Hi Melissa. Piriformis syndrome is problematic. In my
opinion, the recovery rate varies tremendously. Here
are my observations based on being in the group a few
years. (I am not a doctor or PT, by the way). There
seems be to 3 or 4 distinct groups of people:
1- Runners, athletics, etc which develop this from
overuse.
2- People who fall on their butt
3-People who developed this from way too much sitting
or have an unknown cause of the problem.
4-People who have had some kind of back surgery,
usually an L5 S1 fusion.

Runners seem to have the highest recovery rate. Good
PT from a therapist specializing in Sports Medicine
often works well.

For the other groups, it is a much longer road.
Generally, the longer you have had the problem, the
harder it is to resolve. A year & a half probably
seems like a long time to you, but many people here
went years & years w/o accurate diagnosis.

The people with L5 S1 fusions have terrible problems
because their pelvis is locked in an abnormal position
causing muscles to to compensate thus causing more
pain & problems elsewhere.

I'm a big believer in good PT, but it is hard to find
PTs with advanced manual skills & training. You
really need someone who understands the bio-mechanics
of the pelvis because the Piriformis Syndrone might be
caused by another problem(s) in pelvic muscle
imbalance.

About 70% of PTs only know enough to give ultrasound,
massage, e-stim, stretching & strengthening exercises.
With long standing cases, that is probably
insufficient treatment. The ultrasound, massage,
e-stim feel good, but really don't do anything other
than eat up your insurance benefits.

At a minimum, your PT should check the position of
your pelvis at the beginning of each session and have
many yrs experience using Myeo Fascial Release
therapy.

Hope you can find a good PT - don't just take the
first person you can get an appointment with. If
possible, get recommendations from PTs. Ask them who
has really good manual skills & success treating this
kind of thing.

Good luck, Mary

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