MRI, report claims nothing seen. Although I've had dishonest reports from the HMO network Dr's and their radiologists before. Had one re read, self paid for neuro radiologist, and they found my 1,2 & 3mm bulged disks in lumbar, and sacrum that HMO failed to find. They've offered me plenty of meds, and suggested that my problem very well may not be one which is physical, but rather mental. Yes literally. Ortho says he has nothing else to offer, if he can't see what's wrong on his MRI. Gave me handicap placard for 6mo's when it was at it's worst. :/ Pain still comes and goes in the left hip, pelvis, and abdomen, and when it's bad radiates down into my left leg, on the back side. Cannot sit in any type of office chair for more than 20min or I'm hurting in hip, butt, and left leg. It seemed better after PT. Recently I just returned to the gym, did lunges, and couldn't take a step with my left leg, the next day, and lower back flared up. Healed up in 3 days, but still sensitive and seemingly flared up. My HMO is a waste. They wont help me any further. I thank everyone here for your stories because now I know what is wrong with me and I am going to self pay to see an ortho to surgically fix it, if that's what it's going to take. I've tolerated enough pain for too long.

So glad to see that I am not alone. 2007 accident, immediate pain in (l)gluteus maximus area. HUGE bruise where I was hit right over the piriforums/gluteus max. area. Numbness in left leg alternating with pain. Hurts to press even now, 4 years post injury. Been through 4 years of physical therapy of all types, through HMO and still having bouts of mild to extreme pain depending on what I try to do. Self paid for chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, etc. HMO network ortho orders MRI, report claims nothing seen. Although I've had dishonest reports from the HMO network Dr's and their radiologists before. Had one re read, self paid for neuro radiologist, and they found my 1,2 & 3mm bulged disks in lumbar, and sacrum that HMO failed to find. They've offered me plenty of meds, and suggested that my problem very well may not be one which is physical, but rather mental. Yes literally. Ortho says he has nothing else to offer, if he can't see what's wrong on his MRI. Gave me handicap placard for 6mo's when it was at it's worst. :/ Pain still comes and goes in the left hip, pelvis, and abdomen, and when it's bad radiates down into my left leg, on the back side. Cannot sit in any type of office chair for more than 20min or I'm hurting in hip, butt, and left leg. It seemed better after PT. Recently I just returned to the gym, did lunges, and couldn't take a step with my left leg, the next day, and lower back flared up. Healed up in 3 days, but still sensitive and seemingly flared up. My HMO is a waste. They wont help me any further. I thank everyone here for your stories because now I know what is wrong with me and I am going to self pay to see an ortho to surgically fix it, if that's what it's going to take. I've tolerated enough pain for too long.

So glad to see that I am not alone. 2007 accident, immediate pain in (l)gluteus maximus area. HUGE bruise where I was hit right over the piriforums/gluteus max. area. Numbness in left leg alternating with pain. Hurts to press even now, 4 years post injury. Been through 4 years of physical therapy of all types, through HMO and still having bouts of mild to extreme pain depending on what I try to do. Self paid for chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, etc. HMO network ortho orders MRI, report claims nothing seen. Although I've had dishonest reports from the HMO network Dr's and their radiologists before. Had one re read, self paid for neuro radiologist, and they found my 1,2 & 3mm bulged disks in lumbar, and sacrum that HMO failed to find. They've offered me plenty of meds, and suggested that my problem very well may not be one which is physical, but rather mental. Yes literally. Ortho says he has nothing else to offer, if he can't see what's wrong on his MRI. Gave me handicap placard for 6mo's when it was at it's worst. :/ Pain still comes and goes in the left hip, pelvis, and abdomen, and when it's bad radiates down into my left leg, on the back side. Cannot sit in any type of office chair for more than 20min or I'm hurting in hip, butt, and left leg. It seemed better after PT. Recently I just returned to the gym, did lunges, and couldn't take a step with my left leg, the next day, and lower back flared up. Healed up in 3 days, but still sensitive and seemingly flared up. My HMO is a waste. They wont help me any further. I thank everyone here for your stories because now I know what is wrong with me and I am going to self pay to see an ortho to surgically fix it, if that's what it's going to take. I've tolerated enough pain for too long.

Hello, I would absolutely love to get your program. My piriformis is now on 1 year and is also now involving the hip. I've been to the GP, Chiro, PT, Massage Therapist, Two shots in the hip. My Piriformis side is also affecting my hip making it feel "locked up" and that side is weak too.

My next options are Pain Mgmt Clinic to get shot in the Piri, acupuncture or continued Massage. This is costing me some $$$. Help!! I'm an avid hiker and backpacker and want to get back on the trail. Thank you!!!

I too tried everything under the sun (PT, injections, ultrasound, massage, medications, etc.), and endured a good 7 months of constant, and sometimes excruciating, pain before concluding that surgery was the only way to get my piriformis to release. Also: the post above that states you cannot inject cortisone into a muscle is patently false--I had it done twice, with a limited amount of relief for about a week's time. Injections did help confirm the diagnosis, though. I am now 4 weeks out from my operation, which had reduced my sciatica symptoms by about 60%. The orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery informed me that I have not yet experienced full relief as I likely have some nerve damage that will take a while to fully heal. Frustrating, as I was told by all others to avoid surgery at all possible costs (though the only real risks are infection/complications from anesthesia), only to find that delaying my surgery caused additional damage. That said, I'm not fully convinced the surgeon is correct in his assumptions, as my lack of full relief (as I've determined through reading numerous medical journal articles) might also be attributable to scar tissue/hematomas at the sciatic notch--a problem that is solved only when the piriformis is fully removed, and not simply detached. If conservative measures do not work for you, I would highly recommend seeing an orthopedic surgeon with some experience in piriformis issues, determine whether they prefer the release or remove method, and drill them on their rationale. Best of luck to you in dealing with this difficult issue!

I'm a high school junior and I'm quite certain I had Piriformis. I originally had pain in my upper thigh that I started feeling in my hip/buttcheek. At first I thought it was IT band issues but that wasn't the case, so it seems like it's piriformis, which scares me. This started bothering me last week. What do I need to do to ensure I can run as close as to 100% by the beginning of June, so I can start my summer training?

Can you tell me who your Dr. was, and if it is still working? Thanks Kriss

Who was your doctor, and where did you get this done? I live in Indiana and have seen numberous doctors. I have had 14 injections,

Been on all medications that could be prescribed (with no relief), had repeated mri’s, X-rays, you name it! I mean EVERYTHING! Even protein rich plasma injections, and a laminectomy l3,l4....and nothing! In fact a neuro surgeon told me “your lucky,. it didn’t help, but it didn’t hurt anything either”! And followed that as every doctor as “Spinal Cord Stimulator” is your last resort, get it done! I had put that off for 3 years in trying to find the answer, and getting it corrected, not just covering up the pain. I am 8 weeks Post Op with The SCS and it is not helping either.

I have always believed this was Sciatic-Piriformis tendon pain, it is a pulling and tightening of what feels like muscle/nerve that runs from my right butt down the back of the entire leg, with excruciating pain in the knee, calf and foot.

I would travel anywhere to get the Piriformis Release Surgery! Obviously it is not in Indiana!

Please, if you have found the doctor that does this surgery and gave you your life back, share that information! I would greatly appreciate hearing success stories and details to get there too!

Thanks

On top of what you're doing already, try these two things that helped me a lot.

1. If you have been strengthening core then start trying to do pistol squats. Those will help will strength and flexibility in your legs. You will have to work up to being able to do them correctly.

2. Hang upside down from a pull up bar a few times a day. This will decompress your back and help you loosen up. I noticed a lot of improvement from this.

I would like to say that I am 17 and have been dealing with this for over a year as well. It gets really tiring and if alot of work. Since my muscles spasm and get lots of knots in them working and stretching those out is a must. i have been to a chiropractor and he helped a lot. i was having this happen and getting very weak because most my day is in school. eventually my muscle got so tight that is had rotated my entire sacrum. this happened because since i was so weak and sick when i coughed thats all it needed to turn. After that I looked like a question mark. before that had happened i was already going to be chiropractor because my spine bones were twisted. he then helped my eventually pop my hips back to there original place. if your case is pretty server your first few times going for an ajustment will cause you pain. because you are moving things back. then you have to do alot of icing to keep the muscle there and bone straight. Eventually you can go occasional just to make sure things are straight. once you are straight training and exercise to get those muscles to hold become easier. before i couldnt stand straight or whenever i tried to squat my hip would pop very loud.

It's been about a month since I've had any piriformis pain, but I have battled it on my left side pretty constantly for nearly the past couple of years. I had some good, but temporary, relief following PT doing some focused strength training using exercise bands. However, I'm lazy and didn't want to keep spending the time several days a week doing those exercises, since it was taking me 20 minutes to get through them all. Massage could provide some temporary relief, having the glute and hip area worked hard with an elbow, and sitting on a tennis ball on the floor and moving it around the area with my weight on it also would give some temporary relief.

Then, about a month ago, knowing that the piriformis can stem from training your legs in pretty much the same plain of motion all the time (I cycle too for triathlon), I had the brilliant idea after a rare run on the treadmill to cool down by walking sideways on the treadmill and essentially finishing my workout with lateral motion. Hang on good to the rails with both hands, put it a comfortable walking pace (I use 3 mph), and do exaggerated sideways walking with big steps, allowing my leg to travel far down the treadmill belt. The way I do it, I definitely feel things get tugged some in my hip region, but no real discomfort. It's a little awkward at first, having to step over the lead foot with the backfoot when facing sideways. I count twenty on one side, then turn and do twenty the other. Go back a forth a total of three times, which takes about two and half minutes. Presto, my piriformis, which has dogged me for so long, disappeared pretty much overnight. The beauty of this is that I finish *all* my runs back to my home, then head into the garage and do the cool down on my treadmill. Since I need to cool down anyway, there's no extra time spent do these. Also, I continue to stretch pretty deeply after the cool down, which I've always done.

This has been like a miracle cure for me, and after about a month completely pain and tension free I feel confident in posting it for others battling this malady to give a try. Hopefully, it is helpful to some others. Cheers!

Stretching

Rolling the glute with a lacrosse type ball

Massage

And standing more! I sit a lot at work and when I feel it start to flare up I just stand up more

I've suffered with piriformis syndrome with occasional bouts of highly tense IB syndrome for a little under two years. Work has become stressful, sleep has become impossible (3-4 hours a night), and my personal relationships have taken such a toll because I'm incredibly irritated all the time (due to sleep deprivation). Every day for two years, it's been like this. I've seen a dozen specialists and have spent thousands on healthcare costs.

Now, thanks to your exercises, I've made a miraculous recovery in the matter of days. Words cannot express how grateful I am I came across this random online user's post. It's been a life-saver.

Thanks so much!

I injured my piriformis muscle severely last year. It’s been over seven months and it is still not completely healed. The only thing that has gotten me this far to where I can walk normally again, still can’t sit down, is doing nothing. No stretches, no exercises, nothing. Doctor’s orders: Leave it the hell alone. After massive swelling in my ankle and leg due to the immense pressure put on my sciatic nerve, possibly nerve damage, so much blinding pain and basically wanting to die, my ordeal is coming to an end. Do nothing. Rest it. For me it would have been a lot less healing time if I would have obeyed the doc from the start rather than trying things to heal the recovery process and making things way worse. Especially no stretching. The piriformis muscle is very fragile.

I'm curious if anyone had PS and the nerve pain go down to their foot ?"