Piriformis Syndrome is a hard one to DX, due to it's close proximity and similar symptoms of the Sciatica.. There aren't many diagnostics for it, but they do have 2 that they kind of use for Diagnosing, they are:

THE FAIR-test, which measures delay in sciatic nerve conductions when the piriformis muscle is stretched against it. The other is Magnetic Resonance Neurography, a type of MRI that highlights inflammation and the nerves themselves.

If you really think that this is something you have those would be the 2 tests that your Dr. would need to perform.[

Piriformis Pain usually occurs when the Sciatic Nerve is compressed or pinned by the piriformis muscle it can be pretty painfull and its mixed up in several different muscle systems.

And there are other disorders that mimick the same kinds of pain, so your Dr.'s may take a little time figuring it out exactly what it is.

Thank you, OldCPer!

I have never heard of the magnetic resonance neurology before...great information! Thanks for your reply!

I have piriformis syndrome on the right side. The muscle stays in constant spasm and impinges the sciatic sending electric pain down the back of my leg. My pain starts in the piriformis/glute muscle not from the low back. The pain & sensation is the same as technical sciatica, but the causes are different. It does hurt like a mother :-)

If you can find someone that does deep tissue massage or muscle release that might help. I just started and its helping. It's more focused than regular massage therapy. One muscle causes another muscle to seize and another and on it goes til they gel like concrete. I have scoliosis in my thoracic spine & spasm from my neck to my toes. Angry soft tissues & ligament/tendons just make things worse. If you can find the cause & treat it that's the best solution possible.

Take care,
Emerald

Emerald,

I'm so sorry! Can you tell me, besides the secondary pinch/pain to your sciatic nerve, are you experiencing a lot of pain in your butt! Like is the majority of your pain in your butt or your nerve? And do you know what led to your diagnosis? How did the actual syndrome come about and how did you finally determine that was it...and what treatments and medications do you take? I really really appreciate ALL the information you can muster up to share...thank you from the bottoms of my heart!

Yep the pain is in my butt not my low back. Actually it was my massage therapist that figured it out then the neuro agreed when I pointed him in that direction. (The mri's & xrays never showed anything since its not my low back & that was as low as they imaged. So of course it must be in my head. Grrr.) He finally did an actual hands on exam and could feel the spasm happening & diagnosed it. I don't really take anything for it in particular, just a high dose muscle relaxer for the body wide spasms. I took gabapentin for nerve pain but I gave that up after a year. It didn't seem to help much.

I've done massage therapy for 3yrs & just started muscle release therapy with a different therapist this week. I'm hoping if we can get the muscles to relax that will help the nerve impingement issues and my spinal arthritis. Getting that pain under control should help settle down my other systems from freaking out. That's the plan anyway ;-)

I was diagnosed with piriformis syndrome last year after 2 years of doctors trying to figure it out! I just had a spinal cord stimulator put in April 17th. It seems to be helping take the edge off. I still have bad days, but when that happens I take a naproxen, a flexeril and sit on my heating pad... and within 30 mins I feel much better & just take it easy. I never had luck with physical therapy or stretching... did it for a LONG time. My dr injected a few different places until we narrowed it down, but the injections didn't ever last long, and I didn't want to live on medication. All in all, I'm happy I had my surgery.

Oh & most of my pain is directly in the middle of buttock, and radiates down the outer back of my leg... sometimes down to my toes making them numb.

Thank you all for sharing this information. Also, another good exercise is to get one of those long swim tubes that people hang onto in the pool. Lay on it right down the middle of the back and gently roll side to side. This was recommended by a PT awhile back. Hope this helps a bit. Hugs GB