In this video, I'm going to show you how to get rid of
piriformis pain for good. Stay tuned!
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in St.
Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to focus on
fixing piriformis syndrome, a literal pain in the butt. It's
also known as pseudo sciatica because it can cause irritation
to the nearby sciatic nerve, causing shooting pains,
numbness, and tingling throughout the leg and towards
the foot. So, the big cause of piriformis syndrome is
piriformis and glute weakness. That should be your main focus
on getting rid of it for good. I'm going to this very easy.
I'm going to break this video up into two separate parts. The
first one is going to focus on loosening a tight glute or
piriformis and then we're going to focus on strengthening
everything to hopefully get rid of it for good. Go through both
parts. They work a little bit differently. So, if you want
the best results, put them together but all of the
exercises can be done at home. They require no equipment and
make it quick piriformis syndrome pain relief even in as
little as 30 seconds. So, let's get started and fix it for
right now. In the first part, we're going to focus on getting
quick piriformis muscle pain relief with some great mobility
exercises. That is let's get everything loosened up and
hopefully get some pain relief within seconds. This first one
you can pretty much do anywhere even at work. You just need to
start seated with very good upright posture. This is known
as a seated figure four or if you're into yoga, it is known
as a seated pigeon pose. So, what I'm going to do is take
the painful side and bring that leg up over the other side just
like this. Rest the ankle over the knee. If this position is
hard to get into, just put it over the other leg, kind of
right over the shin, grab the back of the pant leg, slide the
leg up into position but again, we want to have very good
upright posture. What I'm going to do from there is just allow
gravity to take my knee downward as much as possible.
You probably will start to feel a very deep stretch in the hip
around the glute and the lower back. What I'm going to do from
there is take my hands, put them on my hips, and then slow
pivot forward through my waist through my hips. I don't want
to round my back into this but move through the pelvis through
the hips. The more that you go down, the more intense of a
stretch that you're going to feel in that piriformis muscle
and across the hips. It usually feels really good. I try to
hold this one comfortably for about 20 to 30 seconds doing
nice, slow, controlled breathing also. From there, I'm
going to come back up, take a breather. On the next
repetition, I try to stretch into it even more. I want to do
this one to five complete times. To take it to the next
level, we can add some different motions in there to
attack the glutes and the piriformis just a little bit
differently. So, this time around, I'm going to go back
into that original stretch but I'm going to pull my arms in
front of me kind of cross like this like a genie and I'm going
to turn my body, my upper body in the opposite direction.
Again, you'll notice that the muscles get hit just a little
bit differently. I really feel it off to the side lower back
going into the hip and it's really targeting that
piriformis hold this one comfortably for 20 to 30
seconds, you're just going to relax on the next repetition go
in the opposite direction go towards the side of pain and
you want to repeat this one just nice and slowly for about
three repetitions on both sides to take it even to the next
next level we're going to incorporate more of a tilt in
there to hit a muscle off to the side called the quadratus
lumborum or the QL a big instigator of back pain so this
one what we're going to do is start with very good upright
posture and then I'm just going to tilt my upper body, my
shoulder in the opposite direction. The more that you go
over, the more that you're going to feel a deep stretch
off to the side of the lower back going into the hip into
the glute. Really focus on feeling that. Again, hold this
one for 20 to 30 seconds. You're just going to come back
up, relax, and then repeat this one three to five times but go
through all of those motions. If you feel like one hits it a
little bit more, make note of that and throw more repetitions
in. So, here's another great piriformis pain relief mobility
exercise that's going to hit the muscle just a little bit
differently. This one you can do in bed or on a floor. Just
lie flat on your back just like this. Whatever side that you're
having pain, what I'm going to do is bend both knees and bring
the painful side upward where I'm going to rest the ankle
over the other side's knee. So, again, this should look like a
figure four with your legs when you look down. From there, what
I'm going to do slide this bottom leg, the non-painful
side backward as much as I can until I start to feel a very
comfortable stretch in the glute and also that piriformis.
What I'm going to do from there is take my hand, place it on
the ankle and then over the knee. The movement is very easy
like a lever. I'm going to press at the knee and then pull
at the ankle just like this. When you do this, you're going
to feel a deep stretch starting to form over the hip and into
that piriformis really focus on feeling it there. Once we feel
that, we're going to hold this one comfortably for about 20 to
30 seconds. Just do nice, slow, controlled breathing also. When
you need a breather, just relax just like this. You want to
repeat this one up to five times and with each repetition,
try to build into it just a little bit more. To take this
one to the next level, we can do a little bit more of an
advanced figure four. So, this time around, I'm going to lift
the non-painful side up just like this, bring my knee
towards me as much as I until I feel an initial deep stretch
over that piriformis. From there, I'm going to take my
hands and then go through the hole formed by my legs and grab
the back of my thigh of the non-painful side and then
you're going to pull this leg back towards you. This becomes
a very deep stretch. Only go to your comfort level. Hold this
one again for about 20 to 30 seconds. Just relax and then
repeat this one up to five times. You can take this one to
even the next level by putting a little bit more of a
rotational movement in there. So, what I'd like to do is go
back into that deep stretch but I'm going to rock my body away
from the painful side. So, I'm going all the way towards my
left. This really intensifies that stretch. It feels really
good. I feel it pretty much all of my legs into my buttock and
then into my lower back. Again, I try to hold this one for
about 20 to 30 seconds. I just relax and then I can repeat
this one up to five times but go through all of those motions
if you feel like one hits it a little bit better, throw more
repetitions in at that point and with both of these
exercises even if you don't have pain on the other side, I
do recommend doing it on both sides to keep them in balance.
In this part, we're going to focus on the big cause of
piriformis syndrome which is muscle weakness including the
glutes. So, if you want to get rid of it for good, this should
be your main focus. We're going to start with a very easy
exercise called the Kickin' Fire Hydrant, and you're
going to see why it's called the Fire Hydrant here in just a
second. You can do this one in bed if your mattress is firm
enough but I do recommend doing it on the floor. Just start off
on all fours just like this. The first movement is very
easy. Whatever side that you're having pain, let's say it's my
right side. I'm going to straighten that leg at the
knee. What I'm doing is I'm sliding my foot keeping it on
the bed or the floor and taking my toes pointing them away from
me as much as I can until I feel the muscles in the calves,
hamstring, and also into the glutes start to fire. From
there, I'm going to slowly lift the leg up just like this until
it's pointing straight away from me. Also, contract the
core right here while you do this for more stability. We're
going to hold this position for about 5 seconds. You should
feel a lot of muscle firing from the toes all the way up to
the butt. From there, what I'm going to do is then bend my
knee at 90 degrees and then I'm going to take my knee upward
towards the ceiling. I'm kind of turning my whole body
including my head at the same time. You feel a lot fire in
the hips around the glutes. Really focus on feeling that.
From there, I'm going to hold this for about five seconds and
then, I'm going to take this one to the next level by
incorporating a kicking motion in there. So, I'm going to
straighten my knee just like this. I feel a ton fire across
that piriformis right now. Hold this one for about 5 seconds
and then from there, you're just going to relax and then
you're just going to simply repeat this for about 10
complete times. Really building into it as much as you can and
if you do feel like you have some more left in the tank, you
can throw another set or two in but I do recommend when you do
this exercise to do it on both sides to keep them in balance.
So, here's a really easy glute and piriformis strengthening
exercise that you can do in bed or on a floor. It's called the
clamshell bridge. What I'm going to do is start off by
doing the clam shell. I like to put a little bit more motion in
there before going into the bridge. So, I'm going to lie on
my side with a painful side up towards the ceiling. Just
support your head with your hand just like this. I'm
going to keep my feet together and what I'm doing is bending
my knees roughly at 90 degrees and then raising the top knee
up towards the ceiling kind of like a clamshell. Keep taking
this top knee backward as much as you can until you feel a
good activation of the muscles in the hip around the glute and
that piriformis. Hold this right here for about 5 seconds.
You're just going to relax and then repeat this 10 to 15
times. With each repetition build into it just a little bit
more. You're really trying to focus on lengthening that tight
piriformis to get some relief. You can also take this one to
the next level by then instead of going like this with it
straightening your leg out completely and lifting it up
towards the ceiling. This really puts a good activation
into the glute and also that piriformis. You can repeat this
10 to 15 times also. From there, what I like to do is
then switch over to lying on my back. I'm going to put my feet
together just like this and press them together for a
stable anchor point. From there, I'm bending the knees
and then just taking my heels upwards towards my butt and
then, lower the knees down towards the floor as much as
you can until you feel a very good stretch in the groin inner
part of the leg. From there, I'm going to put my hands off
to my sides for a stable anchor point and then, I'm going to
lift my butt upwards towards the ceiling. Go up as much as
you can. The goal is to try to get a line from your knees to
your hips to your shoulders. Really focus on contracting the
abs too for some more core support but you're going to
feel the core muscles fire, the lower back, and also the
glutes. Really focus on feeling it into those glutes right
here. I try to hold this one for about 5 seconds. From
there, I just relax, take a breather. On the next
repetition, drive the knees down even further and then lift
up as much as you can. Always try to challenge those muscles
but I try to do this one right here for 10 to 15 times and if
you feel like you have a little bit more energy, you can throw
in another set or two. This is a hip AB or abduction exercise
that's really going to focus on strengthening the glutes and
the piriformis. It's known as a wall leg raise. We just need to
go next to a smooth wall. Lie on your side with a painful
side up towards a ceiling. You can support your head on your
hand just like this. The bottom leg we're going to have bent at
the knee and we're going to take the foot and press into
the wall for a stable anchor point. The top painful side is
going to go straight at the knee. Take your heel, press
into the wall. You might want to wear thick socks during this
exercise or wrap your foot in a towel. That way, it will reduce
friction and you'll be able to slide a little bit easier but
the movement is very easy. What I'm going to do is slowly start
to press into the wall with my top leg here. Raise it upward
and as I'm raising it up, I'm taking my foot and leg in
externally rotating it outwards. When you do this,
you're going to feel a ton fire in the hip and across the
glutes. Go up as far as you can. When you can't go any
further, try to hold this position for about three to 5
seconds. From there, you're going to slowly come back down
in reverse but fight your leg weight and now this time
around, we're going to do the opposite. We're going to turn
our foot inward internally rotate the leg and the hip. Go
down all the way and then hold this one right here about 5
seconds and you're just going to slowly repeat this process
going up all the way and then all the way down do this for
about 10 to 15 repetitions and really try to build into it
just a little bit more with each repetition to make this
one a little bit harder and take it to the next level scoot
away from the wall this way you won't have the support and your
muscles are going to have to build a lot more stability and
strength in there to be able to do this motion so you're just
going to repeat process and just doing it nice and slowly
for about 10 to 15 times. Afterwards, if you feel like
you have a little bit more energy, throw in another set or
two, try to challenge those muscles as much as you can but
I do recommend that when you're done on one side to switch to
the other to keep them both in balance. If the exercises help,
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