I wish I could figure what is going on. I'm 34 male. I really didn't have any leg pain or issues until about 2 years ago. all of a sudden I changed jobs and I was getting this feeling in my leg like it was falling asleep when seated for a period of time. It progressively got worse to a dull ache that i just could'nt get comfortable when sitting.

everyone just told me it was sciatica, but I never was able to shake it. I have read the descriptions of these 3 ailments, and i thought at first it was probably piroformis, but I stretched that muscle so much it's actually about 2 or 3 times looser than the other side piroformis muscle.

The pain is not severe, its more of a nag, when sitting. when standing or in recliner or laying/sleeping no problem. Only when sitting.

It seems to start right where sciaica is located in buttocks. and it just causes a tingle down the back of my leg, or outside of my leg it seems to change.

I'm just curious if anyone has a way to tell which one of these problems or maybe i have them all?

I DEFINATELY notice it is worse when i gain a little weight or when my pants are too tight. Looser clothing seems to settle it. I dont get any relief from over the counter pain medicine, and its not severe enough for narcotics, just a daily nag. I have lately been stretching hamstrings.

I kept wallet keys and phone in right pocket for years, front not back, and I wonder if that caused some type of impingement, because when i have nothing in pocket it seems to help a little

is there any test I can do to see if this is one or the other? I lost quite a bit of weight over the summer, about as low as my body can go and still be healthy and when i would be in car for a few hours it was still bothering me.

I always wear low rise pants, i wonder if that has to do with it, a belt makes it worse by far, so i've stopped wearing one, but still its not gone? any one have any thoughts? I know we're not doctors here, my doctor just says its sciatica and to rest, but rest doesn't do anything for it.

I've had sciatica for many years. The pain starts in the lower back, goes into the hip, runs down the leg and into the foot. But it doesn't HAVE to go that far. It can start in the lower back and go into the hip. Or it can start in the back and go down into the thigh. Or start in the back and go down to the knee area, etc. It can be patchy too.

Sitting on the wallet & keys can irritate the sciatic nerve, but if they were in the front and not in the back, I dont' see how that would do it.

You could have an MRI but it's NOT going to show sciatica.

Physical therapy WOULD be the best way to go. Have your doctor refer you to physical therapy, and do the exercises they prescribe. Also, if they have a pool there, that is great for sciatica. But the exercises are the best. And you have to keep doing them too. You might want to know too that once you have injured the sciatic nerve, you're more likely to injure it again once it's healed. it will be easier to mess it up once it's been injured. Great, huh?

I wish you the very best. i hope therapy does the job for you. Injections usually don't work, so I wouldn't mess with them. God bless. Hugs, Lee

thank you so much for the kind words and info. I have to be honest, absolutely NO back pain. the dull ache is right on my butt cheak, right where a picture of the sciatica nerve is, if you google it.

This is more of an annoyance right now, but I fear things like this can get worse, and I have been reading some horror stories on here. I know its weather related.

I know when I stretch my hamstrings it elliviates it for a period. I have done pt for about 6 months, over an hour a day. working on different things. nothing seems to help that. I believe its some sort of muscle imbalance thats twisting my pelvis maybe putting pressure on another nerve that mimics sciatica.

I definately know when i lost weight it improved, because about 25 lbs ago I couldn't get through the day without basically being miseralble for the 2nd half of the day.

I'd say I dropped 30lbs. which was hard, because I was only about 195 to start with. That helped, but not solved the problem. when sitting upright it is there.

the heavier i get, the more it bothers me. pain never goes below middle of hamstring or right side of thigh. I'd say 8 inches down on thigh is where i feel it, and again its more of a tingly leg falling asleep sort of thing since i lost the weight.

never any back pain or funny feeling. and never anything below knee or foot.
anyone else have an idea or two?

pains in the butt are pains in the butt.

Have you tried an ice pack on that area twice a day?

Ice is very nice for some nerve pains.

I have not. My PT used to ice it, but I hate to say it but I just felt more embarrassed laying there with an ice pack on my butt.

I never did it 2ice a day. I did do it after therpay sessions.

Today it was bugging me. I actually put my wallet in my back pocket to see if it would make it worse, and it actually made it feel better. in fact the pain went away. which again is crazy. I know

but i do wonder if its something other than sciatca. I can't put my finger onwhere the feeling starts, or stops, its so generalized. there was a time where I thought maybe it is just in my head, but I know it isn't.

I know alot of people on here have it alot worse than me, and I'm not trying to make a sob story of myself. I was just wondering if anyone else has something similar since I'm the only one that I know of personally with this issue.

One more clue. I did hurt my back about a year ago. squatting 315 at the gym. I felt it immediately. racked the weights. limped home, and couldn't move for 2 days. after that the leg issue was much more intense, but did settle down, so maybe it is related to back vertabre or something.

OH. and I bought an inversion table last night. figured why not, I'll try anything. if anyone is interested let me know, I'll post my personal story.


iron man gravity table, i tried iit today but it just made my feet hurt, so I stopped after about 10 minutes.

Have you looked into sacroiliac joint issues?

the enlarge section causes me to wonder about a trigger point, could be, as some already suggested, your SI joint. If you can access a chiro, you might try that, especially for the SI joint. good luck
http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/content/99/5/713.long

I have considered SI joint dysfunction of some sort. Its come up alot in my searches. I would not be suprised if my SI joint somehow was tilted or getting pressure from a muscle imbalance ,and causing my symptoms. I have been to a few physical therapy places, and they have me do excersizes for low back and hips and things like that but i've never noticed any improvement. maybe i need to do them for longer than that.

can someone tell me the difference between SI joint symptoms or just sciatica. sitting at office is when its worse, never have any issues at home in recliner or in bed. also it bothers me if i'm in the car for too long.

Hey Jakeryan,

Any improvements?

I too am wondering if it is a trigger point in the piriformis area that is causing your issues if sciatica and /or piriformis syndrome don't seem to be at play.

A certified myofascial pain or trigger point specialist would be able to confirm/ disprove this for you!

Good luck!

After many years of suffering, I finally limped off to see a chiropractor who helped tremendously; and also gave me exercises for the periformis muscle, which all but took care of my issue. Not all periformis exercise work for me, but the one where a person lays on one's side and does a clam type exercise (good for pictures) until the muscle engages (you'll know it when it does) and then hold that position for 30 seconds x3 sessions per day.

I faithfully do these exercises, both sides, and have had much relief. There's also a counter muscle exercise, which goes along with the periformas exercise. It's a lunge type for the "ceris" muscle or something that sounds like that.