Evaluation of Piriformis Syndrome in Patients with Low Back Pain Reporting to Public Medical Teaching Institutes in Peshawar

Background: Piriformis Syndrome is a condition in which damage to the piriformis muscle causes pain in buttock and leg. Robinson described the syndrome as having six key characteristics. Before 1934, it was considered that the sciatica can be caused by impingement of sciatic nerve in pelvic, but new diagnostic technology suggests that it can also be caused by distal foraminal entrapment and Piriformis Syndrome. Piriformis syndrome is underrated and mostly neglected by clinician though it can be a cause of low back pain. Objectives: To evaluate the piriformis syndrome in patients complaining of low back pain. Methods: This study was carried out at three different Public Medical Teaching Institutes. Duration of study was 6 months i.e., from March 2018 to August 2018. Sample size of the study was 337 and four different physical tests were performed on patients for diagnosis of Piriformis syndrome. Results: Piriformis Syndrome was diagnosed among 111(32.9%) study participants among which 56 were male and 55 were females. Conclusion: Every third patient of low back pain was diagnosed with Piriformis Syndrome. Male to female ratio of Piriformis Syndrome was 1:3.