Piriformis Syndrome - Sciatica

[okgndave]

Have had this since I put the snow tires on about 2 months ago.

Have been stretching and using foam roller and massaging, but it never seems to go away for long.

Sore in morning and occasionally during thre day.

Anybody else suffer this and resolve?

[4underthru9]

Have had this since I put the snow tires on about 2 months ago.
Have been stretching and using foam roller and massaging, but it never seems to go away for long.
Sore in morning and occasionally during thre day.
Anybody else suffer this and resolve?

Had it years ago and worked through it painfully with the recommended stretches and Physio help which I was covered for.
Depending on how painful you have it, you can consider investing in something I found but did not buy so cannot advise how good it is,
maybe others have tried it. https://kingbrand.com/Piriformis_Syn...SAAEgLG1fD_BwE

[73monte]

Have had this since I put the snow tires on about 2 months ago.

Have been stretching and using foam roller and massaging, but it never seems to go away for long.

Sore in morning and occasionally during thre day.

Anybody else suffer this and resolve?

I've had Piriformis syndrome for about 7-8 years now. PS can be episodic and quite simply can just come and go. I'm sure you've become familiar with the basics. PS is a spasming of the piriformis muscle in the buttocks, which in turn can put undue pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Most get it from excessive walking, running, but my first experience came from golf. Early morning first few swings were starting to give me some mild pain that would subside, but soon it became quite debilitating. Couldn't play golf for weeks.

After getting as much imput as I could, and now after years of having many bouts, I've found a few things that do seem to work quite well in treating the flare ups. I'm sure you've found the stretches that are recommended. Some are better than others, but by far the best I've used is one called the pigeon pose. You can do a standing version as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsnR0YpTSL8

You can do a standing variation as well. A foam roller also can help but I've found much more success with various balls. Not actual massage balls, but a ball hockey ball, and lacrosse ball. You have to experiment a little with these, but go slow with the lacrosse ball, as you can bruise yourself, as the pressure is much more direct, whereas the roller will diffuse it a lot.

Hope this helps. Only other thing I can tell you is, you have to be patient and diligent. It can take a couple of weeks, but most importantly, once you get thing under control, keeps doing the stretches several times a week as a preventative measure. Even 5 minutes a day will make a huge difference.

[okgndave]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Strange how the pain presents itself differently during flare ups.

Struggling with the balance between stretching, massaging that helps as opposed to aggravates.

[Kessly Snipes]

I had a Piriformis injury a couple years ago from a baseball slide. Took 3 dry needling sessions with my physio to ease the pain. I will say that the dry needling was FAR more painful than the Piriformis injury, but that was short term.

I have had SI issues for as long as I can rememmber. A good Chiro has always helped, and range 2 weeks to 1 year between needing treatments. The issues normally come from a fall (hockey, skiing, snowboarding etc).

[Joe Backyard]

Unfortunately, my sciatica was triggered years ago by awkwardly carrying a lead acid battery for the golf caddy. Like others above, the condition comes and goes and happily has been in remission for a while. I find that brief stretching and extended routine walks have been my remedy.

Most embarrassing moment was 4 years ago when it popped up again and in rehabbing was caught unable to walk home some 200 yds from the front door. Even received sympathy from a nice elderly couple in their 90's that wanted to escort me home. Another of these life moments that we can all appreciate.

[gushamilton]

Take this for what's it worth - I'm 39 and 2 years ago I had 2 extremely severe/painful flareups of sciatica (couldn't sit, stand, put on socks, get in and out of a car). The first bout lasted about 9 weeks, I went to physio and did everything I could to feel better. 3 months later it happened again just as I was heading to Florida to play golf.

During the 2nd flareup I was desperate and remembered Howard Stern raving about a doctor who wrote several books about back pain. I decided to listen to the audiobook and 2 weeks later I was completely pain free. I know I still have degenerative discs because I can feel it now and again, but it never turns into real pain.

The moral of the doc's theory is that most back pain is a result of mental stress and emotions (usually buried) and it manifests itself most commonly with back/neck pain. Since I've been able to recognize this, my back pain is 100% gone and I owe it all to Dr. Sarno. I was convinced I was going to need back surgery.

Like I said, take it for what it's worth, but you can listed to this book in about 3 hours.

https://www.amazon.ca/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection/dp/0446392308/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxMUyNtArz00okkeLqrWf7j9ae-y97HUvDRazMwjf9L161qZW0LvFHwaAubrEALw_wcB&hvadid=320939499821&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9000855&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6130588069609804831&hvtargid=kwd-98922620&hydadcr=14951_9480933&keywords=healing+back+pain&qid=1610461449&sr=8-1&tag=googcana-20

[Bing]

Hey! I've had back pain for a whole month now and nothing helps. I went to the doctor and he gave me some ointments to take the pain away, but it didn't help. I was thinking of going for a massage, a friend of mine told me that gymnastics can help me too. Can anyone advise me?

[leftylewis]

One thing that really helped me was doing some gentle stretching exercises specifically targeting the back muscles. You might want to try yoga or Pilates, which can help improve flexibility and strengthen your core, thereby providing better support for your back. Additionally, alternating between ice and heat packs on the affected area can provide some relief.

I totally understand what you're going through because I had similar back problems a while ago. I tried several treatments, but what really made a difference for me was acupuncture . It's worth considering as it can help reduce pain and promote healing.

[bogey5]

Hey! I've had back pain for a whole month now and nothing helps. I went to the doctor and he gave me some ointments to take the pain away, but it didn't help. I was thinking of going for a massage, a friend of mine told me that gymnastics can help me too. Can anyone advise me?

Chiropractor for me.

In my experience docs typically deal with pain/symptoms and massage can relax/stretch things out and a good Chiro can identify and hopefully work on the actual problem.

[Chambokl]

Hey! I've had back pain for a whole month now and nothing helps. I went to the doctor and he gave me some ointments to take the pain away, but it didn't help. I was thinking of going for a massage, a friend of mine told me that gymnastics can help me too. Can anyone advise me?

A couple of years ago I had back pain. It got worst and worst . . . finally went for a massage, one visit did the trick. It was incredible. She said . . . it is right here . . . call me Monday if it still hurt. It was all done . . . I was very impressed. Good luck . . .

[gushamilton]

I've had it off and on for several years. The last one lasted from Nov '23 to March '24. It took an epidural steroid injection, physio, Naproxen (prescription anti-inflammatory) and daily exercises of the McGill Big 3 to get rid of it.

I still do the McGill Big 3 every day and I've managed to prevent another recurrence since early March of this year.

PS - piriformis syndrome isn't exactly the same thing as sciatica. Symptoms may be similar, but apparently only a fraction of sciatica symptoms are caused by piriformis syndrome.

[luv2kruz]

Just went through a round of physio treatments to deal with this exact issue. Mostly gone now, but still have to do specific stretches she assigned from time to time. The pigeon stretch mentioned above was one of them.