Treating And Preventing Piriformis Syndrome

Iontophoresis

Some piriformis syndrome patients may be advised to try iontophoresis to help relieve their pain. Iontophoresis is a therapeutic method that involves the use of an electric current to diffuse a medication or another chemical through an individual's skin. An electrode connected to an iontophoresis machine is used to deliver the medication through the pores in a patient's skin. Iontophoresis has been successful in reducing an individual's pain, inflammation, swelling, and muscle spasms that occur due to piriformis syndrome. Depending on the goals of the treatment, medication is selected that will either be positively charged or negatively charged. The iontophoresis machine has one positive electrode and one negative electrode. If the medicine is negatively charged, it will be put onto the negative electrode. If the medication has a positive charge, the medication is placed on the positive electrode. The medicated electrode is then applied to the area of the patient's buttocks where the sciatic nerve is being compressed, and the non-medicated opposite charge electrode is applied nearby on the body. This mechanism produces a full electrical current that delivers the medication under the skin without the use of any type of needle.

Corticosteroid Injection

An individual experiencing considerable pain due to piriformis syndrome may need a corticosteroid injection as part of their treatment plan. Corticosteroids are medications that reduce the activity of a patient's immune system in the area of which they are administered. The sciatic nerve of piriformis syndrome patients is compressed and can become damaged by the piriformis muscle. This damage causes the individual's immune system to summon white blood cells and other immune components to the site of the damage, resulting in swelling, redness, and inflammation. This inflammation can cause the piriformis muscle of a patient to press down with even more force on their compressed sciatic nerve, resulting in an increase in pain severity. Corticosteroid medications for piriformis syndrome are typically administered via injection to the most painful regions of the buttocks using an insulated needle, electrode, and small electrical current. The affected individual should start to feel some pain relief within three to seven days following the administration of the corticosteroid injection.