The largest muscle in the buttocks is called the gluteus maximus and tucked away under it is the piriformis. Very often that is where sciatica pain can originate and cause agony.
Although it originates there, it can travel down the longest nerve of the body and can cause discomfort, if not agony, anywhere down the leg all the way to the foot and toes.
The pain can range from a mild numbness to scream generating agony. The piriformis muscle is attached to the lump of bone on the side of the thigh and its job is to rotate the hip joint. This muscle can become irritated by many things. Injury, bad posture or even over use during sports.
The troublesome sciatic nerve is the longest and fattest nerve in the human body and runs all the way from the foot, up the leg and into the spinal column at the lower back. Usually the nerve passes under the piriformis muscle but in some cases, it actually goes through the muscle and this can cause problems.
The sciatic nerve can become inflamed and painful it the muscle compresses it causing sciatica. The piriformis muscle squeezing the nerve is not the only cause of sciatica.
Other factors such as disc herniation can trigger the problem but when the muscle is the cause the condition is known as piriformis sciatica or piriformis syndrome.
Whatever the cause, the symptoms can be similar. Shooting pains down the leg, numbness in the toes and foot or general pain in various parts of the leg where the nerve passes.
Often some gentle stretching exercises can help with the sciatica but very often people forget to do the exercises once the pain goes, only remembering them once they have another bout of discomfort. Other forms of treatment like hot and cold compresses and massage can certainly help.
Anti inflammatory drugs can relieve the pain but of course do nothing to address the cause of the problem. As a final resort, surgery can sometimes be successful but it is best to explore less drastic solutions that may help with the problem first.
