Piriformis/Sciatica problem

[Oldrich Polreich]

Hello

My right piriformis has been giving me trouble for 2-3 weeks, but nothing major (stretching helped)

 

But this saturday, after my gym session it got extremely stiff and painful. So painful that stretching was almost impossible. I laid down, applied some heat and cold a rested. This helped a bit (at least i can stretch a little) but it is third day now and i still feel pain in my right butt and even down in my knee and calf. Pain is not constant, sometimes sitting makes it worse, sometimes not. Usually, it is worse in the morning (actually waking me up)  I can't sit with my legs straight (hip won't let me) let alone do the pike stretch. Warming up and light mobility work (swivel hips) helps with the pain, but not in a long run.

 

Anyone has any experience with this? 

 

I've seen the doctor, he prescribed me pain meds and sent me to orthopedics, who sen't me to neurology in local hospital. They told me that i maybe have pinched nerve (well thanks, google told me that) and prescribed me another pain meds and told me to apply cold or heat

I'm trying to make an appointment with physio, but i have to wait week or two before he's available.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tomas Johansson]

Sorry to hear your story.

 

I'm afraid it sounds a bit like, quite much actually, a herniated disc. I have had that so I'm familiar. The basic test is laying on your back lifting one leg at a time. When I got my herniated disc I could lift my right leg up to 90 degrees and the left only to about 45. 

 

I suggest you read up on the item and see if it fits. I would not let anyone do any manipulation before you know what the problem is. I had a chiropractor doing 10 session on me before I was diagnosed, he couldn't diagnose me and only made it worse. I did have a big herniation though that needed surgery, smaller ones can heal themselves with time and correct exercises.

 

Hope this helps and that I'm wrong. 

[Oldrich Polreich]

Thank for reply Thomas!

 

Have you experienced any other symptoms of herniated disc? Like pain when sneezing, laughing etc.? I did some research and apart from pain i don't have any other symptoms.

I can't lift my leg more than 45 degrees but pain is originating in my right glute/hip bone. It feels like my piriformis cramping and being really sore. Also I don't feel any pain in my lower back.

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

I am not a doctor, but I've had similar experiences in the distant and more recent past - it is not funny!

Maybe you could take 3 or 4 days rest and give your medication a chance to work?

It reads like your sciatic nerve may be a little bit pissed off; it might be tight muscles, a bit of inflammation due to new exercises or new ROM, a little bit of pinching during stretching or exercise, or something more serious like structural damage on a disc, etc...

[Tomas Johansson]

I'm no doctor either, just talking from my own experience.

 

It was back in -99 I had my problems so I don't remember everything exactly. I did never get any other classic symptoms like not being able to pee, just pain.

 

I don't remember having much if any pain in the lower back, maybe some stiffness. I remember I had pain somewhere in the butt, on the back of my knee and someplace under my foot.

 

My best position was lying down, then standing up which I could handle for a while. Sitting down was the worst, especially standing up after sitting down and driving my car. Everything that stretched the nerve hurt. Everything that put pressure inside my body sent pain down my leg, like coughing, sneezing or just tightening up my body really hard. And of course jumping.

 

It sounds like you have an irritated nerve, the cause is difficult to know.

[Oldrich Polreich]

It looks I'm kinda stupid

 

Today, i went to emergency again. Thankfully older, more experienced looking doctor was there. He examined me, said that it is almost certainly not herniated disc (hooray) but appointed me for CT just to be sure. He also suggested that i try some gentle massage and see if there's any relief. 

 

I returned home and attacked my right butt with large massage ball. It was almost like pushing "pain off" button! Pain in my calf and knee was gone in few seconds, than even the pain in my butt. After few minutes of massaging, i tried to lift my leg and it went almost 60 degrees, much more than before. Few more minutes and i'm able to lift to almost 90 degrees! I tried massage before, but was using only the smaller ball, because i could not find the larger one

 

I'm so glad that it is not herniated disc

Thanks again for your replies Tomas and Fred!

[FREDERIC DUPONT]

Good to hear, this is wonderful news...

[Michaël Van den Berg]

A couple of years ago I had similar issues when doing capoeira. At that time, I still went to physical therapists instead of osteopaths in case of sports-related injuries. Needless to say, my physical therapist had no clue and was not able to solve my problem. When I finally went to see an osteopath (I had been walking around with the same pain/issues for over a year) he immediately knew what the problem was (piriformis and/or SI-joint trouble) and told me I'd be as good as new in two or three sessions. He was right

 

Ever since that day, whenever I feel the same pain/tightness coming up again, I just go and sit on a Lacrosse ball. Works perfectly!

 

I am glad to hear you solved your problems!

[Joshua Naterman]

Definitely sounds like piriformis syndrome, and the best thing for that is exactly what you're doing.

 

You'll want to keep doing things like this on a regular basis for pain prevention. It's probably a good idea to do on both sides.

 

 

Osteos and Chiropractors, at least the ones who are really well-educated, are excellent health resources!I just got my atlo-occipital joint and C1 adjusted two days ago, and now my right upper traps, which have been underactive for years, are firing significantly more. Even internal and external rotation is massively improved.

 

Manipulative medicine, when used correctly, is a very good modality. We went through over 30 minutes of manual muscle testing and corrective exercise stuff for my hips (apparently I have pathologically tight hip capsules lol), and after failing a strength test miserably three times in a row, the adjustment was made. Literally immediately afterwards, the strength test was easy, and still is. This was my first first-hand experience with manipulative medicine.

[Oldrich Polreich]

Osteos and Chiropractors, at least the ones who are really well-educated, are excellent health resources!

This is a big problem with country where i live. There are some excellent doctors, especially sport medicine and heart transplant specialists, but they are so few and only in two major cities. The rest is...somewhere between bad and total garbage  For example one doctor from same hospital where i went sent my friend (he crashed on jumping boots) home without doing even an xray. He told him to "tie it with hankerchief and take pain meds"...result? Torn rotator cuff, winged scapula and permanent nerve damage...the last two could be very well prevented, if treated properly.