Is it likely i have piriformis syndrome?

[ee849]

Hi all,
I've had pain in my bum and groin since Jan 2011. I've had periods of time with little pain and others where it's been awful.
Around April/May last year, the pain started going down my leg, on the back and inside of my thigh and then tingles and a feeling of numbness in my foot. When i touched my foot, there was a big decrese in sensation but i could feel myself touching it. It also started in my left leg by this point too, just nowhere near as bad. When i saw my gp, he said maybe sciatica. I saw another 2 gps, same opinion, just probably sciatica. I have a back x-ray then a neck x-ray They were both ok, 'no significant abnormalities'. They didn't seem bothered when i saw them again about the problem. Obviously the pain and numbness was a big problem for me.
I started getting pins and needles in my groin. I saw my dr, had another back x ray. It was fine again. I even started getting like a mobile phone buzzing on my inside thigh. Sometimes when i woke i'd feel reduced sensation in my lower leg then a feeling of like 60% numbness in areas of my foot.. I've also had shooting pain down my legs. The day the shooting pains started was a weekend and i went to my out of hrs service and they sent me to a&e. The women i saw didn't even want to examine me. I told her i have groin, bum and leg pain and now shooting pains. She said 'i think you have an std'. I didn't, but i let her waste her time by checking since that was all she was willing to do. The screening was negative. The pain continued.
In Oct last year i was referred to a specalist by a new gp who properly listened after i explained during a 3 hr uni exam, the pain started and i got the buzzing in my thigh and slight decrease in sensation in my foot, yet with tingles. I had a lumbar mri a few weeks later and it was apparently negative. The surgeon referred me to physio.

I've seen the physio 3 or 4 times now. On the first session, she went over everything and did an examination. It took maybe 20 mins for her to put me in all sorts of positions. She said since i wasn't complaining during the exam that i probably didnt have piriformis. Only, about 5 mins after the session as i was queing to make another appointment with her, i had really nasty pain in my lower bum and upper thigh.  I explained to her that i often got the pain after exercise, so it didn't surprise me that it had come on after the session. Obviously somethign she had done had triggered it. She didn't give me any exercises and started giving me acupuncture. I've had 3 sessions of this now and it hasn't worked at all.  I asked what she thinks is causing the pain and she said well perhaps it's a little bit of piriformis? The pain isn't a little bit when it's there and neither are the other symptoms!!

The pain i get:
Groin, 90% of the time right sided, runs along the crease between my groin and leg and spreads out. I get pain along the bone between my legs, even though i really don't think it's the bone?  The pain sometimes runs right back and into my backside, causing an intense ache inside my bum and i've had stabbing pains in both my groin and bum, and this can even happen when the pain is low scale. When i walk it is sometimes worse but occasionally eased...but it can go either way and i never know what it will do. Intercourse has brought this pain on before too.

Buttock pain, usually worse on right side, often at the bottom of my cheek, where the leg and bum meet if that makes sense? Can be an ache, burn or searing pain. Sitting on uncushioned hard seats can REALLY aggravate it! For instance, once my son was taken to a&e and i ended up pacing the floors after sitting in their waiting room plastic seat for just 20 mins! It was awful pain! I also recently got out a taxi and lost my footing, banging the area bottom of buttock/top of leg area on the plastic side of the seat and it was so painful! It wasn't bruised and felt nothing like a bruise...it just felt like immediate burning, aching nerve pain.
I have had the pain slightly higher in the backside though and i've told the i recently started gettign tingles in my bum.

Leg pain, aches like i've overdone it, (i'm queried having cfs-yet to be confirmed), reduced sensations, burning sensations, tingles, stabbing/shooting pains. Pain most often runs from top of leg at the back down to foot but generally less pain in the middle of the leg, knee area. Sometimes runs from top back of leg winding inside thigh, then down to foot where the numb feeling can be. What's odd with the foot is, even though it feels numb (though i can feel pressure), i can get pain there still, in the arch, heel and big toe, and also pins and needles. sometimes bending had has the effect of reduced feeling on the outside of the foot.

Back pain, any bending or exercise brings on lower back pain, but i also get a LOT of upper back pain. Sometimes, very weirdly, bending over makes me need to frequently wee for up to a few days. As the lumbar was ok, the drs don't seem bothered about this.

I'm a 29 yr old women with 2 children. I used to be very fit and healthy and a regular runner and spent 3/4 ornings a week in the gym. Since all this started it's a no no! Drs tell me do exercise but its hard when it brings on the pain. I've had a c section and a natural birth.

does this sound familiar to anyone and does anyone know a way i can help myself?

Thanks,
kind regards

Emma

[ee849]

Hi there,

I had an mri in Nov last yr (before this post) and even though something did show, they missed it! I have 3 tarlov cysts in my spinal cord at s1 and one of these is 2cm and compressing my pudenal nerves considerably. They can be caused by trauma, such as the type you have suffered to your spinal cord. I don't know why I have got mine but I had my son by ceasarean by spinal block and wonder if that was the cause.
I think you need an mri to determine whether there are any abnormalities.
There are many potential causes to your problems, ms, chiari malformation, lupus, lyme...Full blood work would be beneficial to rule out autoimmune problems or infections.
I kept being told i might have depression causing it  which i knew was wrong but if they say that to you remind them everything needs ruling out first.
Ask for a referral to a neurologist.  They will be the best people for you by the sound of it.
I am having my cysts decompressed later this month and I am terrified as its a big op. If i don't have it though, it will grow and i will get older with more pain and less chance of recovery.
Best of luck.   Let me know how you get on x

[Maderie]

Hi I'm 39 and have the same issues now for about 6 months.  Last week  my GP did XRAYS of my back, full sonar of my kidneys, ovaries, gall bladder , my groin and they found nothing and I can feel I'm not well and no idea what it is. For the past 2 weeks I'm feeling dizzy and like you say the pain in my bum and groin is killing me.  I wake up with hands that itch and feel numb, my right leg pain and i have a tingling feeling in my right foot.  I often wake up feeling my leg died at night.

I've had both an epidural and spinals with the births of my 3 kids and with the birth of my second son they pushed the spinal injection right through my spinal cord and they had to do 3 blood batches in the spine.  I'm just wondering if all of these issues aren't maybe  linked to damaging of the spine and if so what do i do?

[ee849]

I've also this evening been having mild/moderate pins and needles in the usually better leg, the left and very slightly in the right.
I do suffer a lot of pins and needles and strange sensations, i've had a lot of bloodwork and i've had low calcium (corrected to a normal level now with meds) so these are not a result of this problem. However i also get pins and needles in my shoulder which are worse in some positions. I wondered if anyone has had a suspected trapped nerve rectified with a chiropractor?  My gp said he is unlikely to refer me for the shoulder (despite having had had weak arms for some time) until im dropping things all the time!
I would like to find a way i can help myself.