Fix Piriformis Syndrome (Don't stretch it)

Piriformis syndrome is caused by a tight piriformis muscle irritating the sciatic nerve. But static stretching often doesn't help because the piriformis can be tight and short, or tight and long. The key is to relax the piriformis muscle, not to stretch it. So here's how to fix it once and for all using dynamic stretching and strengthening. If you have pain deep in glutes, possibly into the back of the thigh, and it's tender to press, it can hurt to sit, and it hurts to stretch in that area, you have piriformis syndrome. A tight piriformis can come from overuse like in running or from compression from sitting all day. So try to avoid intense sport and prolonged sitting until you start to feel better. EXERCISE 1. DYNAMIC STRETCH Let's start with the gentlest technique by sitting on a low chair and crossing your leg and pulling your knee slowly towards your chest, but resisting with your piriformis leg muscle the other way. And then returning the other direction, maintaining that resistance between your hands and your leg. And then doing that lightly and repetitively as far as you can in each direction for one minute, once a day. Over time, you can increase the resistance. This increases the blood flow to the muscles and it gets the parts of the muscle that are stuck in a contracted state to start moving again. EXERCISE 2. CLAMS WITH PROGRESSIVE HOLDS Next is a clamshell exercise but with a hold with the piriformis in its shortest position. I like to do this up against a wall so that my leg moves, but my pelvis stays nice and still. With one foot on top of the other against the wall, and your pelvis and back firmly against the wall, slowly lift the knee of the involved side up as far as it'll go. Hold for five seconds and then slowly lower down again. Do this about 10 times, once per day. Over time, increase the hold time from five to 10 seconds. You want to feel a light burn of the muscle as you hold the last few reps, but nothing more. EXERCISE 3. EXTERNAL ROTATION BRIDGES Next is bridges with external rotation. You can do this with a light elastic band, but if you can't get a hold of a flexible band, you can just use your hands to gently resist. Start with your feet pelvis width apart. And as you lift, separate your knees against the light resistance. Hold for five seconds, and then go back the other way, again slowly. Do 10 so, once per day. Until you feel a bit of light muscle fatigue. Over time, you can increase the hold to five to 10 seconds. EXERCISE 4. FIRE HYDRANTS The last exercise is a little bit more intense, so I usually recommend waiting a few days before starting this next exercise, particularly in bad cases. At first, all we want to do is lengthen and shorten the piriformis against light resistance using just the first two exercises. Over time, as the muscles start to loosen, the focus becomes more on strengthening the muscles to prevent recurrence. And we can do this by gradually increasing the resistance and the length of the hold. In the table top position, simply bring the knee and the lower leg straight out to the side, and then lower it again. Repeat that several times slowly, once per day, until you get a light burn in the middle of your glutes. Don't overdo the exercises in the first few days. At first, all we want to do is lengthen and shorten the piriformis against light resistance using the first two exercises. Over time, as the muscles start to loosen, the focus becomes more on strengthening the muscles to prevent recurrence. And we can do this by gradually increasing the resistance and the length of the hold. Anyway, I hope that helps. If you like the video, please consider liking and subscribing because it always helps. And let me know how you go in the comments section below. Cheers.