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by Jesse
Cannone, CFT, CPRS +
Steve Hefferon,
CMT
If you’re reading this
article, it’s a good bet that you have a radiating pain running down the
back of your leg that just won’t go away. If what I’m about to tell you
sounds familiar, don’t worry, help is on the way.
Sciatic
Pain and Piriformis
Syndrome are the same condition... it is just that the medical community is
starting to call the condition by the muscle (Piriformis) that is involved
and getting away from calling it by the name of the nerve that is involved
(sciatic) nothing more than semantics.
Did you go see your
primary care physician and get diagnosis of Sciatic Pain only to have them refer
you to an orthopedic specialist and than get a diagnosis of Piriformis
Syndrome... and than be told to see a Physical Therapist and the PT tells
you a little heat, ultra sound, electrical stimulation and some therapeutic
exercises and we will have you good as new???
If this is the path
you have been down and you're tired of all the worthless treatments that
just don’t work, you must read this article! I guarantee you, it will
likely be far different than what you have read or heard anywhere else!
First, let me tell you
why today’s traditional treatment methods just flat out miss the boat. The
medical community is so conditioned and focused on treating only the
symptoms and trying to get in as many patients a day as possible, that many
people are misdiagnosed and/or mistreated.
Sciatic
pain is simply caused by pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve and
there are primarily four things that can create this... you may have one or
more of the following:
1.
Pressure caused by shortening and tightening of the piriformis muscle.
This is almost always due to months or years of muscle imbalances in the hip
rotator muscles.
2.
Pressure caused by spinal stenosis,
which is a decrease in the space between the vertebrae. This is primarily
caused by uneven pressure and compression due to muscle imbalances.
3.
Pressure caused by Isthmic
spondylolisthesis which is simply when a vertebrae slips or moves...
this can sometimes pinch the sciatic nerve but often times people who have
this condition don’t have any pain, symptoms, or even know they have it!
4.
Pressure caused by a herniated or
bulging disc. A herniation is when a disc protrudes out from between the
vertebrae and this can either be caused by an event like a car accident, or,
by months or years of uneven pressure due to muscle imbalances. It is also
important to note that many people with herniated discs don’t even
experience pain or symptoms, and many don’t know they have the condition.
As
you can see, there is a trend here... in
nearly every case, muscle imbalances are the primary cause of the pressure
being placed on the sciatic nerve.
If
you are not sure which one of the four is causing your sciatic pain, I
recommend you start with the basics. Most cases of sciatic pain are caused
by muscle imbalances so if you begin to work on correcting any muscle
imbalances you have, you should start to see improvement right away.
There
are several self assessments you can perform to help identify which specific
muscle imbalances you have and these are covered in our Lose the Back
Pain Video along with step-by-step instructions on what to do to
eliminate your imbalances and pain.
Click
here to order your copy now
Sciatic
pain comes about either due to a traumatic event, muscle imbalances, or a
combination of both.
The
event scenario is most likely the catalyst for sudden onset of sciatic pain.
So what happens… when there is undue stress on the Piriformis muscle that
stress causes it to go into spasm and then you have pain due to the
Piriformis muscle putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.
In
most cases, people go to physical therapy or minimize their physical
activity to break the pain – spasm cycle and in most cases your symptoms
subside. However…the event will also set you up for a lifetime of sciatic
pain if the Piriformis muscle does not recover 100% in both strength and
flexibility.
When
you have an injury to a muscle, both strength and flexibility are
compromised, and if your recovery ends before strength and flexibility
return, you will never be 100% and will likely struggle with the problem
forever.
The
other way sciatic pain creeps into your life is due to your lifestyle and
habits, and that is what we like to call the process. The process can be
described as a prolonged onset of symptoms based on your everyday
activities...
However,
from a technical stand point the process really describes the development of
the muscle imbalance in your hip. The Piriformis muscle is responsible for
external rotation (moving your leg so your feet point outward). So over time
that muscle gets tight from the positions you put yourself in and weakens
from lack of use.
Let
me give you some examples of what I mean:
1.
If you sit on the edge of your chair with you legs separated
and your feet pointing outward you are keeping your Piriformis muscle in a
shortened position and that’s how it gets tight and with extended sitting
in that position, it gets weak form lack of use. Hence the imbalance.
2.
Another example is runners and bikers who actually work very
hard tend to get sciatica because they fail to keep a strength vs. stretch
balance in their workouts. Hence the imbalance creates a greater pull toward
external rotation and the result is a tight Piriformis and an irritated
sciatic nerve creating pain.
These
are just two examples of how muscle imbalances can affect the Piriformis
muscle and cause Sciatic pain. You may not be a runner or cyclist but I’ll
bet you have muscle imbalances that are causing your sciatic pain!
To
learn more about muscle imbalances and how they affect your body, please
read our article “Aches, Pains, and Injuries” which you can find on our
website here:
http://www.losethebackpain.com/achesandpainsarticle.html
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Recovery
Tip:
In severe cases, the sciatic pain can run from the top of the hip
to the bottom of the foot. It is very important to recognize that
changes and shifting of pain is often times a sign of improvement.
Furthermore as a way of gauging recovery, take note of how far
down the leg the pain goes. If the pain goes to the foot one day
and then only makes it to the calf and then to the knee and then
it can only make it to the hamstring that is a sign of
improvement. You should feel good about those noticeable
improvements and this should give you encouragement to keep
working toward a full remission of pain. |
So
how do you get rid of your pain? Will
learning one new stretch be enough? It very well may be. However depending
on the severity of your condition you may need to change your activities of
daily living to include new stretches, new exercises that include the use of
the hip rotators like roller-blading, basketball, tennis, etc, and even
better, specific corrective exercise specific to your situation... like
those covered in our video. As always, learn as much as you can about your
condition, so that you can ask the tough questions to your healthcare
providers and get the best care possible.
One
last point, sciaitic
pain is not caused by a lack of prescription medications so don’t
think that taking some anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxants will fix
it... it won’t! Also, many people are able to eliminate sciatic pain
within days just by performing a few exercises and stretches... but not
general exercise... the exact corrective exercises and stretches they need
to do.
Find
out what’s causing your sciatic pain and learn exactly which exercises and
stretches you should be doing by watching our Lose the Back Pain Video.
Click
here to order your copy now
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