Piriformis syndrome: a real pain in the buttock?
One page on PainSci cites Halpin 2009: How to Treat Sciatic Nerve Pain
PainSci notes on Halpin 2009:
The elusive piriformis syndrome: as unproven as Bigfoot, but with a lot more credible “sightings.” Halpin & Ganju:
“A nonpartisan review of the medical literature pertaining to PS revealed that the existence of this entity remains controversial. There is no definitive proof of its existence despite reported series with large numbers of patients.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: Herein, we provide an unbiased review of piriformis syndrome (PS), a highly controversial syndrome for which no consensus exists regarding diagnostic criteria or pathophysiology.
METHODS: A review of the literature in the English language.
RESULTS: A nonpartisan review of the medical literature pertaining to PS revealed that the existence of this entity remains controversial. There is no definitive proof of its existence despite reported series with large numbers of patients.
CONCLUSION: PS remains a controversial diagnosis for sciatic pain. The debate regarding the clinical significance of PS remains active. Nonetheless, there may be a subset of patients in whom the piriformis muscle is a source of pain. The syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with unilateral lower extremity pain.
related content
- “Piriformis Syndrome with Variant Sciatic Nerve Anatomy: A Case Report,” Kraus et al, PM & R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation, 2015.
- “Piriformis syndrome--a rare cause of extraspinal sciatica,” Arooj et al, J Pak Med Assoc, 2014.
- “Anatomical variations between the sciatic nerve and the piriformis muscle: a contribution to surgical anatomy in piriformis syndrome,” Natsis et al, Surg Radiol Anat, 2014.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Classical Conditioning Fails to Elicit Allodynia in an Experimental Study with Healthy Humans. Madden 2017 Pain Med.
- Topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and eccentric exercises in the treatment of mid-portion achilles tendinopathy (the NEAT trial): a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Kirwan 2024 Br J Sports Med.
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- Cannabidiol (CBD) products for pain: ineffective, expensive, and with potential harms. Moore 2023 J Pain.