Piriformus syndrom

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bishopjulia
bishopjulia Posts: 205 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Piriformus syndrom causes irritation to the sciatic nerve in turn causing pain down the leg into the ankle. What are the best types of cardio for someone suffering with this pain??

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,959 Member
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    um.

    This seems like a question for your physical therapist/physio?
  • bishopjulia
    bishopjulia Posts: 205 Member
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    Wondering if anyone else in the community suffers with sciatic and what helps them. Just curious.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    My SO got it 3-4 times a year. He found a set of exercises on YouTube that help. Sorry I can’t link as I don’t know which ones, just google pirifomus exercises.

    He is a runner and swimmer and has found that the occurrences have declined since he started doing Iyengar yoga with me 1-2 times a week.

    No medical diagnosis why it has helped, but he thinks it is because he has improved his hip flexibility, and no longer has such tight hamstrings.

    Cheers, h.
  • bishopjulia
    bishopjulia Posts: 205 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    My SO got it 3-4 times a year. He found a set of exercises on YouTube that help. Sorry I can’t link as I don’t know which ones, just google pirifomus exercises.

    He is a runner and swimmer and has found that the occurrences have declined since he started doing Iyengar yoga with me 1-2 times a week.

    No medical diagnosis why it has helped, but he thinks it is because he has improved his hip flexibility, and no longer has such tight hamstrings.

    Cheers, h.

    Thank you for the insight. It can be very debilitating. Ever since I broke my fibula in the left leg , I’ve had ongoing pain in the right hip. Saw a doctor that’s what he diagnosed it, went to physio as well. Gets really sore most days.

  • saraonly9913
    saraonly9913 Posts: 469 Member
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    I've always found walking on my treadmill, on an incline, to help. A decent length walk.
  • Anabirgite
    Anabirgite Posts: 502 Member
    edited August 2019
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    I have had sciatica problems for years and recently developed specifically piriformus pain. I have been sitting on a heating pad at night and using my TENS unit and that has helped resolve the pain. I am not sure which type of cardio is best but I do notice when I bike long distances I do seem to irritate it. We have such a short season to bike here here which explains why I am sitting on the heating pad and and using my TENS unit.
  • ginnytez
    ginnytez Posts: 1,334 Member
    edited August 2019
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    There are some good piriformis exercises that are easy to do. Google piriformis stretches. You will be able to tell from the relief if that is what it is. I have it on one side and they have helped me (had it diagnosed since I have had hip replacements and wanted to make sure it was not the hip).

    Edited to add: I also find foam roller helpful
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
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    My mum has something similar and she does swimming and water aerobics as everything else aggravates it
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    I have had it several times. Check YouTube for stretches, use the foam roller and if have not already done so, check into a chiropractor. I found that after some adjustments, I found more relief. I also do exercises that stretch and work the hips in particular. Mine have always been tight.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited August 2019
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    ulgh. I had piriformis syndrome it was awful and lasted about a year. What seemed to help was lots of yoga and targeted physical therapy stretches. Also a lot of ibuprofen (for inflammation), and if I recall some baclofen (an antispasmodic with low abuse potential that a lot of docs use instead of more abuse-prone muscle relaxants these days). If you can afford massage that helps but only temporarily. I second the endorsement of foam rollers!
  • bishopjulia
    bishopjulia Posts: 205 Member
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    LAT1963 wrote: »
    ulgh. I had piriformis syndrome it was awful and lasted about a year. What seemed to help was lots of yoga and targeted physical therapy stretches. Also a lot of ibuprofen (for inflammation), and if I recall some baclofen (an antispasmodic with low abuse potential that a lot of docs use instead of more abuse-prone muscle relaxants these days). If you can afford massage that helps but only temporarily. I second the endorsement of foam rollers!

    It is one of the most painful things I’ve had to deal
    With. By the end of the day I’m in such aggravating pain that I’m crying. From my hip down to my ankle it’s constant pain. It’s frustrating when you want to work out but the pain won’t allow me or let up. I’m going to try the foam roller. Anything helps. Thanks everyone for
    The help.

  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
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    I had it for a period of time after my bike accident. It was absolutely awful, i couldn't walk, pain was excruciating, after few steps i was in tears. And i think i have relatively high pain tolerance. I did PT, and my therapist is wonderful, he did some movements where he was able to open up the hip joint from compression injury enough for me to feel relief over time. I did exercises like bridges, clams, leg lifts and eventually was able to add resistance bands. It has improved with all of it. Walking was an agony, but i was able to cycle with some pain and discomfort through that. My orthopedist said it's beneficial if i could tolerate it. And i spent all my available time sitting on ice or heating pad, alternating between the two. Good luck, OP, feel better!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
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    bishopjulia wrote: »
    LAT1963 wrote: »
    ulgh. I had piriformis syndrome it was awful and lasted about a year. What seemed to help was lots of yoga and targeted physical therapy stretches. Also a lot of ibuprofen (for inflammation), and if I recall some baclofen (an antispasmodic with low abuse potential that a lot of docs use instead of more abuse-prone muscle relaxants these days). If you can afford massage that helps but only temporarily. I second the endorsement of foam rollers!

    It is one of the most painful things I’ve had to deal
    With. By the end of the day I’m in such aggravating pain that I’m crying. From my hip down to my ankle it’s constant pain. It’s frustrating when you want to work out but the pain won’t allow me or let up. I’m going to try the foam roller. Anything helps. Thanks everyone for
    The help.

    I started off with a $15 Gold's Gym foam roller from Walmart. The first and second one I had collapsed fairly quickly. Now I have https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040EGNIU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which was twice the price, but worth it.

    I had pain in my hip and went to a physical therapist. (I forget my official diagnosis.) She gave me some exercises to do, which I incorporated into my yoga warmups. I was also seeing a massage therapist at that time and she definitely did piriformis stretches.

    I think I only saw the PT 4 times, continued with the exercises she gave me at home, and continued with massage. It took a while to resolve, which was frustrating, but I got through it and so will you :)
  • bishopjulia
    bishopjulia Posts: 205 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    bishopjulia wrote: »
    LAT1963 wrote: »
    ulgh. I had piriformis syndrome it was awful and lasted about a year. What seemed to help was lots of yoga and targeted physical therapy stretches. Also a lot of ibuprofen (for inflammation), and if I recall some baclofen (an antispasmodic with low abuse potential that a lot of docs use instead of more abuse-prone muscle relaxants these days). If you can afford massage that helps but only temporarily. I second the endorsement of foam rollers!

    It is one of the most painful things I’ve had to deal
    With. By the end of the day I’m in such aggravating pain that I’m crying. From my hip down to my ankle it’s constant pain. It’s frustrating when you want to work out but the pain won’t allow me or let up. I’m going to try the foam roller. Anything helps. Thanks everyone for
    The help.

    I started off with a $15 Gold's Gym foam roller from Walmart. The first and second one I had collapsed fairly quickly. Now I have https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040EGNIU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which was twice the price, but worth it.

    I had pain in my hip and went to a physical therapist. (I forget my official diagnosis.) She gave me some exercises to do, which I incorporated into my yoga warmups. I was also seeing a massage therapist at that time and she definitely did piriformis stretches.

    I think I only saw the PT 4 times, continued with the exercises she gave me at home, and continued with massage. It took a while to resolve, which was frustrating, but I got through it and so will you :)

    Thank you, I’m still doing the stretches that the PT gave me. I’m working in the roller... if it doesn’t let up I will have to go back to specialist ... maybe a cortisone shot in the *kitten* will work lol

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