Piriformis Syndrome – Lower Back Pain, Sciatica and Sacroiliac Joint Pain

The piriformis is a small muscle that runs from the sacrum to the hip joint. The sciatic nerve passes under it so when the piriformis starts to become tight or overworked you may experience symptoms such as hip pain, sacroiliac joint pain and sciatica.

Problems with the piriformis are fairly common as it tends to be used as a compensation muscle in the pelvis. Bigger muscles such as the glute max, glute med/min and TFL can often become underactive due to inactivity and poor biomechanics which often leads the small piriformis muscle having to do the work of these larger muscles. When this happens the piriformis will tend to get very tight which can lead to a range of symptoms such as lower back pain, hip pain and sciatica. It is so common there is even a term, piriformis syndrome, used to describe the set of symptoms associated with piriformis problems.

What Can You Do About Piriformis Syndrome?

Things you can do to help address piriformis syndrome include trigger pointing and stretching the piriformis muscle. Also, finding out the underlying cause of the problem is important, so that the larger glute muscles can be strengthened correctly in order to allow the piriformis to relax and not have to do all of the work in the pelvis.

If you would like more information or need help with piriformis syndrome symptoms, feel free to contact my Brisbane CBD chiropractic clinic.