Comparative Presence of Piriformis Syndrome in Patients With Lumbar Disc Bulging and Protrusion

Clinicians consider lumbar disc herniation more prominently in the differential diagnosis than piriformis syndrome, as it is the most common cause of sciatica, and this canalizes them to overlook that the sciatic nerve may be compressed by the piriformis muscle, below the L4-L5-S1 intervertebral disc levels. As far as is known, there are no 'patient series' in the literature regarding the incidence of Piriformis syndrome in Lumbar Disc Herniation, only one case report has been found. This clinical study aims to reveal that Piriformis syndrome may also be present in patients with disc herniation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and that sometimes it may even be the main cause of sciatic nerve pain.

In this study, the participants between the ages of 18-65, who were diagnosed with L4-L5 and/or L5-S1 Lumbar Disc Herniation (bulging and protrusion) by having a Lumbar MRI at the Faculty of Medicine Sports Medicine outpatient clinic, were reached through their contact numbers, and those who had not previously undergone waist/hip surgery and those who described unilateral sciatica complaints (hip-leg-foot pain and numbness) during the interview were invited to Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty of Medicine Sports Medicine polyclinic and Lasegue's, Flexion Adduction Internal Rotation (FAIR) and Freiberg's tests were performed.