It really does take a Village!
Today, I went into Travis after having an increase in the “pulling” sensation in my left hamstring and sometimes my upper calf muscle. I showed him where my problem was, and he said that he did not think it was my hamstring. After several tests, he hypothesized that the sciatic nerve is being irritated by the piriformis muscle (this is a muscle that wraps around your hip bone from the tail bone to the top of the femur or big leg bone).
HA! Once again the symptom is not really anywhere near the problem! The idea is that the sciatic nerve runs under the piriformis. Thus, when the piriformis is tight (mine is), then it places pressure on the sciatic. Pressure on the sciatic equals irritation further down the leg.
So, if this sciatic nerve hypothesis is correct, then it explains why glute exercises irritate it. When I work out my glutes, then I am definitely tightening the piriformis muscle, thereby irritating the sciatic – VOILA! My hamstring feels like it’s “pulling” or doing all the work.
Wow, if this is correct, I am going to advertise for real for my physical therapist!
The exercises:
I am to do a slumped stretch where I slump over as much as possible with my hands completely limp and resting on the chair behind me while I lift my leg just enough to stretch but not irritate the sciatic nerve.
Then, a “press-up” where I lay on my stomach and press up with my arms. This is to help relieve any pressure that might be coming from misalignment in my back (I’ll get back to that as I am now going to call my chiropractor to consult him).
Next, a bridge to specifically use my lower back.
Finally, a stretch for the piriformis.
Oh, I’m also supposed to foam roll the piriformis when I foam roll the IT Band.
So, I have a plan. I have a new diagnosis that is much more plausible. However, this is still a hypothesis.
As for how my chiropractor fits in: Travis said that when folks have sciatic nerve problems a lot of time it starts when the vertebrae put pressure on a disc. So, there could be a possibility of my having a disc out of place or something, but my symptoms are so mild that it is probably not that severe. I am going to call Dr. Larry tomorrow to talk about it.
Anyway, several things fell into place if the sciatic nerve and the piriformis are to blame. First, I have not had problems with the sciatic in a very long time – maybe a year, and that includes all the running I did at the start of this project. The one thing that is true for that point in time is that I was getting a back adjustment and an hour-long therapeutic massage every two weeks. It has been over 5 weeks since my last massage, and I had not had an adjustment in 4 weeks when I saw Dr. Larry last Friday.
Put that all together and my piriformis has had the chance to really get tight, and my back could have gotten all kinds of out of whack. Plus, when you are not getting regular adjustments, your body tends to not hold them as well. I know all this seems to point to the fact that once you start chiropracti you never stop.
Well, I don’t think it’s like fast food where you become addicted, I think it is something that your body actually needs on a regular basis. I also think that everyone should get a massage at least once per month. With our sedentary lifestyles, our bodies do not get the constant movement that they were made to do. So, they get all “stove up” or tight and run down. The chiropracti puts everything back into alignment, while the massage relaxes the muscles and helps the body to hold the correct postion, especially when supplemented further by strengthening and exercise.
However, I must bid you good bye as it is time for me to ice my butt. Have a great evening!
Tags: chiroprator, left hamstring, left sciatic nerve, massage, new exercises, piriformis