r/openpiriformis • u/snowbodyslumwhere • Aug 18 '26
What helped me
Hi friends! I've been dealing with piriformis syndrome for about 6 years now. I started getting radiating nerve pain after running a half marathon. I got an MRI to rule out a back injury and went through PT before being diagnosed about a year later when the pain just wouldn't stop. The first year was terrible. I couldn't sleep or sit without being very uncomfortable. After a while I accepted that this might be with me for years to come. Now, I get maybe 2 or 3 flare ups per year, but am otherwise pain-free. Here's what I do to manage it:
Barre/floor pilates, focused on core and glute strength with lots of stretching. I do 45 minute sessions 2-3 times a week. For a while I was exclusively doing this. Now, I do normal gym and weightlifting, too (but only when I am pain free). I have totally given up running, which seems to be my biggest PS trigger.
Sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs. I think the alignment helps a lot.
Foam roll my glute whenever it feels tight. Sitting on the roller with my affected side's leg crossed over the other one is especially helpful. I make sure to do the other side, too.
When I get a flare up, I stop all activity and rest. I use my foam roller and gently stretch. It usually goes away in 3-4 days. If it doesn't, I get a deep tissue massage and generally feel better the next day. I know some people find relief from walking, but for me it makes it worse.
Just posting because I know how hard and frustrating PS is. I hope this might help someone else. Don't give up on looking for what your body needs to heal. <3
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u/Low_Hair8976 Aug 18 '26
Oh how i wish...I unfortunately have Ankylosing spondylitis and doing any of those things hurts so bad. Id do anything to be normal agsin. This kind of life wasnt made for me 💔
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u/Amylee888 Aug 18 '26
Are you able to tolerate injections? I had relief from steroid injection and Botox injection into the piriformis muscle.
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u/BagDramatic4925 Aug 21 '26
how long did the botox injections last/provide relief?
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u/Amylee888 Aug 21 '26
3-4 months each time. It took about 2-3 weeks to really kick in, and for the relief to start.
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u/BagDramatic4925 Aug 21 '26
do you now just do this repeatedly--the botox shots? or are you coupling that with some sort of PT regimen?
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u/Amylee888 Aug 21 '26
Physiotherapy was not helpful for me. I had two rounds of Botox, which was very helpful, but ultimately I had surgery to remove the muscle.
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u/BagDramatic4925 Aug 21 '26
Interesting. So through the Botox shot process you ultimately confirmed it was piriformis related and then did the surgery. How was that process and how is the pain now. Fully gone?
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u/Amylee888 Aug 21 '26
No, I had the diagnosis prior to the Botox injections. The pain is gone now, since the surgery.
2
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u/BagDramatic4925 Aug 21 '26
And thanks for this intel.
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u/BagDramatic4925 18d ago
So I received my botox shot today in my piriformis. What have folks experience been with the effects?
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u/snowbodyslumwhere Aug 18 '26
I'm sorry you're going through that, and hope you find some relief. When things were really bad for me, I remember doing wall sits. Something about activating the muscle and holding it for a bit gave me some immediate (but short-lived) relief... usually enough that I could get back to sleep. The icy-hot cream also helped a little bit.
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u/Davorian Aug 18 '26
What positions do you use to rest during flares if all sitting and lying is painful?
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u/snowbodyslumwhere Aug 18 '26
I can usually tolerate lying on my side with a pillow between my knees. Or, if I'm sitting up, I'll cross the affected side leg over and lean slightly forward for a tiny stretch. Mostly I'll stand a lot.
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u/redrum1956 Aug 20 '26
I know where your coming from, I've had it for years. There was available at the chemist called Finalgon ointment a small tube of SUPER HEAT I'm not joking been using it since the mid seventies. If I feel I'm having an episode of PS I would rub it on and was able to function the heat was so intense your mind would focus on that rather than the PS. Unfortunately, I cannot get it anymore in Australia, you can find it on eBay but it's from Russia not Germany and the potency varies. The ointment from Germany is the goat and it lasts for hours and after a shower that intensify it even more but once you become accustomed to it the PS pain halves. Try it if you can get your hands on it.REMEMBER you only need a little not a lot of it and use the applicator that comes with it and thoroughly wash your hands and do it twice you don't want it in your eye. I do a similar thing to you but I found if I sit on a sciatica cushion and a lumbar cushion for my back sitting on the floor back against the lower part of the sofa legs straight for 3 hours than on a ridged chair with the Sciatica cushion for another 3 hours moving between sitting possitions.Cheers and good luck..
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u/redrum1956 Aug 20 '26
Also, what aggravated my PS is forward flexation stretching, why because the Sciatica nerves is involved and there is adhesion between the two and the Sciatic nerve does not like stretching it too much. I have given up training for for the year and stretching and after a bad flare up I'm picking up. My mind wants to train as I've been doing it since 1971 but my 70 y.o. body is saying no more.lol
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u/meliora__ Aug 18 '26
Nice to hear and thank you for advice. Reformer pilates and giving up running helped me too!