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[RC] Piriformis Muscle - Bruce Weary DCHi Julie--You are correct in your description of the piriformis muscle and its relationship to the sciatic nerve. Stretches help, but in my experience, the culprit is usually mechanical dysfunction of one or both ball and socket hip joints. If the hip joint has a "catch" in it (you won't feel it) it will send abnormal nerve signals to the associated muscles, the piriformis among them. So the symptom/pain will be in the butt muscles, but the problem actually originates elsewhere. So much of musculoskeletal pain works this way. "Joints are king," so they say. You most often must address any joint dysfunction first, as much of the associated problems and pain are a result of compensation. To treat the compensatory problems and not address the underlying cause may lead to symptom relief, but not true recovery. Make sense? This is why using only drug intervention rarely leads to full recovery of most ailments. Horses or people. The doctor or vet who understands more of the components that contribute to the problem (the bigger picture) has the better chance of getting a more satisfactory result/recovery. Bruce Weary
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