According to Dr. Stark, the condition is often misdiagnosed as sciatica or a herniated disc, rather than piriformis syndrome. Underdiagnosis may stem from patients simply living with the pain rather than seeking out medical care.
The piriformis muscle is a flat, band-like muscle located in the buttocks near the top of the hip joint that is positioned next to the sciatic nerve. It stabilizes the hip area and is critical to lower body movement. The sciatic nerve—where shooting leg or back pains often originate—is a long, relatively thick nerve in the body that passes alongside or through the piriformis muscle, before it continues down the back of the leg and eventually branches off into smaller nerves that end in the feet.
A healthy piriformis can protect and improve sciatic function, while compression or spasm of the piriformis muscle can cause excruciating pain when it compresses and irritates the nearby sciatic nerve.
There is pain with walking, limping, and squatting. There is often pain with stooping or lifting, intolerance to sitting, taking long automobile rides, and complaints of pain in the buttock. The treatment for the sciatic pain may not yield results. History of failed laminectomy, discetomy, and chemonucleolysis, or a series of epidural steroid injections with no change in sciatica may indicate piriformis syndrome.
There are five classic symptoms that an Orthopedic Specialist is looking for…. If you have these symptoms it is important to go see your Orthopedic Specialist. Most cases of piriformis syndrome may be treated without surgery, so call today. Warner is committed to offering her patients an accurate diagnosis along with a comprehensive treatment plan in order to get them back to a pain free life.
Meredith Warner specializes in the treatment of orthopedic issues, providing operative and non-operative treatment plans of orthopedic problems, including musculoskeletal pain such as chronic back, neck and foot pain, reconstructive surgery of the foot and ankle, arthritis, diabetic, hammer toe, bunion, wound care, work injuries, fitness and nutrition and osteoporosis issues.
Piriformis syndrome is a neuromuscular condition which can cause posterior hip pain, deep buttock pain and even shooting pain down the back of the leg. The piriformis is a muscle located posteriorly which functions to rotate the hip. The piriformis muscle is located just superficial to the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve runs down the back of the leg with nerve endings leading all the way to the foot.
Inflammation of the piriformis can compress the nerve, causing shooting pain down the leg, numbness and tingling in the lower extremity and deep posterior buttock pain. The pain may also extend down along the nerve and involve the leg as well extraspinal sciatica.
Pain is usually exaggerated by activities which exert pressure over the piriformis muscle such as sitting for long hours, running or climbing stairs.
Other symptoms may include tingling and numbness, and sciatic nerve irritation. Piriformis Syndrome is commonly misdiagnosed. The diagnosis of piriformis syndrome involves a combination of the following:. Piriformis Syndrome can be treated with conservative measures including activity modification, physical therapy, anti-inflammatories and local ultrasound-guided injections. Other conservative methods include:.
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