Piriformis Muscle chiropractor or osteopath?

[hatty44]

Have a muscle injury in my bum, caused by running.
Am told it is a right piriformis. Have had Physio and been doing loads of stretching exercises but not helped.
Does anyone know if a chiropractor or an osteopath would be better able to help?

Both of those do bones. You might look for a sports massage therapist. It hurts but it works!

Athlete here; I would recommend an osteopath, ideally one specialising in sports injuries. Osteopaths are trained to work on the musculoskeletal system (muscles, joints and bones) and some are now trained in acupuncture which speeds recovery.

Thank you. Both osteo and chiro said they could help - my gut was chiro so will go that route thank you. Have had sports massage which unfortunately has not helped....

I had it badly for years and cured it accidentally by buying Birkenstocks, well, not a total cure but such a significant improvement that I started wearing orthotics, which really did do the trick I only get the occasional niggle now.

I mean osteo 😂

Osteopath and look into specific stretches plus doing some strength training as it made a massive difference to me when I was suffering.

I get this every so often if I’m in the habit of running, I find that stretching it by putting the outside of my ankle on the opposite knee and pulling that knee towards me helps pretty much every time.

Also try to strengthen your glutes - hip thrusts, one-legged squats, etc.

That stretch that Dixie describes gives mine relief too but you need to do both legs, years of only doing it to the affected leg have left me with much greater flexibility on one side than the other. Pilates really helped mine too, esp the side-lying leg exercises that really work the glutes.

Thanks. Have been doing loads of stretches and strengthening, just can’t seem to loosen the muscle itself

Sports massage it hurts but it works I had the same problem due to weight lifting and had several to loosen it up.

You need a decent sports massage therapist who are unfortunately few and far between

Also you need to look at WHY your piriformus is tightening, it’s either because of hypermobility in the sacrum caused by poor core muscle strength, or because of weak knee muscles.

Sounds like you need a combination of all-round strength training, stretching/yoga/pilates to mobilise your lower back and hips (also manipulation by osteo as mentioned).

Also do you sit down a lot during the day OP? I had the same problem caused by an uncomfortable chair at work that kept my piriformis under constant tension. If same for you could you sit on a Swiss ball or use a sit-stand desk?

@airedailleurs you've just reminded me that my roller was great for really getting into that deep muscle (bloody hurt though!)

yes that too mymad; there is so much more to training than just running and that's what makes it so interesting!

A good sports therapist /physio sorted mine, you'll know they are good after one session. I thought I had some long term injury but after one appointment it was sorted

Osteo helped mine! I also managed to accidentally loosen it once with one of those tennis ball sized massage balls - put it under your piriformis, sit on it and roll around a bit.

I am currently trying that Cherry
It’s agony