Leg and hip pain can be frustrating to navigate given that so many different things can cause it. After all, struggling with issues in these areas can be a sign of problems with everything from your mattress to a tight IT band, with plenty of potential culprits in between. Now, Andie MacDowell just opened up about being diagnosed with a health condition that caused her intense hip and leg pain—and most people have never heard of it.
It’s called piriformis syndrome, and the 66-year-old said on The Drew Barrymore Show on January 23 that the pain the condition caused was so bad, she thought she would need to get a hip replacement. MacDowell said she experienced pain that “was shooting down my leg,” and suggested her exercise routine contributed to her issue—in particular, a lot of Peloton workouts, per Entertainment Weekly.
However, MacDowell said she discovered once she got a proper diagnosis that her “hips are fine.” She worked with a PT for exercises targeting her glutes and her hip muscles. “I just do it every day, and it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s a miracle.”
The Four Weddings and a Funeral star’s conversation is raising a lot of questions about piriformis syndrome and what causes it. Here’s the deal.
Piriformis syndrome is related to sciatica.
Piriformis syndrome is a neuromuscular condition that happens when the piriformis muscle in the butt, which is flat and pear-shaped, pushes against the sciatic nerve, according to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD). “The piriformis muscle is deep in the buttock and runs diagonally across it,” Nicholas Anastasio, MD, a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, tells SELF. “It externally rotates your hip.” (Say, for instance, when you move your leg out to the side to step into a car.) The sciatic nerve starts outside of your spine, travels through your pelvis, into your butt, and to the back of each thigh—and the piriformis muscle “sits right on top of that,” Dr. Anastasio says.
Piriformis syndrome mainly causes sciatica, which is a broad term used to describe pain in your lower back or hip that radiates down the back of your thigh and into the leg, per the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). “You get this deep buttock pain, and then can get nerve pain running down your leg,” Dr. Anastasio says. However, he says, unlike with sciatica, folks usually don’t have back pain with piriformis syndrome.
Piriformis syndrome can also cause other uncomfortable symptoms like tenderness, aching, tingling, and numbness in your butt, along with pain when you sit, go up stairs, walk, or run, according to GARD. In fact, according to research in BMJ Practical Neurology, the most common hallmark of piriformis syndrome is pain over the site of the piriformis muscle after sitting for just 15 to 20 minutes.
Being active and exercising can raise your risk.
At baseline, piriformis syndrome is usually caused by damage, irritation, or overuse of the piriformis muscle, according to GARD. That can make the piriformis muscle swell or tighten, putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. Again, this muscle is in your butt—so going hard with exercises that work your glutes or nearby areas could lead to piriformis syndrome.
