Buttock pain can have several causes, including injuries, overuse conditions, and nerve compression. Because buttock pain can significantly impact your ability to sit, stand, or walk, it is important to determine the underlying cause, receive appropriate treatment, and prevent your condition from getting worse.
Piriformis syndrome causes pain or numbness in your butt, hip or upper leg. It occurs when the piriformis muscle presses on the sciatic nerve. The condition may be caused by injury, swelling, muscle spasms or scar tissue in the piriformis. Most episodes go away in a few days or weeks with rest and simple treatments.
Conditions That Cause Buttock Pain
Your buttock pain when sitting might happen due to different conditions, including proximal hamstring tendinopathy, ischial tuberosity bursitis, sciatica (lumbar nerve root impingement), piriformis syndrome, and gluteal tendinopathy.
Butt pain is frequently linked to lower back issues. Dysfunction in the joints and nerves of the lower back can affect the butt in a variety of ways, including pain on only one side. The pain may also be an isolated pull or strain of a muscle on that side of the butt.
Weakness or numbness in your buttocks, thigh, leg, or pelvis. Burning with urination or blood in your urine. Pain that is worse when you lie down, or awakens you at night. Severe pain and you cannot get comfortable.
How long can buttock pain last? The buttock pain can last from days to weeks and even months, depending on the cause of buttock pain. For example, in the case of sciatic pain, the pain usually starts getting better in a period of four to six weeks.
Yes, walking can be an important part of your rehab and recovery from gluteal tendinopathy, but there are some factors to consider. If you overdo it, it can actually make things worse. In this article we'll look at how you should adapt your walking to aid your recovery.
Ischial bursitis (ischio-gluteal bursitis) is a condition of inflammation of the bursa, which lies between the ischial tuberosity and the gluteus maximus muscle. It presents with gluteal pain or posterior upper thigh pain following exercise or sitting for a long time.
Piriformis syndrome is a condition in which the piriformis muscle, located in the buttock region, spasms and causes buttock pain. The piriformis muscle also can irritate the nearby sciatic nerve and cause pain, numbness and tingling along the back of the leg and into the foot (similar to sciatic pain).
Inflammatory arthritis in your hip will feel painful and stiff. You may also experience a dull or aching pain in the buttocks that's worse in the morning, and gradually improves with activity.
How Long Does It Take for a Gluteal Muscle to Heal? Most people start seeing a significant improvement in their symptoms within three months after starting treatment or having surgery. But for some, full gluteus tendon tear recovery may take longer, lasting as long as one to two years.
If you've ever been on a long car ride, then you know that sitting for hours at a time can be a pain in the buttocks – literally. That's because sitting for long periods of time can compress the sciatic nerve and cause what is known as piriformis syndrome.
Sciatica can cause shooting pain, tingling, or numbness anywhere from the buttocks to the legs. People may find that symptoms worsen when they sit for long periods, move, sneeze, or cough. Sciatica often resolves in 4–6 weeks , but sometimes it can last longer.
Sciatica refers to back pain caused by a problem with the sciatic nerve. This is a large nerve that runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. When something injures or puts pressure on the sciatic nerve, it can cause pain in the lower back that spreads to the hip, buttocks, and leg.
Other red flags that indicate sciatica include pain when standing or sitting, numbness in the legs and weakness or numbness when moving a leg or foot.
People can experience sciatic pain in the lower back, buttocks, and down the back of either leg. Sciatica usually gets better in 4–6 weeks, but it could last longer. If the pain is severe or lasts more than 6 weeks, consider talking to a doctor about treatment options.
So – to summarise – the main difference between piriformis syndrome and sciatica is that piriformis syndrome is mostly local buttock pain and in worse cases some leg pain. Sciatica is typified with lower back pain, buttock pain and leg pain which tracks down the back of the leg.
Pain in or around the hip joint and groin area is the most common symptom of hip osteoarthritis. Additionally, pain in the groin or thigh that moves into the buttocks or knee is another symptom.
Diagnosing hip bursitis
Bursitis symptoms include pain that may radiate throughout the hip, thigh and buttock.
Hip pain when walking can happen for many reasons. They include damage to the muscles, tendons, bones, or nerves around the hip, and chronic conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis. A person can work with a doctor to figure out the cause of their hip pain and get the right treatment.
However, a possible complication of sciatica is chronic (long-term) pain. If there's serious damage to an affected nerve, chronic muscle weakness, such as a “drop foot,” might happen. That's when nerve damage causes numbness in your foot, which makes normal walking difficult or even impossible.