If you’re reading this article, it’s a good bet that you have a radiating pain running down
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 way.Sciatica and Piriformis Syndrome are same condition... it is just that medical community is starting to call condition by muscle (Piriformis) that is involved and getting away from calling it by name of nerve that is involved (sciatic) nothing more than semantics.
Did you go see your primary care physician and get diagnosis of Sciatica 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 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 path you have been down and you're tired of all 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 boat. The medical community is so conditioned and focused on treating only 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 sciatic nerve and there are primarily four things that can create this... you may have one or more of following:
1. Pressure caused by shortening and tightening of piriformis muscle. This is almost always due to months or years of muscle imbalances in hip rotator muscles.
2. Pressure caused by spinal stenosis, which is a decrease in space between 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 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 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 condition.
As you can see, there is a trend here... in nearly every case, muscle imbalances are primary cause of pressure being placed on sciatic nerve.
If you are not sure which one of four is causing your sciatic pain, I recommend you start with 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 Back Pain Video along with step-by-step instructions on what to do to eliminate your imbalances and pain. You can learn more by visiting http://www.losethebackpain.com
Sciatic pain comes about either due to a traumatic event, muscle imbalances, or a combination of both.
The event scenario is most likely catalyst for sudden onset of sciatic pain. So what happens… when there is undue stress on Piriformis muscle that stress causes it to go into spasm and then you have pain due to Piriformis muscle putting pressure on sciatic nerve.
In most cases, people go to physical therapy or minimize their physical activity to break pain – spasm cycle and in most cases your symptoms subside. However…the event will also set you up for a life time of sciatic pain if Piriformis muscle does not recover 100% in both strength and flexibility.
