Ladies,
Piriformis syndrome affects so many of the women I talk to when I am out running errands or at the park with my kids.
It is a literal pain in the butt that is keeping many women from feeling like they can be their strong, lively, energetic selves.
Can you relate??
And while lots of ladies seek out physical therapy, massage, and even chiropractic care to try to help, there is something that nobody tells you about piriformis syndrome and why it is often so stubborn to go away…
No, it’s not a new type of stretch that needs to be done or a new way of releasing your piriformis.
In fact, the big secret doesn’t have to do anything with your piriformis at all!
That’s right–the thing that many women are being miseducated about is that your piriformis syndrome is not an issue with your piriformis at all!
Now, before you go writing this off as crazy nonsense, hear me out. Because for the ladies who have implemented what I am going to share with you, piriformis syndrome has become a thing of the past.
So if it isn’t your piriformis that’s the issue, what is?
The truth is your piriformis is stressed out, but not because there is anything wrong with it.
Your piriformis is stressed because all of the other muscles that are supposed to be helping it out aren’t doing their job.
All of the other muscles that are supposed to be on the same team as your piriformis aren’t showing up to work, and because of that your piriformis is having to do WAY more than its fair share. And, after doing this extra work long enough, it eventually gets stressed out and becomes inflamed and painful.
So yes, you can rub your piriformis and roll it and release it and stretch it all you want, but that will only be like having an extra glass or two of wine at night to wind down when what you really need is somebody to pick up after the kids and shuttle them around–it can numb the sensation temporarily, but it’s not actually going to address the issue.
What you need to do is get all of your other muscles back on board and help out the piriformis again so it doesn’t have to take on all the workload and can rest and recover.
After having worked with hundreds of women to address this issue since 2012, I can say for certain that the most efficient way to get your underactive muscles back on board is using a process called Muscle Activation Techniques®, also known as MAT®.
Muscle Activation Techniques® is a systematic process of identifying where in your body you have muscles that are underactive and then addressing and “turning on” those muscles directly. The responses to MAT® are nearly instantaneous, with many clients noticing significant changes in their strength, range of motion, and symptoms after just the first session.
With Muscle Activation Techniques®, I can quickly identify where in your body your muscles are not working properly and then get them working better right there on the spot. What is crazy is how quickly many of my clients have felt their body improve using MAT®, especially when they consider how long they have spent stretching, massaging, and rolling their piriformis.
If you are in the Chicago area, or are willing to travel to the Chicago area, I would love to see you on my MAT® table! All you have to do to schedule yourself for your initial consultation and assessment is click here and book the time that works best for you.
Remember, you can do all the stretches, rolls, and releases imaginable to your piriformis, and it still will not likely fix your piriformis syndrome long term. There is an underlying issue why your piriformis is acting up, and your muscles that are inhibited and being lazy are the primary culprit.
Muscle Activation Techniques® helps address those lazy muscles directly, getting them back up to speed so your piriformis can stop working so hard and get a chance to relax.
I’d love to see you on my MAT® soon! Click here to get started.
In strength and health,
Julie
Julie Cates is an experienced, certified, and insured National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Personal Trainer and mastery level Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT®) Rx Specialist (MATRx). She is also one of the few practitioners worldwide certified in the MAT® Athlete process.
She is one of 88 certified mastery level Resistance Training Specialists® (RTSm) in the world. This combination makes her style of training impactful and still preventative and restorative of joint and muscle issues and pain that are common with exercise.
Julie specializes in working with women 50 and over. Specifically, her main focus is working with women with bone density loss, muscle loss, Osteopenia, and Osteoporosis.
Julie has incredible experience working with brand new exercisers. Very specific types and styles of exercises are needed for restoring and maintaining bone density, and Julie guides her clients through these in a pain-free way.
She is also well experienced in helping women exercise even with various joint, bone, systemic, and neurological diagnoses. Julie is definitely your go-to personal trainer for women with Osteoporosis!
She sees clients out of her studio, Muscle Activation Schaumburg, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.