Sciatica/Piriformis Muscle Pain

MM-Om · 02-09-09, 11:59 AM

I spent long hours in front of computer and often get lower back pain. Lately the pain is mostly in the left buttock and back of the leg. It seems like sciatica and /or piriformis muscle. Lately I have been doing lots of Lesie, the new ones-Big Burn and 5K and I think the boosted walking have irritated the buttock muscle. At the same time I started using viniyoga DVD that I had for a long time but never tried it. I have been using it every day and feel that made me worst and not better. It is very depressing for me to stop the cardio. I stoped the lower body work as well. Yesterday I did Cathy GS chest and triceps and took a 45min walk outside. I felt fine during the walk except when I was going down the hill I could feel the pain aggain. I am, fine during the night but as soon as I get up in the morning the pinching pain starts. I am applying ice which feels better then hot therapy. I am at loss and very depressed. I am trying to lose weight and this pain the b..t does not helps

hdw · 02-09-09, 01:00 PM

Try doing a piriformis stretch. You can search online for it. The stretch did the trick for me.

RubyBlue · 02-09-09, 01:01 PM

Hi! I'm cutting and pasting a reply I gave to another VFers yesterday. She is preggo but I hope this helps anyway! Good luck!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy!

I am 3 months post-partum and I have exactly your problem. I could have written your post so I am sorry for your pain. My problem was quite mild in my 8th/9th month but became a major problem afer giving birth, and so I would encourage you to see a PT as soon as you can. I saw a PT two weeks postpartum and it was the only thing that gave me any relief.

Some tips:

i. Switch to Leslie for cardio. No impact at all.
ii. Do stretches for the sciatic nerve (these are easy to Google)
iii. Strengthen the core in any way you can that is comfortable and restart as soon as you can after giving birth i.e. day one. The Tupler abs programme will not hurt your sciatic nerve (again, easy to Google- 'Lose Your Mummy Tummy'.)
iv. Walk, walk walk...now and as soon as you can after the birth.
v. Use hot packs on the affected area- very effective.

I know you are advanced and you want to do advanced cardio- I was the same. But I would plead with you not to do anything with impact- I have not had pain like this and I would not wish it on anyone.

Good luck! My pain is a lot better but still there. I have learnt to be kind to my body with Leslie and learned to live with the fact that I cannot do weighted squats/lunges (I do a lot of floorwork.)

Oh! I forgot...buy a very good breastfeeding pillow to keep yourself in good spinal alignment.

PM me if you would like anything else clarifying.

All the best!

-----------------------------------------------

See also Viniyoga for Hips, Sacrum and ? (sorry, forget full name.)

antbuko · 02-09-09, 01:07 PM

I had similar pain a couple of weeks ago and I just backed off of the lowerbody work I was doing at that time and did some hip opening yoga. I also did a VF search on piriformis pain and a lot of people recommended pigeon pose. If you have Eionn Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness, his hip openers were highly recommended too.

RubyBlue · 02-09-09, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antbuko

I had similar pain a couple of weeks ago and I just backed off of the lowerbody work I was doing at that time and did some hip opening yoga. I also did a VF search on piriformis pain and a lot of people recommended pigeon pose. If you have Eionn Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness, his hip openers were highly recommended too.

Absolutely, pigeon pose is onderful for the piriformis. Good call!

ebianco · 02-09-09, 01:24 PM

Hi there,

I just recovered from Sciatica/Piriformis muscle pain in my right hip. The doctor diagnosed me, and told me to buy a baseball (not a softball though that can be used for your neck), and while laying in bed, lay on the most sensitive area of your glute/hip. Keep it there for 10 minutes! (OUCH!) and make sure to do it on both sides. It was painful for the first two days and my hip was achier than it had been, but after two days I felt a significant release in my muscle and felt great about two days after that. The doctor called the ball exercise "passive stretching" FYI.

HTH!

Emily

azelizabeth · 02-09-09, 02:30 PM

If it bothers you that much I would seriously consider going to a PT for an evaluation and home exercise program. There are many tests that can be done by an evaluation to make sure that is the issue. One thing that always works for me is a kids elbow right in that spot. Massage is also good.

Elizabeth

lorajc · 02-09-09, 02:42 PM

I have the exact same thing and I get it from doing plyo, high impact, or cardio in general.

It is medically called "piriformis syndrome" where the piriformis muscle gets spasmed and in turn, causes a tugging at the sciatic nerve. I've found doing a lot of piriformis stretches and manually digging the spasm out of my piriformis will relieve some of the sciatic pain. I usually don't have the patience to do this, therefore, I suffer constantly.

Try lying on your Elaine Petrone ball (if you have one -- or I suggest purchasing one if you don't). It really helps relieve the spasm in the piriformis.

I also like to do a lot of yoga for the outer hips, i.e., pigeon pose, etc.

MM-Om · 02-09-09, 04:01 PM

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will google the stretches.

I have also ordered sacro wedgy- wonder if anyone has tried this?http://www.sacrowedgy.com/
Monika

lreidgreen · 02-09-09, 04:33 PM

You might also find relief from foam rolling but I would get suggestions from a PT first. This and the Elaine Petrone miracle ball method helped me in addition to yoga ( yes that pigeon pose is great for piriformis syndrome )

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02-09-09, 11:59 AM
MM-Om Join Date: Feb 2007	Sciatica/Piriformis Muscle Pain I spent long hours in front of computer and often get lower back pain. Lately the pain is mostly in the left buttock and back of the leg. It seems like sciatica and /or piriformis muscle. Lately I have been doing lots of Lesie, the new ones-Big Burn and 5K and I think the boosted walking have irritated the buttock muscle. At the same time I started using viniyoga DVD that I had for a long time but never tried it. I have been using it every day and feel that made me worst and not better. It is very depressing for me to stop the cardio. I stoped the lower body work as well. Yesterday I did Cathy GS chest and triceps and took a 45min walk outside. I felt fine during the walk except when I was going down the hill I could feel the pain aggain. I am, fine during the night but as soon as I get up in the morning the pinching pain starts. I am applying ice which feels better then hot therapy. I am at loss and very depressed. I am trying to lose weight and this pain the b..t does not helps

02-09-09, 01:00 PM
hdw VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2001	Try doing a piriformis stretch. You can search online for it. The stretch did the trick for me.

02-09-09, 01:01 PM
RubyBlue Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: London, UK	Hi! I'm cutting and pasting a reply I gave to another VFers yesterday. She is preggo but I hope this helps anyway! Good luck! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy! I am 3 months post-partum and I have exactly your problem. I could have written your post so I am sorry for your pain. My problem was quite mild in my 8th/9th month but became a major problem afer giving birth, and so I would encourage you to see a PT as soon as you can. I saw a PT two weeks postpartum and it was the only thing that gave me any relief. Some tips: i. Switch to Leslie for cardio. No impact at all. ii. Do stretches for the sciatic nerve (these are easy to Google) iii. Strengthen the core in any way you can that is comfortable and restart as soon as you can after giving birth i.e. day one. The Tupler abs programme will not hurt your sciatic nerve (again, easy to Google- 'Lose Your Mummy Tummy'.) iv. Walk, walk walk...now and as soon as you can after the birth. v. Use hot packs on the affected area- very effective. I know you are advanced and you want to do advanced cardio- I was the same. But I would plead with you not to do anything with impact- I have not had pain like this and I would not wish it on anyone. Good luck! My pain is a lot better but still there. I have learnt to be kind to my body with Leslie and learned to live with the fact that I cannot do weighted squats/lunges (I do a lot of floorwork.) Oh! I forgot...buy a very good breastfeeding pillow to keep yourself in good spinal alignment. PM me if you would like anything else clarifying. All the best! ----------------------------------------------- See also Viniyoga for Hips, Sacrum and ? (sorry, forget full name.)

02-09-09, 01:07 PM
antbuko Join Date: Jun 2004	I had similar pain a couple of weeks ago and I just backed off of the lowerbody work I was doing at that time and did some hip opening yoga. I also did a VF search on piriformis pain and a lot of people recommended pigeon pose. If you have Eionn Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness, his hip openers were highly recommended too. __________________ Helen K

02-09-09, 01:24 PM
ebianco VF Supporter Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: USA	Hi there, I just recovered from Sciatica/Piriformis muscle pain in my right hip. The doctor diagnosed me, and told me to buy a baseball (not a softball though that can be used for your neck), and while laying in bed, lay on the most sensitive area of your glute/hip. Keep it there for 10 minutes! (OUCH!) and make sure to do it on both sides. It was painful for the first two days and my hip was achier than it had been, but after two days I felt a significant release in my muscle and felt great about two days after that. The doctor called the ball exercise "passive stretching" FYI. HTH! Emily

02-09-09, 02:30 PM
azelizabeth Join Date: Sep 2006	If it bothers you that much I would seriously consider going to a PT for an evaluation and home exercise program. There are many tests that can be done by an evaluation to make sure that is the issue. One thing that always works for me is a kids elbow right in that spot. Massage is also good. Elizabeth

02-09-09, 02:42 PM
lorajc Join Date: Jul 2005	I have the exact same thing and I get it from doing plyo, high impact, or cardio in general. It is medically called "piriformis syndrome" where the piriformis muscle gets spasmed and in turn, causes a tugging at the sciatic nerve. I've found doing a lot of piriformis stretches and manually digging the spasm out of my piriformis will relieve some of the sciatic pain. I usually don't have the patience to do this, therefore, I suffer constantly. Try lying on your Elaine Petrone ball (if you have one -- or I suggest purchasing one if you don't). It really helps relieve the spasm in the piriformis. I also like to do a lot of yoga for the outer hips, i.e., pigeon pose, etc.

02-09-09, 04:01 PM
MM-Om Join Date: Feb 2007	Thank you all for your suggestions. I will google the stretches. I have also ordered sacro wedgy- wonder if anyone has tried this?http://www.sacrowedgy.com/ Monika

02-09-09, 04:33 PM
lreidgreen VF Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Jersey	You might also find relief from foam rolling but I would get suggestions from a PT first. This and the Elaine Petrone miracle ball method helped me in addition to yoga ( yes that pigeon pose is great for piriformis syndrome )