Piriformis Syndrome

Well it's official. I've got piriformis syndrome. I had the MRI scan last night of my lumbar spine and the doc says my discs look good (with the exception of minor bulging) and believes I have not a disc problem but a muscle/nerve problem.

Basically my butt muscles are overworked and too tight. In most people the sciatic nerve runs under the piriformis muscle. In a chosen few though, the nerve runs right through the muscle. Prolonged repetitive cycling is a leading cause of this "pain in the butt". I will though, take this diagnosis over a disc problem any day of the week.

Treatment involves time off the bike (this is the hard part) , deep tissue massage, and lots of stretching. I've been doing lots of stretches over the last week and can tell a huge difference. My hip flexors were unbelievably tight as well as my glutes. I tend to be pretty flexible but with all the riding I was doing things have obviously tightened up.

I've got the Rocky Mountain Bike Tour in a month, so I hope and pray I'll be ready for it. My dr. actually invited me for a ride tomorrow but I'm a little worried of setting myself back again. I'll probably give it another week or at least the weekend before I slowly get back into it.