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Piriformis syndrome… please share any experiences that you might have
I had a GCA/PMR diagnosis in November 2023. I have been off of prednisone therapy since June 2024. No Biologics., Recently, I’ve been having “severe” spasms in the buttocks area as well as going down the back of the legs. I am 73 years old. I have been living with mild to moderate sciatica since the age of 16. The pain I am experiencing now is totally different than the sciatica that I have been used to. It comes on very suddenly in the form of excruciating spasms that might last a half hour or more. I usually have to sit down or lie down for the pain to subside. The pain comes and goes and will eventually subside. Now I know it is a dangerous thing to self diagnose. However, I believe that I might be suffering from piriformis syndrome that might be a secondary condition due to the polymyalgia. Has anybody had any experience with piriformis syndrome? I will be talking to my primary care physician or
Rheumatologist about what has been going on the last few months with the spasms .
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I have found a cure for piriformis syndrome (It worked for me) that I'd like to share with whoever reads this: I tried everything (MRI, Neuro radiologist, massages, stretches). The last dr. I saw, he said this is what I have to live with and there is nothing anyone can do. Soooo
I got a 10 pound dumbbell(I actually just saw it in my closet and thought of using it). I put one side of the dumbbell on where my priformis is and with the other side I find where the pain is. I massage it until I find the spot that hurts. I massage it for about 2-4 minutes, which can be very painful. After massaging it, the pain goes away in 5 minutes. When it comes back I do it again and it goes away and by time the relief is longer until it does not come back. I have been pain free for years. I just thought about sharing it
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2 ReactionsI had Piriformis syndrome but I think it was related to pain in my hip that may have been caused by prednisone that ultimately resulted in a hip replacement because of A vascular necrosis where the blood supply to the bone is cut off, and the bone begins to die.
So yes, self diagnosis is dangerous. However, in my case, I did have Piriformis syndrome causing tightness and pain in my left buttock. I also found that deep tissue massage was the answer. However, in my case, I used a hard rubber ball that came with my massage gun and placed it between a flat hard wall and my buttock and rolled it until I found the spot where there was a lot of pain probably because there was some kind of a muscle knot that was pressing against a nerve. And like the previous responder, I kept rolling the ball on that spot despite the pain, it causes every day 2 or 3 times a day until it started to loosen up and eventually the knot went away and so did the pain. The hard rubber ball worked well because it didn’t slip off the wall when I applied pressure. It can be done with a tennis ball as well, but it’s best if you can find a pretty hard ball that stays on the wall without slipping.
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4 Reactions@jaleh my pain is in the piriformis area how can I message the area while the dumbbell is on it? An how do I know it is not SI joint pain?
@jfannarbor I can't tell you whether it's SI joint pain. I had all the studies done and did all the stretches is recommended, went to several doctors including a neuro-radiologist. Nothing worked.
Sit on one side of the dumbbell with the bulge on your butt, hold your weight on one arm while maneuvering the dumbbell with the other bulge on the dumbbell. find the spot that hurts and massage it for 2-4 minutes. It's painful but it releases the scab that's been built up.
When the pain came back I did again but after about a year I didn't have to do it any more. I was the happiest girl I knew. I can send you a video.