Buttock\sciatic nerve problem

[alamb200]

Hi,
For a long while now I have been having a few problems which I thought where related to my ham string.
What happens is if I sit for any lengh of time driving or otherwise I get a pain in the lower part of my right buttock and the back of my leg goes numb.
Also if I go for a run I get a sharp pain in the same place until it eases off after aroung 10 minutes, I have spoken to the doctor today and he thinks that there is a muscle which sounds something like amadeus which is trapping my sciatic nerve and recommenrds going to a chiropractor but this sounds like it could cost me a fortune which I do not have.
Has anyone come across this for and if so please can they offer some advice.
Thanks
alamb200

[Heidi]

Hi,

This sounds like a typical case of piriformis syndrome. The muscle I think you are talking about is called Piriformis and sits within the buttock, crossing from the sacrum to the top of the femur (thigh bone). It commonly gets tight in runners (I am suffering the same problem myself) although certain things will trigger it off, including having one leg longer than the other, or having weak outer hip muscles (abductors - glut medius and minimus).

You can find out some more about it here:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/buttocks/piriformis.htm

The best treatment in my experience is massage and stretching. You can do self massage with a tennis ball - sit on it and roll it around under your buttock - you should find quite a tender area!

Stretching can be found here: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/buttocks/piriform/periformusstretching.php

Although these treatments can be effective at easing the problem, the only way to cure it is to find out what is causing it. You this you may need a physio/sports therapist/rehabilitator etc to assess you.

Good luck!

[alamb200]

Hi Heidi,

I have made some progress with this, I started using some insoles to help with Anti-pronation which helped with a knee problem I was having and had recently gone back to using them.

I have stopped using them and I am now tons better, I am still stretching my hamstrings as much as I can because I pulled my ham in my right leg a few weeks ago and have now hopefull resolved this but as result of my stretching i have got a pain right at the bottom of my buttock at the point where back becomes front on the edge of a bone.

Sorry about the vague description it is a very locallised pain which after I have stretched my ham string is very painful but does walk off quite quickly, but does hurt when I sit at my desk.

Again sorry about been vague if I can provide any more info please let me know and thanks for an help you can provide.

Thanks

alamb200

[Heidi]

So the pain is on the outside of your hip? If so this could be a number of structures, including Tensor fasciae latae and the ITB of a number of buttock muscles.

Have a go at also stretching these areas, you can find examples here:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/stretching/allstretches.php

Try some of the outer hip stretches.

[alamb200]

Having had a good search of your site the thing that looks most likely is Ischiogluteal Bursitis that is certainly where the pain is I am getting.

I am already using an Ibuprofen gel and taking ibuprofen tablets is there anything else I can do, baring in mind I am still doing hamstring stretches and also a Piriformis Stretch or should I be doing nothing?


I hope is to get back to playing hockey as soon as I can, as an extra point I do not have access to any gym equipment so have to make do at home.

Thanks

alamb200

[EWhite37]

If possible, look into something called Somatics. In July of 2007 I had sudden onset pain in my lower back / hip. Active at 46 (at the time), I was only about 20lbs heavier than I should have been and never had any back issues or pain until then. In the next 15 months I had an MRI showing nothing of significance (one small disc bulge that shouldn't have caused the pain), a clean X-Ray, P/T, massage, chiropractic care, an anti-inflammatory shot for periformis (minimal results), more P/T, 3 shots over 9 months into my spine, another MRI showing 2 small disc bulges (everything was getting worse instead of better)... I was still in constant pain ranging from knife like pain don my leg to headache like throbbing in my buttock and hip. Aleve/Motrin seemed to help ease it a bit, but couldn't take it away. Staying active kept it loose and laying down or sitting aggrevated it as things tightened up which aggravated the sciatica. UNable to sleep more than 2 hrs. at a time due to the pain waking me up, I was even considering surgery (despite the MRI showing the bulges shouldn't have been causing that much pain) as I needed to do something... On-line research led me to somatics and I was game to try anything at that point.

Basically, its premise is that over time your body, through small injuries, bad posture, tension, etc., 'forgets' how to relax certain muscles fully. Stretching hurt because it was tearing at muscles tying to contract, working them out felt better initially by loosening them but then exacerbated it by creating more tension. That constant tension (even though you feel relaxed) creates problems. Although hard to find a practitioner around my home, I finally found one about an hour's drive from me. One 1 hr. session a week for 5 weeks and I was almost back to normal. The third week I was sleeping through the night! His feeling was that the bulges were because the spinal muscles in constant tension were compacting my spine...

Unfortunately after about 2 months of feeling almost normal (I still felt a little tension bending over to put on shoes, etc.) I made the mistake of shoveling 18" of heavy snow (I live just outside Boston MA) and the back tightened up again. Combining that with a 4 hr. drive on Christmas and I am back trying to get rid of the pain, up every two hrs. again... Frustrating, but I now know it can go away an am back for more somatics.

Best of luck to all!

[alamb200]

Hi,
Thanks for this, unfortunately all the people who practice this in the UK live several 100 miles away from me, but I have managed to find some videos on youtube which I am going to follow:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f9E9eI_iYnA&feature=related

What do you think of the exercises shown?

Thanks again

Anthony