Introduction:
Do you have piriformis syndrome, a literal pain in your butt? Maybe it's irritating your sciatic nerve and you're also feeling radiating nerve pain down the back of your leg? If so, this video is for you. Hey, my name is Lucas. I'm a yoga teacher and a teacher trainer, and in this short video we'll chat about the anatomy and the biomechanics of your piriformis muscle. What it
is, what it does, and also what goes wrong. And number two, we'll look at a couple of different exercises you can do to release tension and to lengthen that muscle if that's what you're looking for. A quick disclaimer here: if you have a major back pain, a sciatic nerve problem, any major pain problem, please check with your doctor. This is for educational purposes only. Down below you'll find a link to the PDF if you'd like to skip forward to the exercises themselves.
Anatomy:
Let's start off by looking at the muscle from an anatomical biomechanical perspective. We'll flip around and look at Mr skeleton here from the back side. You can see this clay here is meant to represent your piriformis muscle. People say it looks like a pear shape. To me not so much,
but this is one way to remember it. It attaches to your sacrum, to the anterior side of your sacrum, it crosses and then attaches to your greater trochanter on your leg, on your femur essentially. When this muscle contracts it's one of a group of six muscles referred to as your "deep six". Deep meaning they're underneath your glutes and when they contract, your piriformis muscle and those other five muscles too, they open your hip to the outside. They're called lateral rotators. That all makes sense, that's all straightforward. What's weird about the piriformis, what's unique and part of the reason it can become problematic, is aside from being a lateral rotator, once your.
Weird Medial Rotation:
your hip is flexed past 90 degrees, take a look here, it suddenly becomes a medial rotator and a little bit of an adductor as well. So we have this very weird relationship where the muscle laterally rotates and then medially rotates, which means in different planes of motion it's going to have very, very different actions. Long story short, it's very common that this muscle gets overworked, over trained, strained, inflamed, and these are collectively referred to as piriformis syndrome.
Why does all of this matter? Well it's really uncomfortable. Second reason it matters is your sciatic nerve runs right next to your piriformis muscle and for a significant minority of people the sciatic nerve actually runs through your piriformis muscle. So if you have a hypertonic.
Pinched Sciatic Nerve:
over tense piriformis muscle, if it's strained or inflamed, in many cases it can impinge upon your sciatic nerve and this small muscle problem can turn into a much bigger pain problem. So what to do about it? There are two things that we'll look at. The first one is relieving tension, so if you have an overactive muscle. And the second thing we can do is stretching the muscle, which is a lot less obvious than it would look. Let's take a look at the exercises.
Self Massage:
(1) We'll start off today with an exercise to release tension. There's a principle called autogenic inhibition where when a muscle gets overwhelmed with signals it gives up and releases its tension. We're going to elicit that either with a massage ball, a foam roller, a tennis ball, really anything you have around the house can work, you don't need specialized fitness equipment. But essentially I'll take this massage ball or this foam roller and I'll position it underneath my bum, and there's no way to get at my piriformis muscle without also affecting my glutes, but that's okay.
(2) I'll lift up and I'll sit right on that ball, right where my piriformis is, and I'll sit on it and I'll hold here and count to five. Here's the key thing, whether using a foam roller or a massage ball you need the intensity to be pretty high, let's say a 7 out of 10, which is where your voice is almost changing but not quite. Let's do it together. I'll sit on that massage ball for five, four, you can pivot, three, two, and one. Good. Release.
(3) We'll switch sides. Again, what we're trying to do is overwhelm the muscle with sensation, so if it's hypertonic, if it's holding a bunch of tension, it'll release. Sometimes when tissues are injured or overused they hold tension, kind of like up here in your traps. Let's do it here again on the other side. You have to wiggle around to find that position. Please keep in mind you will hit your glutes as well, but that's no problem. Let's sit on it, 7 out of 10 intensity.
- You can roll a little bit, five, four, three, two, and one. Good. Sit down, be careful. This doesn't feel like much at first but it can be pretty intense. Let's try again on the other side. Sit up on top of that ball, find a support with your hand, this time let's add a little bit more motion. So let's go clockwise, one, two, three, four,
- a little bit more intensity and five. Now reverse, five, four, three, two, and one. Switch sides. You have to be careful here not to overdo it. Let's go clockwise, one, two, three, four, and five. And now reverse, but increase the intensity, five, four, three, two, and one. Good. Again, that's self massage and what we're attempting to do with this is not just
- increase circulation but actually apply so much pressure that your muscle gives up and relaxes. And the same way if somebody presses on your upper traps you uh and then you relax, the same idea with our piriformis. Now we'll get into a stretch. This is a stretch on your back. Let me show you what it looks like. I have a timer here, we'll do two minute holds on either side.
Pretzel Leg Twist:
(1) As I mentioned before, your piriformis is kind of a tricky muscle to target because of its location. I'll take my right leg over the top of my left leg and attempt to squish my legs together as much as possible, attempt to squish my legs together as much as possible, you might even hook your ankle around your shin. But let me show you, assuming that that doesn't work for you. So squish your legs as close together as you can, make sure that your ankle does not come to 90 degrees. Instead keep your knees further away from you.
(2) In fact, you can plant your heel down on the floor. I'll take my left arm, I'll press my knees towards the floor nice and slowly no rush at all. What we're attempting to do is get in here and stretch your piriformis. Personally, I like to poke around, try to feel that tension. Oddly, it's an easy one to miss. Both arms straight,
(3) gaze up towards the ceiling, and then close your eyes. We'll inhale through our nose for four. Exhale for eight. Inhale four. Exhale. Stay where you are and continue breathing. I'll warn you in advance, stretching your piriformis is tricky because there's absolutely no way to isolate it.
(4) What do I mean by that? Well we're doing full axial rotation of our spine here, so there's a whole bunch of different muscles that come along for the ride. That's a benefit, but it's also a drawback, because if I'm just trying to target my piriformis there's really no way to do it without targeting other muscles as well. That means you need to be patient, and you need to be gentle, and give yourself some time. Inhale for four.
(5) Exhale for eight. Yes and release all the way back up, and we will switch sides. This time your left leg comes up over the top, squish the space out between your legs, squish the space out between your legs, maybe your foot hooks around the shin, let's assume it doesn't, keep squishing the space out. We'll keep a greater than 90 degree angle between our knees and our chest,
(6) right hand on your knee, press your knees down towards the ground. Again, I like to palpate back there, see if I can find some tension, remembering that you're going to take other muscles along for the ride there's no way around that look up towards the ceiling close your eyes and relax. It's helpful if both arms are straight, you gently press your knees down towards the ground. Remember, because our piriformis is a lateral rotator, meaning when it contracts it opens our hip to the outside, to stretch it we need to immediately rotate.
- That sounds kind of obvious when I say it, but sometimes it's easy to get confused. But since this muscle when it contracts opens our hip out to stretch it we need to go the other way. The only complication with the piriformis is, again, we need to keep that hip angle above 90 degrees. Inhale for four through your nose. Exhalate through your mouth.
- Inhale four. Excellent. Both with that self massage and with these stretches I very much encourage you to take a really slow start in terms of intensity and in terms of duration. Don't go too fast, too far. Slowly make your way back up to center, hug your knees, and roll up to a seated position. As I was mentioning, take your time with these poses.
- They might not feel like much, but again, if you've got an over strained hypertonic, too much tension, in that muscle, you want to err on the side of caution, especially at first. Hope you found this post helpful. You can always find my teaching calendar at yogabody. com. If you'd like more science-based yoga videos, hit subscribe down below. I do my best to answer all the comments, if you have questions please post them down below and we'll see you in the next post.
Stretching Exercises for Sciatica:
| Exercise Name | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Piriformis Stretch | Lie on your back, bend both knees, cross one ankle over the opposite knee, gently pull the lower knee toward the chest until a stretch is felt in the buttocks. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides. |
| Seated Piriformis Stretch | Sit on a chair, cross one leg over the other, gently press the crossed knee downwards, leaning forward until a stretch is felt in the buttocks. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides. |
| Supine Hamstring Stretch | Lie on your back, raise one leg keeping it straight, use a towel or belt around your foot, gently pull the leg toward your chest until a stretch is felt along the back of the thigh. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides. |
| Knee-to-Chest Stretch | Lie on your back, bring one knee toward the chest, hold it with both hands, gently pull it closer until a stretch is felt in the lower back and buttocks. Hold for 30 seconds and switch sides. |
| Child's Pose | Kneel on the floor, sit back on your heels, extend your arms forward and lower your chest toward the floor, feeling a stretch in the lower back and buttocks. Hold for 30 seconds. |
| Pelvic Tilts | Lie on your back with knees bent, gently tighten your abdominal muscles and press the small of your back against the floor, hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat 10-15 times. |
Stretching for Piriformis Syndrome:
Q1: What is Piriformis Syndrome?
A1: Piriformis syndrome is a situation characterised by means of the inflammation or compression of the sciatic nerve with the aid of the piriformis muscle within the buttocks. This compression often ends in signs similar to sciatica, including pain, tingling, or numbness in the buttocks and down the leg.
Q2: What are a few stretching sporting activities for Piriformis Syndrome and Sciatica?
A2: Some powerful stretching physical games encompass piriformis stretches, inclusive of the seated piriformis stretch, pigeon pose, parent-four stretch, supine piriformis stretch, and hip flexor stretches.
Q3: How does the seated piriformis stretch assist alleviate signs and symptoms?
A3: The seated piriformis stretch involves sitting with one leg crossed over the opposite and lightly leaning ahead. This stretch helps loosen up and prolong the piriformis muscle, decreasing compression on the sciatic nerve and relieving associated pain and pain.
Q4: Are there precautions to recall while doing stretching physical activities for Piriformis Syndrome?
A4: Yes, it's crucial to carry out those stretches lightly and gradually to keep away from exacerbating the symptoms. Avoid bouncing or forcing the stretches, and in case you experience sharp ache, stop straight away. Consult a healthcare professional earlier than starting any new workout habitual, specially if you have underlying health conditions.
Q5: How regularly should stretching physical games be achieved for Piriformis Syndrome and Sciatica?
A5: Consistency is key. Aim to carry out these stretches every day or several times a week, preserving each stretch for about 30 seconds to a minute. Regular stretching can help improve flexibility, lessen muscle tension, and alleviate signs over time.
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Stretching Exercises