From healthcentral.com
From sciatica to piriformis syndrome, there are common culprits to buttock pain from sitting, Here, experts recommend how to handle them
Whether you’re dealing with a mega-commute, desk job, or just really loving your couch-time, if you’re like most people, you spend a lot of hours sitting down. One estimate in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity looking at 54 countries found that adults spend nearly five hours every day sitting. As convenient as it may be, sitting is not doing your body any favours—particularly, your butt.
“Our bodies are not conditioned to be sitting for extended periods of time, and when we do, our gluteal muscles [the group that comprises the buttock area] begin to suffer,” says Ilan Danan, M.D., a sports neurologist and pain management specialist at the Centre for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. "With too much sitting, hip flexors begin to tighten over time, while gluteal muscles lengthen. Ultimately, this results in inefficient muscle activity with standing and walking.”
Even if you remember to take frequent breaks from sitting, you may still experience buttock weakness and pain from other issues. If you find that you're dealing with pain and difficulty whenever you've been sitting, here's a look at what may be going on.
Causes of Buttock Pain
To figure out what's causing your literal pain in the butt, you’ll want to consider your symptoms, as well as potential triggers and the intensity of your pain—for example, whether it's a dull ache or sharp and searing. With that in mind, here are four possible culprits, along with signs that may help with getting to the bottom of the issue.
Ischial Bursitis
Bursitis is the general medical term for painful swelling around joints and other tissues. Although it's most common in the shoulder, elbows, and knees, it can affect the hips and butt, too, according to Cleveland Clinic. Buttocks-specific painful swelling is called ischial bursitis, and symptoms include:
Deep ache rather than shooting pain
Pain that worsens with movement or stretching
Tenderness and swelling in lower part of the buttocks
Warmness (to the touch) in the swollen areas
Sciatica
There are several muscles in the hips and buttocks that allow you to extend your hip and turn your leg outward—these are called external rotator muscles, says George Eldayre, M.D., a specialist in primary care sports medicine at Orlando Health and Jewett Orthopaedic Institute in Orlando, FL. "These muscles are closely related to the sciatic nerve," Dr. Eldayrie says. "So if there are issues with these muscles or excessive pressure in the area, you can get radiating pain along that nerve—a condition called sciatica."
Other sciatica symptoms include:
Difficulty walking on your toes or bending your foot
Loss of sensation or numbness
Pain typically only on one side of the body
Pain when lifting the leg straight up when lying down
Shooting pain originating in the spine and radiating down the back of the leg
Weak reflexes
Piriformis Syndrome
Your piriformis muscle is located at the centre of either side of your hips and stretches horizontally across to your legs. Because of its proximity to your sciatic nerve, tightness in this muscle can cause compression and inflammation, resulting in piriformis syndrome, with symptoms like:
Burning sensation in the buttocks or hips
Difficulty walking up stairs
Inflammation in the front of the hips
Muscle spasms in the hips and buttocks
Numbness and tingling
Pain that worsens after sitting for long periods of time
Gluteal Medius Tendinopathy
Known informally as "dead butt syndrome," or "gluteal amnesia," this condition happens when your gluteal muscles are unable to support your pelvis and spine, according to Jhankhana Jani, D.P.T., doctor of physical therapy at Providence Saint John's Health Centre's Performance Therapy in Santa Monica, CA. She says symptoms include:
Feeling of poor lumbar spine and pelvis support, so your whole midsection feels unstable
Imbalance while walking
Tightness in the hips
Weakness in the gluteal muscles
In addition to these difficulties, people who have tight hips, arthritis in the spine, or chronic lower back issues like herniated discs can have pain in the buttocks when sitting, Dr. Eldayrie notes. "With problems like those, posture changes may cause excessive pressure to the discs, and that can radiate pain into the buttocks and the legs," he says. "Even limited flexibility of the hips can cause some discomfort with sitting for long periods of time."
Treatment for Buttock Pain
Addressing pain while sitting depends largely on the cause. For example, with sciatica, treatment usually involves over-the-counter pain relievers as well as ice and heat therapy. Alleviating pain from piriformis syndrome can include medication that relaxes the muscles, steroid injections, and physical therapy that strengthens piriformis muscles specifically. One notable difference is that bed rest is not recommended for sciatica, while it does help with piriformis syndrome.
For "dead butt syndrome," Dr. Jani says the best treatment is taking breaks throughout the day from sitting, and performing exercises that strengthen the gluteal and hip muscles on a regular basis.
Because buttock pain can be brought on by several issues, getting the proper diagnosis is invaluable for the right treatment, says Dr. Eldayrie. "Particularly if pain doesn't resolve on its own with stretching, or you're experiencing hip or low back problems, getting an evaluation is helpful for restoring mobility and activity," he adds.
If you only have occasional buttock pain or it isn’t disruptive to your everyday life, treatment may be as easy as changing your chair, says Renee Urban, P.T., a physical therapist at Atlantic Rehab in Livingston, NJ. "Pain may be due to seating position and it can be fixed with postural correction," she adds. "If that's the cause, then the pain should be remedied right away."
When to See a Doctor About Buttock Pain
If your butt pain doesn't improve with postural changes like choosing a different chair, or it continues even after you've gotten up and moved around for a while, there may be a deeper issue going on, says Dr. Eldayrie.
Particularly if you’re experiencing other symptoms along with the pain such as numbness, tingling, or weakness in the legs, it’s worth an appointment with your doctor. "In general, if pain with sitting comes on quickly and frequently, and doesn't resolve on its own with a change in lifestyle habits, then the problem should be evaluated by a physician," Dr. Eldayrie says.
https://www.healthcentral.com/pain-management/buttock-pain-when-sitting
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