Piriformis stretches facts

Piriformis Muscle Characteristics

Piriformis is a muscle located betweenour buttocks and hips and is in charge of many different things ourbody does. Piriformis affects the rotation of our hips and isdirectly connected to our upper thigh bones. Therefore, once we pullit or stretch it too much, we are bound to experience serious painand discomfort, affecting our walking and overall mobility. Luckily,there are different stretching exercises one may perform, which arecapable or relieving him/her off the pain and discomfort thisphenomenon is known to cause. Therefore, if you are suffering fromthis condition, also known as sciatica, at the moment, you mightbenefit greatly by reading the following lines and applying themthrough physical activity.

Adequate Piriformis StretchingExercises

First and foremost, as it is the casewith any other exercises, you should do a warm up exercise beforeindulging into anything more serious. Therefore, you might considerwalking, jogging or even jumping around a bit, only to get yourmuscles in a desirable shape for exercising.

Once warmed up, you may proceed to thefirst piriformis exercise. Namely, this one involves you sitting onthe floor, with one leg straightened completely in front of you.While in this position, you are to take the other leg by the ankleand bring it closer to the chest, slowly stretching the musclesinvolved.

The second exercise requires you to lieon the floor and cross your legs. Then, place your hands behind thelegs and pull them towards the chest, so as to feel the musclesstretching in the process.

Next, while lying down with your facefacing the floor, you are to bend one leg at the knee, placing itunder your stomach. Then, you are to lean with your entire body,facing the floor more, until you feel the muscles in your buttocksstretching.

You might also consider lying down,with your head on the floor and one of your legs bent, its ankleresting on the knee of the other. Then, you are to grab the stretchedleg and pull it in your direction, while, at the same time,pushing the bent leg forward. You should hold this stretch for about3 minutes repeating the same procedure, swapping the leg positions.

Alternatively, while sitting down andhaving one leg completely straightened, you are to bend the other atthe knee, forming a 90 degree angle, and push your chest towards it,while keeping your back straight. Hold it for 5 seconds beforerepeating, and swap the legs later, repeating again.

The final piriformis stretchingexercise involves you lying on the floor with one of your legscompletely straight and the other bent and placed over the straightone. Then, you are to grab the bent leg with the hand on the oppositeside, while keeping the other arm straightened above your head.Holding this position for 5 seconds will stretch your back muscles inquestion and five repetitions with swapping legs will be more thansufficient.