Piriformis syndrome is caused by the squeezing of your sciatic nerve by your piriformis muscle.
The piriformis muscle is responsible for rotating your leg to the outside when you lift it behind you. It also abducts your leg when you lift it flexed in front of you. The sciatic nerve runs below or through the piriformis muscle.
Causes of Piriformis Syndrome:
- Overuse of the piriformis muscle, resulting in the muscle becoming too tight.
- When the piriformis muscles become too tight or goes into spasm, it compresses the sciatic nerves.
- Hip bones/muscle imbalances causing excessive demands on piriformis.
Symptoms of Piriformis Syndrome:
- Pain in the buttock.
- Radiating pain down your leg.
- Numbness in the butt or down the leg.
- Pain can go down your leg as far as your calf muscle.
- Can radiate into your lower back.
- Symptoms increase with walking/running, sit or bending over to pick something off the floor.
Piriformis syndrome can mimic other conditions – lumbar herniation, stenosis, and facet joint problems. The situation requires systematic ruling out of these other issues to determine if the piriformis muscle is the problem. During your physical examination, attempts may be made to stretch and irritate the piriformis muscle to provoke sciatic nerve compression.
I approach treating your hip and leg pain to your presentation, which involves:
- Analyzing your condition – is the problem coming from your spine or the piriformis muscle?
- Discussing potential lifestyle dynamics impacting the joint.
- Understanding how other factors such as muscle imbalances can aggravate the problem.
- Muscle testing the muscles comprising the hip for weakness and pain.
- Targeting effected muscles, releasing motor points, trigger points and relaxing the fascia.
- Providing exercises to continue treatment success between acupuncture treatments.
Call (914) 572-5137 today or click here to schedule an appointment & learn more about how we can help you.