Good afternoon, my name is Jake Brougham and I am a sports & remedial massage therapist based on the Isle of Wight. Today i would like to provide you with an insight to the piriformis muscle, piriformis syndrome & sciatica, and how you can remedy this problem. I have treated many clients in the past year who have complained of a deep pain in the lower hip area. which can be very painful especially when sitting, causing tingling or shooting pains down the leg. So what’s the problem? 9 times out of 10 it’s a tight 
Piriformis muscle!
The Piriformis muscle –
This is a very small muscle that attaches from the anterior surface of the Sacrum to the Great Trochanter of the Femur. The Piriformis outwardly rotates the hip, however as many activities don’t really require this movement with great force, it has an important role of preventing inward rotation, and stabilizing the hip. It does this by eccentrically contracting… which in turn can put more stress on this muscle.
So, What’s going on??
The Piriformis muscle crosses over the sciatic nerve, and in some people the sciatic nerve actually runs straight through the Piriformis! Excessive muscle tension compresses and irritates the sciatic nerve, causing pain that sometimes is very severe, which includes sciatic pain down the leg. Even though this may sound like sciatica, it actually is known as Piriformis syndrome.
Athletes who engage in pure forward movement (Runners, Rowers & Cyclists) are more at risk to Piriformis syndrome as their hip adductors and abductors generally become weak. This combined with weak glutes will put extra stress and tension on the Piriformis muscle. Also runners who over pronate put extra stress on the Piriformis. This is because over pronation can cause the knee to rotate when impacting the floor, subsequently making your little Piriformis muscle work extra hard to prevent excessive knee rotation – this leads to tightening of the Piriformis.
Sitting in the same position for long periods of time will also cause the Piriformis to shorten and become tight. If you are someone who’s work involves sitting down all day, you will undoubtedly know what a tight Piriformis muscle feels like.
Piriformis Syndrome vs. Sciatica… What’s the difference?
The symptoms of both piriformis syndrome and Sciatica are very similar… both cause pain, tingling, burning, and/or numbness down the leg, often all the way to the foot, but the underlying causes of the two conditions are different. Sciatica is generally triggered from a spinal issue; compression or degeneration in the lower lumbar region of the spine. Piriformis Syndrome is not caused from spinal issues; the shortening and excessive tension of the piriformis muscle compresses the sciatic nerve, which in turn causes sciatica symptoms.
Providing a remedy for piriformis/sciatic pain
Stretch –
This little muscle hardly ever gets stretched; therefore stretching can work miracles. There are 2 stretches below that are awesome for relieving some of that pain!
Tennis ball – The use of a tennis ball is vital in order to relieve tension. Sitting on the floor with the tennis ball underneath you, target and find the area of pain, then carefully put more body weight on the tennis ball until you reach 8/10 on the pain scale (10 being worst possible pain). Hold that position until the pain decreases to 3 or 4. You may find that you need to hold it for 30-40 seconds before the pain starts to decrease. If the pain increases then start over again and find a new position. 5 minutes of this per day will start to relieve tension so the piriformis is less likely to compress the sciatic nerve.
Massage –
A sports and remedial massage treatment can be the best way to alleviate piriformis pain. Trigger points are commonly found in the Piriformis, so the correct use of neuromuscular techniques and soft tissue release will give enormous benefit. Not only reducing the symptoms but treating the causative factors which will prevent further dysfunction in the future!
I hope you have enjoyed this post, please check out my website & facebook page for more info!
Website – http://www.remedialbodybalance.co.uk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/remedialbodybalance
JAKE BROUGHAM 