Welcome to the group new members. Ah, the frustrations of diagnosis & treatment for whatever we  have. Many doctors still do not" believe" in P.S.. There are a couple of articles related to this in the File's folder "Articles about PS" ("PS Myths & Fallacies" & "Is PS over- diagnosed?") Many people are in pain, but the lack of a clear, simple, & definitive test makes diagnosis & treatment very difficult . Here is a recent example of the difficulty of diagnosis.
Brenda is one of our members, who had a bad fall. She had numerous MRI's (lumbar, thoracic and cervical), an EMG, EEG, CT of the brain, myelogram, and spinal epidurals. Other than showing a mild bulging disc at L4-L5,for which she had an L4-L5 decompression surgery, which didn't help  (all the tests have come back normal.) She was finally diagnosed w/ PS & refer to Mayo for surgery. But the surgeon refused to do the surgery because he doesn't believe in Piriformis Syndrome.
She then went to a Physiatrist. When she didn't improve, he did a FAIR-test EMG which came out negative for PS. He was suspicious that PS wasn’t her primary diagnosis since the sciatic pain is clearly along only the S1 dermatome. He said PS would normally cause a more diffuse sciatic pain along several dermatomes.  She then had an L5 nerve root block, upright MRI, and discogram. The upright MRI showed significant nerve root compression and tethering at L4/L5 when she sat (but not  standing  or laying down), and the discogram showed a huge tear on the side of L4/L5 disc along with a weakness and pain to the back of the disc which match up with the upright MRI findings. So it turns out her primary sciatic pain problem was actually a  L4/L5 disc along with a mild case of PS and some hip bursitis. Because of the large tear, she had to undergo an L5-S1 fusion a week ago. We wish her the best & hope the fusion resolves her pain.
As you can see, diagnosis is often difficult. I think there are two different types of PS. The first is an overuse syndrome among athletes, that responds well to PT or soft tissue work. The second type is caused by falls, abnormal anatomy, or unknown causes. This type is much harder to treat and should probably be called Pelvic Nerve Entrapment Syndrome rather than just PS because there is more going on than just a pirifomis muscle spasm.
I have more thoughts about your situation, but don't have time to write more now. I'll get back to you sometime this week end. Mary
Hi, My name is Carol and I just joined the group. I have been suffering with PS for 3 years. Thursday I was referred to a new doctor for consideration of PS...
Hi Carol, My experience sounds very similar to yours. I had been suffering from PS for about 3 years and underwent every test you can think of to pinpoint the...
Hi all. My name is Rachel and I am new. I had pretty good fall last November and after complaints of constant severe hip/leg pain was diagnosed with piriformis...
Welcome to the group new members. Ah, the frustrations of diagnosis & treatment for whatever we have. Many doctors still do not" believe" in P.S.. There are a...
Now that I have lamented the difficulty of diagnosing PS accurately, I have some thoughts about your case. When you fall on your butt, it pushes up the...
Hello Rachel, I too am new to this list. Therefore I have no information for you, but rather want to say that I too need this group for support and also for...
Hello Darienne. Wow - falling two stories - I can see why you have been in constant pain for years. I'm sorry to read you are now incapacitated by the pain....
Hello Mary, and thanks for writing. I see your point about the exercises. I have been given a few exercises and I will stick to them. As always I am...
It probably is time to see an MD. Being barely able to stand or walk because of hip/calf pain is NOT typical of Piriformis Syndrome. Usually patients spend as...
Sitting is not a problem for the rear. Thanks for the information. I'll start on that long path tomorrow. If you don't mind, I'll stay on this list for a...
Darienne - I don't have as much trouble sitting as some others with PS. When having a bad day I have trouble doing ANYTHING for longer than 5 or 10 minutes at...
I will go past the doctor's tomorrow and make an appointment. I wish I had your confidence in the medical system...but then that's all there is, isn't it? I...
Well, if you get it narrowed down to definitely PS, you can pursue some kind of treatment. Trigger point massage can be helpful or ART... but they have to know...
Hi Darienne and Mary, Thanks for the welcome. I have a question about the piriformis stretch. My PT taught me the piriformis stretch (lying on my back and...
Have you tried doing the PS stretch sitting down? You sit down in a straight backed chair (like a kitchen chair) and put the leg across your other leg at an...
For people with severe pain, I recommend NOT doing the Piriformis stretch while sitting. Especially if you have pain while sitting. As an alternative, you can...
Thank you Mary. Pelvic Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (or PNES). That sounds right really. Thanks for the story. You know I don't even know what many of the...
Having problems with message search?
Offline 
Send Email
