Gluteal Region (Buttocks)

Examples of Conditions Treated

Piriformis Syndrome
Piriformis is a muscle that runs from deep within the pelvis out to the greater trochanter, a bony prominence on the outside of your thigh just below your hip. The muscle would sit approximately under your back pocket if you were wearing jeans. In some people part of the sciatic nerve may emerge through the belly of piriformis, and if the muscle becomes too tight it will compress the nerve within the muscle tissue. In others it is thought the tightening of piriformis squashes the nerve against the bone of the pelvis. The resulting pain often radiates from the buttocks, down the back of the thigh, and up into the spine. It can easily be confused or misdiagnosed as being lumbar in origin.

Ischial Tuberosity bursitis
A bursa is a fluid filled sac found in areas of the body where tissue needs to glide over bone. It acts as a friction reducing cushion between tissues. If the bursa becomes inflamed, either through trauma, infection, overload or injury, a patient will perceive pain. The Ischial bursa attempts to prevent friction between the gluteus maximus muscle and the bone of the ischial tuberosity. The ischial tuberosities are sometimes known as the ‘sit’ bones because they are the bony prominences we weight bear through when sitting. Ischial bursitis will therefore hurt on sitting. It can be confused with sciatica, piriformis syndrome and hamstring tendonopathy.

Sciatic Pain
If anything happens to impinge the sciatic nerve, it can become symptomatic. It is common to feel pain in the buttock, the back of the thigh, the outside of the lower leg and even the foot and ankle. There may be burning,  nagging “toothache” type pain, numbness or pins and needles. There can be weakness in the muscle groups the sciatic nerve supplies and sensory perception can be reduced.