What are the symptoms of a piriformis muscle?
Piriformis muscle syndrome causes pain in buttocks, lower back and/or down the thighs. Unlike in sciatica, pain from piriformis usually spreads down till the knees. In chronic cases, patients may find it difficult to perform regular activities such as sitting down or getting up from bed. Some may even complain of pain in the groin. It occurs due to excess swelling of or injury to the piriformis muscle, which helps in rotating the hip and balancing the body when we stand on one leg by taking the free leg away. A nerve named sciatic nerve usually passes just below the piriformis muscle located deep below other thigh muscles. Acute injury to piriformis or its swelling presses down the sciatic nerve irritating it and resulting in pain. In some people the sciatic nerve passes through the piriformis muscle making them prone to this syndrome. Athletes undergoing extended training sessions, those sitting for prolonged durations including long-distance bikers and truck drivers, and others who e
