3 exercises for piriformis syndrome

Have you noticed that you’ve been suffering with a deep pain into your buttock region? This might be worse when you sit for long periods of time? You may be suffering with something called piriformis syndrome. Our Sports Therapist Jenie has got three great exercises that you can do to help relieve your symptoms and get you back pain-free, back to full activity with no problems.

Exercise 1: self massage ball release

Your piriformis lies deep within your glute, so the best thing to do is to try to provide some sort of release at home, using a self-massage technique. There are loads of these self-massage balls that you can get. You can get flat ones, or you can use a tennis ball, or you can get much harder ones with spikes on to provide a deeper release into the area.

All you’re going to do is maybe sit on a dining room chair at home or something hard at home. You’re going to place this ball under your bum, right where you get the pain, and then you’re just going to roll around on it until you feel pain. Hold it in that spot for a good 10 to 20 seconds until you feel it release, and then move around again. This is something that you can do quite easily at home, and it’s quite a nice exercise just to feel some release into that area.

Exercise 2: dead pigeon stretch

The next thing to do is stretch through your glutes to lengthen this piriformis muscle and, therefore, try and decrease some of your symptoms. A good stretch is called the dead pigeon. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent. Bring one leg over the other resting your foot on the opposite leg, lift your other leg up and hold onto the bottom of that leg. You should feel the stretch coming down through your glute on the bent knee side. With any stretch, make sure you hold this for around 10 to 20 seconds, and you can do throughout the day.

Exercise 3: clams

The last exercise is a simple strengthening exercise for your glutes. This can be done once you feel like your buttock area is releasing with the use of a ball and the stretch. In a side-lying position, have a slight bend in your knees, and your body should be in line from your shoulders, hips and ankles. Put your hand on your hip, and for this exercise, make sure that your hip doesn’t rock backwards or rock forwards. It needs to stay nice and stable. Like a clam shell, keep your ankles together and bring your top knee up, keeping the hip stable, and back down. This can be carried out for eight to ten reps on both sides.