Reviewed By:
Kent C Doan, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr Doan Graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Colorado. He completed additional fellowship training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine at the prestigious Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. He is a practicing Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in complex and revision knee and shoulder surgery at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute. He also holds an assistant professorship at the University of Kansas City.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Content updated on Mar 31, 2024
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
Worried about your symptoms?
Start the Piriformis Syndrome test with our free AI Symptom Checker.
This will help us personalize your assessment.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Tingling
Nerve pain in the leg
I have pain in my thigh
Leg pain
Numbness in lower leg
My leg is numb
Thigh aches
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
With a free 3-min Piriformis Syndrome quiz, powered by Ubie's AI and doctors, find possible causes of your symptoms.
This questionnaire is customized to your situation and symptoms, including the following personal information:
Biological Sex - helps us provide relevant suggestions for male vs. female conditions.
Age - adjusts our guidance based on any age-related health factors.
History - considers past illnesses, surgeries, family history, and lifestyle choices.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
See full list
The sciatic nerve is responsible for muscle control and sensation of the leg. Sometimes, it can be compressed by the piriformis muscle in the buttocks. This can result in symptoms that are often similar to a slipped disc or nerve compression in the spine.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
Most treatments are aimed at decreasing compression on the nerve. The majority of times this can be achieved with rest, physical therapy, activity modifications, and sometimes use of medications. Rarely injections or surgery is indicated to address severe nerve compression not resolved with other methods
Probst D, Stout A, Hunt D. Piriformis Syndrome: A Narrative Review of the Anatomy, Diagnosis, and Treatment. PM R. 2019 Aug;11 Suppl 1:S54-S63. doi: 10.1002/pmrj.12189. Epub 2019 Jul 22. PMID: 31102324.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pmrj.12189Kirschner JS, Foye PM, Cole JL. Piriformis syndrome, diagnosis and treatment. Muscle Nerve. 2009 Jul;40(1):10-8. doi: 10.1002/mus.21318. PMID: 19466717.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mus.21318Hicks BL, Lam JC, Varacallo M. Piriformis Syndrome. 2022 Apr 21. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–. PMID: 28846222.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448172/Cass SP. Piriformis syndrome: a cause of nondiscogenic sciatica. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2015 Jan;14(1):41-4. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000110. PMID: 25574881.
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2015/01000/Piriformis_Syndrome__A_Cause_of_Nondiscogenic.12.aspxBoyajian-O'Neill LA, McClain RL, Coleman MK, Thomas PP. Diagnosis and management of piriformis syndrome: an osteopathic approach. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2008 Nov;108(11):657-64. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2008.108.11.657. PMID: 19011229.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2008.108.11.657/htmlMale, 30s
I got more answers in one minute through your site than I did in three hours with Google.
(Sep 29, 2024)
Male, 20s
My experience was great. I was worried, but the symptom checker helped me narrow down what it might be. I feel a little relieved compared to when I first started, and it gives me a starting point for what my symptoms could mean.
(Sep 27, 2024)
Male, 50s
The questions asked and possible causes seemed spot on, putting me at ease for a next-step solution.
(Sep 26, 2024)
Female, 40s
I was actually very impressed with the results it provided because, although I didn’t mention it during the questionnaire because I thought it was unrelated, it suggested I may have something I’ve actually been diagnosed with in the past.
(Sep 25, 2024)
Reviewed By:
Kent C Doan, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr Doan Graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine and completed residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Colorado. He completed additional fellowship training in Orthopedic Sports Medicine at the prestigious Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. He is a practicing Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in complex and revision knee and shoulder surgery at the Kansas City Orthopedic Institute. He also holds an assistant professorship at the University of Kansas City.
Tomohiro Hamahata, MD (Orthopedics)
Dr. Hamahata graduated from the Jikei University of Medical Science. After working at Asanokawa General Hospital and Kosei Chuo Hospital, he joined the Department of Orthopedics at Asakusa Hospital in April 2021, specializing in general orthopedics and joint replacement surgery.
Our symptom checker AI is continuously refined with input from experienced physicians, empowering them to make more accurate diagnoses.
“World’s Best Digital
Health Companies”
Newsweek 2024
“Best With AI”
Google Play Best of 2023
“Best in Class”
Digital Health Awards 2023 (Quarterfinalist)
Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1