Sciatica from Piriformis

Sciatica from piriformis syndrome is a diagnosis often made in the absence of some structural spinal scapegoat on which to blame the pain. The piriformis muscles are located along the pathway traveled by the sciatic nerve. In cases of piriformis syndrome, the sciatic nerve is suspected to be compressed by the piriformis muscle due to injury or idiopathic causes.

Sciatica from Piriformis Syndrome

Piriformis syndrome is a very controversial diagnosis, since many cases are theorized to exist due to muscular injury. Most affected patients often do not remember hurting their piriformis, but the diagnosis is made nevertheless… Injury can cause the piriformis muscle to spasm, just like any other muscular tissue on the body. However, this type of pain should resolve quickly, most commonly within hours or days, and is not at all likely to produce long term sciatica symptoms.

Ischemia of the piriformis muscle and surrounding neurological tissues, including the sciatica nerve, can go one for months or even years. This type of piriformis related pain is far more logical, but is typically not correctly diagnosed, since most oxygen deprivation syndromes are motivated by a psychosomatic process. Mind/body disorders are not acknowledged by most traditional healthcare practitioners, since they fall outside of their diagnostic comfort zones and often go against the accepted (monetary) standards of treatment. (Translation… they do not make doctors any $$$)…

Sciatica from Piriformis Impingement

Some patients might demonstrate an anatomical predisposition to developing piriformis related pain, due to a structural abnormality in which the sciatic nerve runs through the muscle, rather than below it. This irregularity is often found in patients with sciatica linked to piriformis syndrome. However, many people who have this abnormality do not have any pain and never suffer any unusual symptoms, making the structural link very suspect…

Some doctors who diagnose mind/body pain syndromes theorize that the subconscious mind is acutely aware of such anatomical abnormalities and often uses them to add credibility to psycho-emotionally induced pain conditions. This explanation seems to hold more creditability, since piriformis syndrome is one of the many conditions which can be completely cured using knowledge therapy, a completely psychological based treatment.

Advice on Sciatica from Piriformis Syndrome

Structural piriformis related pain should resolve in a matter of days or weeks at the very longest. If you have been diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, but have not found relief despite treatments and the passage of time, there is a good chance that the source of your pain has been incorrectly identified. In these cases, I recommend considering an alternative explanation which centers around unresolved emotional issues enacting painful symptoms. Remember that the incidence of mind/body conditions is universal in humans, with the only variables being the location, duration and severity of the pain.

Sciatica from Piriformis to Sciatica Home
10/7/09