Buttocks Injury While Jogging

I am a 63 year old male in good condition.  In February while jogging I started getting pain in my right buttocks.  I have visited several doctors and have had an x-ray and a MRI.  Nothing significant came out of these x-rays which also covered my lower back (which I was told looked very good for someone my age).  The pain tends to move around some but is mostly in the large muscle of the buttocks but also is down at the lower end of the buttocks near the upper hamstring.  An orthopedic doctor thought I had a partial hamstring tear and subsequently had ultasound treatment and physical therapy but this did not seem to help.  I had some pain closer to my hip which the doctor thought might be brusitis.  I had corotsone shots and this did help.  The other pain areas still remain.  Other treatments I have done include acupuncture, message therapy, hamstring exercises and I continue to apply cold packs every day all with minimal help.  It normally feels pretty good at night (not always perfect) but during the day it comes back.  Any suggestions you might have would be appreciated.  I sure would like to get back to jogging.

[Michael L Gross, MD]

This sounds like pyriformis syndrome. Included as part of the syndrome is tendonitis of the short external rotators of the hip (located deep to the gluteus muscles), predominantly the pyriformis, ischial bursitis, hamstring tendonitis, and secondary irritation of the sciatic nerve. This can be a long battle. You are doing everything right. PT for a stretching program may help, also evaluation for orthotic inserts for your shoes to correct any gait abnormalities. In addition, I have had some success using platelet rich plasma therapy for chronic problems.