What is the Piriformis Syndrome?¹

The Piriformis muscle is one of the small muscles deep in the buttocks that rotates the leg outwards. It runs from the base of the spine and attaches to the thigh bone (femur) roughly where the outside crease in your buttocks are. The sciatic nerve runs very close to this muscle and sometimes even through it! If the muscle becomes tight it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve and cause pain which can radiate down the leg. (see sciatica )

Symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome:

• Tenderness in the area of the muscle.
• Pain in the buttocks.
• Reduced range of motion of the hip joint
• Numbness of the foot and loss of position sense (proprioception) can lead to an unstable walk.

Common Causes of Piriformis Syndrome²

Piraformis syndrome can be activated in numerous seemingly different ways. For example, long drives in the car result in the accelerator foot being flexed for long periods, resulting in the tightening of the piraformis muscle, lifting or lowering of a heavy weight, catching oneself from falling, twisting sideways while bending or lifting a weight such as a baby out of the back of the car, including direct trauma such as hitting the muscle itself or an impact caused by a car accident particularly when the impact is from the side.

Prevention / Treatment of Piriformis Syndrome

The following guidelines are for information purposes only. Seeking professional advice before beginning rehabilitation is recommended. 

• Apply heat.
• Stretch the Piriformis muscle.
• Strengthen the Piriformis muscle.
• See a sports injury professional who can advise on treatment, rehabilitation and prevention.

Massage Therapy

The use of Sports Massage is to release tension in the muscle and stimulate blood flow and healing. Sports massage is very important in softening / preventing scar tissue forming at the site of injury and re-aligning the new healing fibers in the direction of the muscle fibers. This will help prevent re-injury.

The therapists at Advanced Alternatives Massage Therapy are skilled in the area of sports massage techniques which have been known to be beneficial in the treatment of Piraformis syndrome

Sources:

1. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/buttocks/piriformis.htm
2. http://www.sciaticaclinic.com/