Piriformis Syndrome

What is the Piriformis muscle? The Piriformis is one of the small muscles deep in the buttocks that rotates the leg outwards. It runs from the base of the spine 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 sometimes even through it! If the muscle becomes tight it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve and cause pain which can radiate down the leg. (see sciatica) 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. What can the athlete do? Apply heat. Stretch the Piriformis muscle. Strengthen the Piriformis muscle. See a sports injury professional who can advise on treatment, rehabilitation and prevention What can a sports injury professional do? Apply specific sports massage techniques. Stretch the Piriformis muscle using Muscle Energy Techniques. Apply ultrasound. Advise on strengthening and rehabilitation to avoid injury recurrence.   The information contained on this site is purely a source of information and can at no time replace the expert eye of a qualified professional. We recommend seeking professional advice before embarking on any form of self treatment. Neither the content or nor any other service provided through mybesttennis.com is intended to be relied on for medical diagnosis or treatment. Never delay in seeking professional advice because of something seen on mybesttennis.com.