Patients come into my office bent over in severe pain, often leaning on their spouse for support and staggering to walk. Sometimes they had experienced this pain before, and had a MRI that showed bulging discs. The discs may not be the culprit.
The piriformis muscle is a small muscle in your buttock area that lies underneath the larger gluteus muscles. The sciatic nerve can run under or through this muscle. If the piriformis goes into spasm, it’s like a rubber band tightening around the sciatic nerve. This can cause severe pain in your buttocks, hips, thighs, and lower back.
The detailed exam I perform can determine whether or not the piriformis is involved. X-rays or an MRI may be necessary to rule out a more serious problem.
The majority of these patients respond well to my chiropractic and Matrix Bio-electric treatment. Many are pain-free after a few visits, and don’t need pain medication, epidurals, or surgery.