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Pear-shaped muscle syndrome
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Syndrome pear-shaped muscle - infringement of the sciatic nerve pear-shaped muscle, resulting in pain.
The pear-shaped muscle extends from the pelvic surface of the sacrum to the upper edge of the large trochanter of the femur. During running or sitting, this muscle can press on the sciatic nerve at the point where it emerges above the pear-shaped muscle and continues over the hip rotator muscles.
Symptoms of pear-shaped muscle syndrome
Chronic, aching, dull and sharp pain, tingling or numbness begins in the gluteal region and can spread along the sciatic nerve down the back of the thigh, the calf muscle and sometimes to the foot. The pain is usually chronic and worsens when the pear-shaped muscle presses on the sciatic nerve (for example, while sitting in the toilet, in the car, while riding a bicycle or while running). Unlike pain in pear-shaped muscle syndrome, pain caused by pinch of the sciatic nerve by the lumbar intervertebral disc (ischialgia), is usually localized in the back region, radiating along the sciatic nerve to the lower extremities.
Diagnosis of pear-shaped muscle syndrome
Diagnosis is established after a physical examination. The appearance of pain during the rotation of the bent femur inward (Freiberg symptom), the withdrawal of the affected lower limb sitting (Pace's symptom), raising the knee by a few centimeters on a healthy side (Beattie symptom), or pressing on the buttocks at the point where the sciatic nerve crosses the pear-shaped muscle in The time of slow patient slope (Mirkin test) serves as a reliable diagnostic sign. Visualizing methods of research are not informative, but can exclude other causes of compression of the sciatic nerve. Differentiating the pear-shaped muscle syndrome from pathological changes in the lumbar intervertebral discs is quite difficult in some cases, so it's better to contact a specialist.
What do need to examine?
Treatment of pear-shaped muscle syndrome
The patient should for some time stop running, riding a bicycle or any other activities that cause pain. Patients whose pain increases in sitting position should immediately get up, or, if this is not possible, change the position in such a way as to reduce the burden on the affected area. Special exercises for stretching the muscles of the posterior region of the thigh and pear-shaped muscle can be useful. Surgical treatment is extremely rare. In many cases, the injection of glucocorticoids into a place where the pear-shaped muscle crosses the sciatic nerve can help with caution.