The Effect of Core Stability Exercises on Pain and Inflammation in Patients with Piriformis Syndrome

Sciatica is one of the most common diseases of the peripheral nervous system and may be caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve itself. Due to the fact that piriformis muscle located near the sciatic nerve, piriformis spasm imports pressure on nerve, it causes sciatica and eventually piriformis syndrome. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of core stability exercises on pain and inflammation in patients with piriformis syndrome.

The statistical population of this study consisted of patients with piriformis syndrome referred to medical centers in Arak, from which 20 people were purposefully selected and randomly divided into two groups of 10 control and experimental located. The experimental group practiced core stability exercises for 6 weeks and the control group continued to lead a normal life during this period. In order to investigate the differences between the groups, T-Test, Chi-Square and McNemar's Test were used at a significance level of 0.05.

Ethical considerations: 

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences with the ID IR.ARAKMU.REC.1400.157 and received a clinical trial code from the University of Medical Sciences of Iran with the code IRCT20211003052662N1, after approval by the Arak University Educational Council. In order to ensure the voluntary participation of the subjects, the consent form of participation in the project with the relevant provisions has been selected from them.

After implementing the exercise protocol, at the end of the sixth week, the average pain scores in the control group decreased from 95.2 in the pre-test to 90.7 in the post-test, which was not statistically significant (P=0.562), while In the experimental group, these scores decreased from 91.7 to 33.4, and this decrease is statistically significant (P=0.0); Therefore, it can be said with 95% confidence that core stability exercises have a significant effect on the pain of patients with piriformis syndrome at a significance level of 0.05. On the other hand, the number of people who had an inflamed nerve in the control group decreased from 10 people in the pre-test to 8 people in the post-test, and this decrease was not statistically significant (P=0.5), while in the experimental group, these people out of 10 people decreased to 2 people, and this decrease is statistically significant (P=0.008); Therefore, it can be said with 95% confidence that core stability exercises had a significant effect on the inflammation of patients with piriformis syndrome at a significance level of 0.05.

According to the findings of the present study and considering the conditions prevailing in the research samples, it can be concluded that core stability exercises improve pain and inflammation in patients with piriformis syndrome And considering the unique principles and characteristics of core stability exercises, their acceptance and positive effect among the subjects, it is hoped that these exercises will be used more and more in the treatment process of these patients.