Anyone had Piriformis Release Surgery?

@phxratt1
Have you had a MRI of your pelvis/hips to show what is going on in your sacrum and gluteal/hamstring soft tissues? You could have gluteal tendinopathy.

Have you had updated MRIs of your lumbar spine? What type of lumbar surgery did you have? I had l3-l5 decomposed and fused and also have gluteal/hamstring tendinopathy and high grade partial tears.

@phxratt1
*Decompressed, not decomposed. 😉

What type of doctor are you working with on your piroformis surgery recommendation? What is the reason for this recommendation and how confirmed that this surgery would help?

What are your pain points or symptoms. Just from the description my symptoms don't coincide with gluteal tendinopathy or piriformis syndrome. For me a burning pain often occurs at the right side top of the pelvic bone and tends to move in the muscular area all along the lower back above the sacro joint and sometimes along the muscles going up either side of the spine. It's largely triggered by walking and the longer and farther I walk the harder it is to keep on walking without a rest. My gait is slightly abnormal due to foot drop, but I'm not sure if my condition causes me to change the way I walk or I walk the way I do because of my condition. I do know that when I go to Mayo and get off of the elevator at the subway level from Damon, that I dread the walk to Hilton and can't do it without resting several times.

I had piriformis release surgery bilateral in May of 2024. In January of 2024 I began having severe electrical shock waves from top of right leg down to knee. As the weeks passed in took over my whole leg and foot and by the end of April the left side had pain shocks and weakness. I had a MRI done and it showed lower lumbar discs with problems. I saw a neurosurgeon who said they could not help me and recommended a neurologist that put me on a 6 month wait list. I was not sleeping at because of pain and could hardly walk. I should have went to the hospital but I wanted to do it the right way. I found a surgeon but everything was out of pocket. Non invasive new technology. I didn't know if my two lower disc or piriformis were the problem so I had it all done. If I had it to do all over again I would not have the release done. My hips are not balanced now. I have really bad neuropathy in both legs. The electrical shocks are gone and my feet are not swollen anymore. Good and bad came out of this surgery plus a whole lot of medical debt.

Sorry you've gone through this whole experience.
Where you are at now sounds hard too. That electrical pain is brutal. Had back surgery. Non invasive wasn't available then. Piriformis pain would be no walk in the park either. I expect you'll receive more helpful replies here. I just wanted to say it's good that you've posted here. Hang in, there's a lot of support here. We hear ya.

@humblyhoping I had the release surgery about 10 years ago and have chronic pain in my hips and feet.

@hjonker123 Wow, I watched other videos or testimonials of others doing this procedure and felt great the next day. I wonder how they feel now? Its not comfortable to sit down on a hard surface either. After ten years you have probably learned how to push through it. That's where I am now. Take care

Try a MFR therapist deep myofascial tissue release. I’ve had surgeries had physical therapy. I’ve had sciatica and I was initially diagnosed with piriformis syndrome. Pretty much it went away after the lumbar surgery and the hip replacements, but it comes back when I sit too much. The MFR therapist is the best for getting rid of the pain that comes during tax season from sitting too much. When you get older, the bad habits of younger years, cause muscles to glue together and go into a spasm that can’t be released without attention to it.