Piriformis syndrome

[cincymma79]

Any other sufferers of this bullshit? How do you manage it? Normally a flare up sidelines me for three or four weeks but it's been going on there mo ths now. I can squat okish and my upper body is progressing, but I can deadlift for shit. Anything over 405 is instant pain, sumo or conventional, and I can only do a couple reps at 405. Thinking about getting a shot or looking into ablation.

 

[SteveX]

soft tissue work can be helpful sometimes. injection would probably be the next most conservative option.

 

[JimRussel]

I heard it's caused by going for 1RMs too often.

 

[cincymma79]

Ha I've had it for over a decade, it flares up for no reason. I can wake up with it after doing nothing all day. It sucks. Given I've been lifting for the sake of lifting for like two years...

 

[gspieler]

I had it for about a year. Ranged from mild to excruciating. I think the underlying causes were a muscular imbalance, overuse, and tightness. Hip/hamstring stretches, foam rolling, alternating between sitting and moving, and anti-inflammatories helped with the symptoms. Probably a good idea to go see a sports medicine Doctor, if you want to fix the underlying cause.

 

[cincymma79]

Maybe this area sucks for that but I've been to a GP and ortho. The chiropractor gets me symptom relief but it never dies. Maybe I'll broaden my search a bit

 

[corpse]

had it for a year. worst time of my life. it started with too much odd object lifting like sandbags/stones. in my case, i can't lift anymore with a wide stance. as soon as my legs have to rotate outwards over the object or with sumo deads, i will feel it immediately.

i did stretches and foam rollers and ibuprofen.

you could try deadlifting with a very narrow stance like vince anello.
work around it. avoid much glute concentration or outside rotation of your legs when you are in pain.
just be careful, man. this shit can get brutal. just go to a doctor and heal up.

 

[SteveX]

Maybe this area sucks for that but I've been to a GP and ortho. The chiropractor gets me symptom relief but it never dies. Maybe I'll broaden my search a bit

Definitely go seek out a sports med doctor and a good PT. It's great that the chiro gets symptom relief, but it's gonna keep coming back until you find and address the reason why it's happening whether it's postural, muscle imbalance, or something to do with your movement pattern.

 

[MandirigmaFit]

Here is a little bit of what I would call "updated" thinking on the over-diagnosed "Piriformis Syndrome," from Dr Andreo Spina, who is the curator of Functional Anatomy Seminars.



Fwiw, I went to his Upper Limb Course and it was awesome.

In regards to Piriformis Syndrome, it's a blanket term that most professionals use. In all seriousness, it could be absolutely ANYTHING that articulates with the sciatic nerve. It all depends on the symptoms and how/when they are presented.

Many people will disagree, but that's the beauty of evolving manual therapy.

 

[gspieler]

Here is a little bit of what I would call "updated" thinking on the over-diagnosed "Piriformis Syndrome," from Dr Andreo Spina, who is the curator of Functional Anatomy Seminars.



Fwiw, I went to his Upper Limb Course and it was awesome.

In regards to Piriformis Syndrome, it's a blanket term that most professionals use. In all seriousness, it could be absolutely ANYTHING that articulates with the sciatic nerve. It all depends on the symptoms and how/when they are presented.

Many people will disagree, but that's the beauty of evolving manual therapy.

It was pretty obvious to me when I had a spasming muscle in my hip, vs when I had sciatica due to a herniating disc.

 

[cincymma79]

So where does that leave me then?

 

[SteveX]

So where does that leave me then?

It leaves you where all these types of threads end up......go seek out professional advice

 

[gspieler]

It leaves you where all these types of threads end up......go seek out professional advice

+1. We can tell you our own anecdotal experiences with it and how we treated symptoms, TS, but to treat the underlying cause, it will require someone in person, who knows what they are doing.

 

[BjPenn2016FW]

I have had this/have this still! But its like 85 percent better. My pain/tightness was from constant sitting at my computer desk at work and sitting at home causing my muscles to weaken and tight up. What happened with me was...

I was stretching all the time but I didnt realize I wasnt stretching hard enough. I had one whole year of physical therapy but it wasnt until I took it into my own hands to really stretch hard and long at home that I fixed myself up. You really need to stretch as hard as you can and as far as you can and hold it for 30 seconds.

I would make like I was doing the splits and go as far as I could until I felt a deep stretch (which wasnt even close to doing the actual splits) I would hold this position for as long as I could a few times a day.

I also did my own variaton of this stretch

and any stretches you can feel in your groin/buttocks region. Make sure you try to stretch both sides of your body evenly as I didnt do that and ended up tightening up on the other side. The simple touch your toes while sitting down can can help piriformis if you go far enough and hold it.

Another easy stretch is too get in to the sumo position. Find how wide you need to squat to feel a deep stretch and hold this position for a least 30 seconds (or longer)
Everyday do all kinds of stretches and try to go farther with stretches everyday. Get super flexible, do weightless squats, go for walks when your bored and avoid sitting down as much as you can.

The last thing I did was make up my own stretches.. I would find stretching positions where i could really feel it in the area and just go hard on those. You dont have to do specific stretches you can make up your own. Find a position that you feel the deep burning stretch and go hard.

These things are amazing for going hard with your stretching. Seriously these might of had the single biggest impact on my stretching. You dont even really have to buy one just make one out of a rope or some shit if you want.

 

[Primitivo]

Listen to your elders, man.

 

[Chad R. Thundercock]

I have had this/have this still! But its like 85 percent better. My pain/tightness was from constant sitting at my computer desk at work and sitting at home causing my muscles to weaken and tight up. What happened with me was...

I was stretching all the time but I didnt realize I wasnt stretching hard enough. I had one whole year of physical therapy but it wasnt until I took it into my own hands to really stretch hard and long at home that I fixed myself up. You really need to stretch as hard as you can and as far as you can and hold it for 30 seconds.

I would make like I was doing the splits and go as far as I could until I felt a deep stretch (which wasnt even close to doing the actual splits) I would hold this position for as long as I could a few times a day.

I also did my own variaton of this stretch

and any stretches you can feel in your groin/buttocks region. Make sure you try to stretch both sides of your body evenly as I didnt do that and ended up tightening up on the other side. The simple touch your toes while sitting down can can help piriformis if you go far enough and hold it.

Another easy stretch is too get in to the sumo position. Find how wide you need to squat to feel a deep stretch and hold this position for a least 30 seconds (or longer)
Everyday do all kinds of stretches and try to go farther with stretches everyday. Get super flexible, do weightless squats, go for walks when your bored and avoid sitting down as much as you can.

The last thing I did was make up my own stretches.. I would find stretching positions where i could really feel it in the area and just go hard on those. You dont have to do specific stretches you can make up your own. Find a position that you feel the deep burning stretch and go hard.

These things are amazing for going hard with your stretching. Seriously these might of had the single biggest impact on my stretching. You dont even really have to buy one just make one out of a rope or some shit if you want.

Strong post. Could have done without the picture of the old man. I mean, did you have to sandwich it in between those two pictures of hot ladies displaying their camel toes?

Boner on, boner off, boner on. That ain't nice, man.

 

[BjPenn2016FW]

Strong post. Could have done without the picture of the old man. I mean, did you have to sandwich it in between those two pictures of hot ladies displaying their camel toes?

Boner on, boner off, boner on. That ain't nice, man.

hahaha.. Just keepin it real brah. I was trying to find pics of different stretching angles for yall

 

[BjPenn2016FW]

Also to go along with my initial post up above. Alot of people use the tennis ball spot treatment. I also found those foam rollers to be effective. It takes a little while to find the right angle and position to loosen the right muscles but once you find it... Just kinda do the same thing you would do on the tennis ball. I would use the very end/corner of the foam roller. Idk why but it seemed to worked better for me.... I thoroughly believe that a vigorous stretching program like I posted above, walking and standing to avoid sitting as much as you possibly can, and some muscle loosening movements like the tennis ball, foam roller, or massaging can help anybody with this problem severely.
It may take a few weeks or a few months to see good results.... Just dont forget... STRETCH AND DONT SIT AS MUCH... Start light for the first few days and the just go for some deep stretching. Feel the burn brah. Bernie Sanders style

 

[cincymma79]

Agreed on the sitting thing
I've been expanding my stretching regimen to include generous hamstring and glute stretching, I'll try those band stretches out. I've noticed my Achilles on the left foot is super tight lately as well on the inside. Old injuries piling up I guess. I've had some nasty sprain on that foot. I don't feel the joint very well any more, which helped me win a jiu jitsu tournament once. A minute left and the guy grabbed my left ankle. Have at it homie. I can't feel that thing. Added a couple stretches to that guy too. Going to try and get a shot first and see my ortho I guess

 

[mazuma]

yes.. find out if a disc hernia is causing ur piriformis. All these new stretches ur doing and sudden pains your noticing. I don't know about all these internet diagnosis and treatment plans.