Over the last several weeks I've developed piriformis syndrome; which is the constriction of the sciatic nerve by a small hip muscle, the piriformis. I used to get this occasionally after snowboarding or climbing and I'd sit in the car driving for hours, but now it's non-stop. Getting out of bed is excruciating. My new job has me sitting at a computer for long periods of time which probably contributes to this if not causing it outright. Strangely though, after only a few minutes of walking, the pain is totally gone, like I never had anything to begin with. The other night I got up and hobbled over to get some aspirin, and the next thing I knew I woke up on the floor. After convincing Kaiser Permanente that I didn't have a heart attack (they seemed disappointed) they said I should schedule an appointment with my doctor; which I did. I suspect she'll just schedule some physical therapy. A friend of mine occasionally has this condition (she's a dancer). She strongly suggested yoga.

I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this to this degree, and maybe what they did to get rid of it.

Thanks

I had sciatica down the left leg and into the foot (numbness), for some years (many years ago), caused through repetetive strain injury. Cured it with Yoga. To keep me supple and prevent it, I do some simple exercises 2x day. Especially: Lie with your back on the floor, draw feet towards bum (knees up), then roll knees over (gently). Do this progressively each side and it will loosen up the back and hips. The position is better if you shuffle your hips over to keep the spine in line. (Shuffle for left, shuffle for the right).

Don't sit for too long or slouch in the chair. When typing, the wrists must be higher than the hands, and the shoulders relaxed, otherwise it will affect the back. You can rest feet on a foot rest so the thighs are horizontal, this will reduce strain on the lower back and hips. Do the Yoga class, it improves everything.

Hi RayMondo,

I saw a couple of exercises on the internet for piriformis syndrome very similar to what you described. Lie on your back, and knees up with feet flat on the floor. And than alternately cross each leg across the other knee like you would cross your legs while sitting. And than with one hand try and bring the knee of the crossed leg toward the opposite shoulder. I guess this stretches the piriformis muscle. It hurts a little, but I did this before getting out of bed; which is when it really, really hurts. I got out of bed and stood up bracing myself for some serious pain, and to my surprise, very little pain. I tried your stretch this morning.

I am also going to check into a yoga center and see about intro lessons. Might even look into a knee chair for work.

I love being up in the mountains, and even though a couple of individuals claim climbing causes this condition, I'm pretty certain in my case it's the sitting. I've climbed Shasta, Whitney (mountaineers and main trail), Russell, Dana. I normally spend the following night in camp, and have never felt this pain the next morning. It's only after getting to the car and driving for 4-7 hours back to SF that I get this syndrome; which now has become persistent, probably from long hours at the computer at my new job.

If the docs are pretty sure of the diagnosis, that's great. However, my wife had the same diagnosis and did PT for a year, got worse, and then had a detailed MRI. The MRI revealed a slightly bulged disc, and she had surgery for a mini resection of the bulge. It was good they caught the problem then, because if she had gone much longer, the disc could have bulged more, and the success of the operation would have been less probable.

I'm going to see my doctor this week to discuss this, and will address the possibility of a messed up disc. If they can test for it, that would be great.

Herniated discs are often able to resolve naturally. They contain a fluid. The bulge is a stretch in the sack containing it. Wise to get that checked out. I do a back extension stretch where I lie on the floor and use the friction of the carpet to "crawl" my back and extend the spinal column, even though my discs are fine. But for sure, driving and sitting for long periods are no good for anyone. One should stop more often and move about.

Might be best not to do the exercises straight out of bed. Like take a warm shower first, that'll loosen things up and the stretching will be safer. Good back care requires work on the abs, as it's about muscular balance. So I do both back stretches and abs stretches (lying face down, hips down and gently push up), though only attempt this one if you've no disc issues, and again it should be very progressive over a period of weeks and months. But the combination sure works good. You'd be surprised how frontally inflexible we are. Since doing the frontal ones, I can get a pretty impressive curve. But I'm very careful how I go. So leave this one untill all the symptoms have passed.