Pain above the right gluteus maximus but below back. HELP!

Search piriformis. I'd never heard of it either until a month ago, now I can't run. Hope that's not it because recovery is slow, slow, slow.

ummm...I doubt it because the pain I'm feeling doesn't seem to indicate any kind of nerve irritation. And after researching piriformis, the pain doesn't extend down to the knee. It is localized right above my butt. Although, in the end, I really don't know for sure.

could be your sacroiliac joint (which is right above the butt and below the back) or possibly your gluteus medius which is kind of above but a little to the outside of the glute max.

acid wrote:

ummm...I doubt it because the pain I'm feeling doesn't seem to indicate any kind of nerve irritation. And after researching piriformis, the pain doesn't extend down to the knee. It is localized right above my butt. Although, in the end, I really don't know for sure.

Keep researching. I think you looked at sciatica posts. Piriformis does not necessarily extend anywhere else as does sciatica. I have piriformis and mine is localized. It has never moved.

when you say pain above your glute max, I am assuming you mean closer upward toward your back? The piriformis muscle is deep to your glute max, not necessarily above it. so if you were feeling deep buttock localized pain I would think that, but if the pain in actually higher up, I would think something else.

I would say piriformis syndrome. Pain only goes down your leg if you have sciatica. I had pain in the same place you describe and a PT said it was too high to be PS, but all the treatment for PS helped, so if it wasn't PS, it was something very similar.

Whether or not it is your piriformis, stretching this area should help since it's usually completely ignored. Look up some stretches, and find someone to dig in hard either with their hands or some kind of massaging tool, or just go to a PT, chiro, or massage therapist. I found holding onto a chair and then sticking my butt out as far as I could on whichever side worked well.

If it is PS or something similar, it will only get worse on its own and could develop into sciatica (major pain in the arse, literally!), but if you treat it, it's no big deal and should go away completely after a few weeks without having to take a single day off running.

I pray it is not sciatica. Ruined my running 30 years ago and it is still hurting. But yours sounds to high. Hey anything but sciatica.

The pain for piriformis will be at about the same spot as the top of you back pocket. I had this for months and could hardly walk. Active Release Therapy ART fixed it immediately. Both my chiro and PT said no, chiro even said PS doesn't exist ~ BS. I found a masseuse that did ART and it was almost an instant fix.

*UPDATE* Okay, went to the trainer. First time we actually located the pain in the superior part of the gluteus maximus, maybe just a strain. Problem is now there is a popping noise in my hip, specifically SI joint. This is not a new symptom, I just didn't mention till because the popping noise because I used to infrequently have the popping. The reason we believe it relates to the pain is because 1) It is now a constantly popping, when I raise my leg to a certain point (although not when I run) 2) It located right in the general area the pain. Any idea what this, and if this would give me any pain. Oh, and when it pops it does NOT hurt.

acid wrote:

Okay for about four days now I've been getting increasingly worse pain atop my right gluteus maximus, and it feels like a muscle or tendon injury. It has swelled to where I can feel a difference between the left and right side. Became a noticeable pain during an easy six mile run, not sure how or when the injury occurred. Had an 8k the next day, hurt terrible during the warmup, but once the race began I did just fine, afterwards is a different story...Any ideas on what the hell is wrong with me, please help.

Just to clarify you are saying the right side of your ass hurts, correct?

Sciatica

At first I thought your subject line read "Palin above the right gluteus mximus..."

acid, you have a sacral stress fracture or a sprained SI joint.

Sounds like hypermobility of your SI joint. Google the symptoms and see if it matches. You can even try some of the maneuvers that should elicit pain (google 'em). Have you fallen on your butt or lower back recently?

I agree with some of the previous posters as I had the same injury last year during XC. It sounds to me like it is an SI joint injury or a muscle strain in the same area.

I remember the area being really tender after a fartlek run and after that I couldn't even walk properly for about 3 day. I had to take 3 weeks off (zero running) to let it heal and when I came back it was still a litlle bit sore/stiff. I also went to the chiropractor like three time and he noticed i had a leg discrepancy of about an inch (obviously caused by the injury).

Good Luck!! Ice the area, take ibuprofen, and finally take some time off.

What all of you are describing is tight PSOAS MUSCLES. You are only feeling the symptoms.

Check this out. Go to the bottom of the page.

http://www.julstro.com/what_happens_exactly.html

Going to a massage therapist to align your pelvis would also be helpful.

I just had my piriformis going into spasms last week, but that was only a symptom. I had built a roof and screwed everything in with a drill. My back and neck muscles got tight and the result was a pull on the piriformis. The LAST thing I wanted to do was stretch an already tight muscle so I worked on pressure points in my back and neck and the piriformis has been great the last few days.

Most of the time, the area of the pain is not the problem. You have to find what is the actual cause. The PSOAS (hip flexors) is a common cause that very few know about.

PT told me that the sciatic nerve runs through the piriformis and if the piriformis is tight it can irritate the nerve. Ergo, strengthen and stretch the piriformis. BTW google and you will see that it runs exactly where you're having the pain. Or you could argue and...........

Late reply but may help others...you're describing gluteus medius syndrome, many of my active clients have had it...try this article: http://www.sw.org/HealthLibrary?page=Gluteus%20Medius%20Syndrome%20with%20Rehab-SportsMed

This is pretty late- but I think you have a tear in your labrum. I have the exact same symptoms and have FAI and a tear. Good luck!

That's tax pain