Why does my butt hurt?!

Have your every had pain in your butt or down the leg and you are unsure why? Here are some reasons this may be occurring.
Difference between Piriformis Syndrome & Hamstring Syndrome

Piriformis syndrome is pain in the buttock or posterior thigh and calf caused by inflammation of the piriformis muscle.  The piriformis muscle lays on top of the sciatic nerve (in most cases); when tight it pinches the nerve as it exits the pelvis. Most people will complain of pain with walking, trunk rotation and stairs.

Hamstring syndrome is caused when the sciatic nerve becomes trapped by adhesions in the proximal hamstrings (where the hamstring attaches to your bottom). This can cause repetitive strain. It occurs mostly in sprinters. Pain usually occurs with sitting or stretching.

​Lumbar Radiculopathy
Well that is a big word. Lumbar radiculopathy is a condition that occurs when a nerve in the low back is compressed causing pain in the area of the nerve. Lumbar radiculopathy turns into sciatica when the nerve that is being pinched is in the area of L5/S1. There is L1-L5 vertebrae in the low back; the sciatic nerve comes out between L5/S1.
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Think of the nerves in your back as the wires behind your TV. The wires are needed for the TV to turn off, to change the channel and to mute. Like the wires of the TV, the nerves will turn a muscle off, on and move the muscle. If the nerves are not working correctly, the muscle is not going to work. Usually the symptoms are muscle weakness, pain and weakness of a specific area of the legs. With sciatica, this is knee flexion and foot weakness.

4 exercises to reduce butt pain
Prone press ups
 
Prone means lying on your stomach. Most of the time when a nerve is irritated due to a nerve, it is because the disc is bulging posteriorly. When lying prone (or on your stomach), this will push the disc back into place reducing the stress on the nerve.

​Clams
 
People usually use one side of their body more than the other. When this happens the pelvis will be off. The muscles on the side of your pelvis (the gluteus medius) will become weak. This exercise will help to improve the glut medius strength, therefore improving the alignment of your pelvis.
 

​Sciatic nerve flossing
No this isn’t the flossing dance. Although that would probably be more fun. Remember how I said with hamstring syndrome the sciatic nerve will get trapped in the adhesions of the hamstrings. This exercise will help to reduce the adhesions in the muscle and let the sciatic nerve move like it is supposed to.

​Piriformis Stretch
The Piriformis is a muscle in the bottom that goes over the sciatic nerve. When tight it can cause the sciatic nerve to become pinched. This exercise helps to stretch out the piriformis muscle and let the sciatic nerve do its job
 

Things you can do to prevent butt pain
Guys, for the love of god please stop wearing your wallet in your back pocket. This puts pressure on the sciatic nerve
When holding a baby, switch from one hip to another. This will help to keep the pelvis even
Adults need tummy time too. Since we are sitting most of the time, this will cause our back to be in a flexed position, lying on your stomach 20 minutes a day will help to reduce any disc issues in the future
 
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Author

AMY CAROLLO, DPT