You feel it first on the top of your hip, and then it travels down your butt, gripping you from behind. You tighten, and the electrifying sensation sends chills up your spine - even down your leg - making you tense, yet weak, in the knees...
No, this is not a passage from one of those bodice-ripper romance novels. And it definitely isn't describing a pleasurable experience. It's intense, though. In fact, when this sensation in your butt strikes, it can startle you right off the treadmill you are walking on. The offender is not some person behind you trying to get familiar. It's a temperamental, irritated, deeply-nested muscle called the piriformis.
The piriformis muscle is located in the butt, underneath the gluteus maximus. It attaches to the flat bony end of the spinal column (sacrum) and to the bony upper end of the long thigh bone (femur). Its primary function is to rotate the thigh outward. The piriformis is especially active during fast walking and running. However, during sports such as basketball, soccer and tennis where quick changes in direction are required, the piriformis is busy contracting, too.
Busy, busy, busy. That's one of the prescriptions for a muscle's overuse response. Tight bands can form in the muscle, and these constrictions can create sensitive areas called trigger points. When the piriformis has a trigger point, this is one tight butt you DON'T want to have. The symptoms can mimic a lower back disorder and even radiate pain down the hip and into the leg. Your normal gait can become wobbly, as it feels like you can't bear weight on that side.
So what can you do to prevent and/or treat this muscle tantrum? Several things, actually. If, however, you try the following and you don't experience relief, then you should see your doctor for an evaluation. The piriformis muscle has impersonating tendencies, so you always want to identify the true culprit.
First, adequate warm up of the lower body is important before engaging in activities that use these muscles. You can walk at a modest pace using longer strides for ten minutes before picking up the speed (which will shorten your strides). This ten-minute warm-up is perfect even if you are getting ready to play soccer instead of jogging. The increased blood flow and elevated temperature to the muscle prepares it for the load you'll be placing upon it. After you exercise - and as often as you can in-between - perform some static stretches (held for at least 15-30 seconds) for the hip. The following two stretches - one on the floor and the other seated - are very effective.
ON THE FLOOR: Start on all fours, knees bent, on a soft surface. Place your right knee directly behind the left knee. Gently slide the right leg back behind you as you lower yourself onto your elbows. Try to press your body against the left leg which is now flattened beneath you. You should feel the stretch in the hip of the left leg. Repeat from the beginning using the opposite leg this time.
SEATED ON A CHAIR: Start by sitting on a chair with both knees bent at a ninety-degree angle and your feet on the floor. Cross the right leg over the left so that the right ankle is resting on top of the left knee (as close as possible). Sit tall with your back straight and your hands resting on your right shin. Begin to hinge forward at the hip, leaning only as far forward as you can without rounding your back. Hold this position. You should feel the stretch outside of your right hip and leg. Repeat from the beginning using the opposite leg.
Though the sensations of a protesting piriformis can be alarming, this occurrence is quite common. Try to follow the above suggestions, both as a preventative measure and as a way to relieve existing symptoms. Stretch every day if possible, working out that trigger point. If you can't quiet the furor in your butt, and the grabbing you feel there isn't someone trying to get friendly, then high-tail it to the doc. A tight butt with a wobbly walk is not what dreams are made of.
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