Piriformis Syndrome (Sciatica)
Deep tissue massage into the hip releases the piriformis muscle to relieve symptoms that mimic sciatic like pain. (Pain that radiates down the leg). Dene is an expert at locating knots and trigger points deep in the hip, having built up his strength and technique working on big rugby players. In an hour long session Dene doesn’t just focus on the hip but also works the leg muscles and lower back to free up the whole area.
Piriformis Syndrome:
- The priformis muscle is one of the small muscles deep in the buttocks that rotates the leg outwards. It runs from the base of the spine (the sacrum) and attaches to the thigh bone (femur) roughly where the outside crease in your bum is.
- The sciatic nerve runs very close to this muscle and in some people (around 10% of the population) it passes straight through the muscles’ fibres!
- If the piriformis muscle becomes tight it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve and cause pain which can radiate down the leg, commonly known as sciatic pain .
A common cause of Piriformis syndrome is having tight adductor muscles (inside your thigh). This means the abductors on the outside cannot work properly and so put more strain on the Piriformis.
Symptoms of piriformis syndrome:
- Tenderness in the area of the muscle.
- Pain in the buttocks.
- Pain which radiates down the back of the leg, usually into the hamstrings and sometimes even the calf muscles.
- It is common for pain to initially be confused with a hamstring strain. However there will be no area in the hamstrings which is tender to touch.
- Reduced range of motion of the hip joint , especially into internal hip rotation.