Need advice

[LouWicked]

Morning all, so today is supposed to be run 3 of week 2... however I woke up in the night and as I got up I felt a pain from just below my buttock shooting down to my foot 😫 ouch! It’s is still hurting and I have googled it and all my symptoms seem to add up to piriformis syndrome! Has anyone else suffered with this and should I still do my run? I want to but don’t want to make it worse! Thanks 😁

[davelinks Graduate]

If it's ps which affects the sciatic nerve, PAINFUL! then do you really want to run with that pain!? My wife didn't want to run when she had it, treatment usually begins with stretching exercises, myofascial release, massage, and avoidance of contributory activities such as running, bicycling, rowing, heavy lifting...

The injury is considered largely self-limiting and spontaneous recovery is usually on the order of a few days or a week to six weeks or longer if left untreated..

[LouWicked in reply to davelinks]

Thank you, The pain is very localised to the muscle now and the best way I can describe it is my leg feels weak, thankfully no more shooting pains at the moment. I have done some stretches and taken some ibuprofen. I think it’s wise to rest and see how it is. Thanks for the reply 😁

[Sadie-runs Graduate]

Well, if it is PF, I know a good stretch for it.

youtube.com/watch?v=WK5aOJC...(Not working as expected?)

But take it very very gently when you do it, only coming down to as far as feels comfortable. I suffered from this before Xmas, and I did this stretch twice a day for a couple of weeks and it sorted it right out. Also, rolling your buttock around on a tennis ball or massage ball can help. I didn't get intense pain down my leg, but the muscle deep in my buttock hurted, and that is the muscle that gets stretched in the figure of four stretch in the video.

If it is really painful, don't run until it eases up – and if it doesn't ease up, do go see a physio if you can to get it properly checked out.

Lastly – don't despair! Injuries such as these are really quite common for new runners. I learned my lesson from this one, and now stretch my glutes gently and well after every run, and am also working on strengthening glutes, core and hips – all of this makes you a safer runner, less prone to injuries. A very experienced runner friend of mine claims that weak glutes leads to many a runner's downfall!

Sadie-Runs xx