In this video I am going to show you a pyriformis and gluteal stretch and mobilization for hip pain, pyriformis syndrome, low back pain with sciatica.

This technique is helpful for improving the flexibility of the glutes and pyriformis following surgery or strain often due to sports injuries or trauma.

It’s a great self acupressure technique too. You can use one or two balls to improve the flexibility of the muscles, tendons and fascia.

Tweetables:

Pyriformis and Gluteal Stretch and Mobilization for Hip Pain  [Click To Tweet]
Tennis Ball Self Stretch [Click To Tweet]
How to Stretch to Regain Hip Mobility and Flexibility  [Click To Tweet]

Transcript: 

Hey guys, this is Manu Kalia, physical therapist and Ayurveda herbalist. So today I’m going to show you guys a stretch/mobilization technique using tennis balls to mobilize your piriformis and your glutes. So a lot of athletes, a lot of runners having pain through this region or tightness, restrictions here, can benefit from this. I also find a lot of people who are suffering from chronic low back issues, especially with sciatica, can also have a lot of soreness, adhesions and thickening along this area. So this is a pretty good technique you can use.

Now, I have two tennis balls that I tied together. So I put tape around them lengthwise and then across, too, to hold them together. Of course, you can use a single tennis ball too. So what we’re going to do is I’m going to take the tennis balls—and you can do this on the floor or probably better do it on the floor or a hard surface, not on the bed, it won’t work as well—so I’m going to take the tennis ball, we’re going to put it down here and I’m going to go right on that, right on the glute, and I’m going to be rolling back and forth. Now, I control that by my other leg, which helps me go back and forth, and my weight is on my arms too. So you can decide how much pressure you want to put on that. If you’re really sensitive, don’t put too much pressure on it. Also, remember, your sciatic nerve goes out through this region too, so be a little bit careful.

So I’m going to go back and forth and I’m going to search for those tender spots, and I can hang out there and I can stretch, I can roll back and forth and get a little bit of self-acupressure with the ball on those spots. So, break down those thickening and adhesions and really help loosen up that tissue. And I could even turn my leg in a little bit more and I could get different parts of that gluteal area that might be tightened up or painful or just sore and restricted. Now, remember, you can also go further down through here too, get the rest of the gluteal area, even to the ischial tuberosity bone and even further down into the hamstring if you needed to. So you can really spend time, a few seconds at a spot, just work, work, work, loosen it up, and then come back.  So this works pretty well and I find that it really helps our patients loosen up that tissue through there and it can help relieve pain too.

If you have any questions, make sure you leave a comment. Thanks.