The other day yet another vertebral disc went squish. I've done this before but this time I got an MRI for tingly toes. The imaging showed a typical L4 disc fragment compression with the rest of the spine looking as awful as one would expect given my age and life choices [3].
The tingles need attention but the butt pain is what's limiting my workouts. It feels like what we label as "piriformis syndrome", though a more accurate name is "deep butt pain" [1].
It feels like "piriformis syndrome" ... but the MRI and the tingles fit with an L4 compression. Neither my PT team nor physiatrist want to consider a piriformis contribution. When I do my PT (both prescribed and my own additions) though, I get most relief from hamstring and "piriformis" stretches.
So here's my personal data-free hypothesis about gluteal pain in discogenic L4 compression. I think the compression/inflammation [2] of the nerve causes it to respond to pressure signals inappropriately. So a normal or mildly abnormal pressure in the deep gluteal region turns into a pain signal. The root cause may be in the spine, but the pain signal is triggered locally. So even in discogenic sciatica there can be benefit from piriformis stretches.
Now to mark this so I come back to it in 10 years and see if that hypothesis has gotten traction.
- footnotes -
[1] Looking back at that 2016 post I probably squished a disk then too.
[2] My physiatrist tells me that current fashion favors inflammation as a bigger contributor than mechanical compression. Of course he's in the business of injecting steroids into the spine...
[3] There's a reason doctors try to avoid getting back MRIs. They tend to look awful even in people with modest symptoms. They can be more depressing than useful.
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