Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, Gul-e-zahra, Sunaina Muneer.
Prevalence of Piriformis Syndrome in Working and Non Working Women with Low Back Pain.
J Riphah Coll Rehab Sci Jan ;02(02):06-11.

Background: Piriformis muscle syndrome is often over looked in the clinical practice as its presentation resembles with other pathology (back, buttock, and leg). Due to its inconsistent objective findings, it is often considered as a diagnosis of exclusion. Familiarity with the prevalence will, therefore, increase its awareness about diagnosis. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of piriformis syndrome in working and non-working women with low back pain Methodology: This comparative cross sectional study was done by using non-probability purposive sampling on 88 low back female patients. They were, then, divided into working and non-working women groups. FAIR test and piriformis stretch were used to diagnose the piriformis muscle syndrome. Results: On the basis of above mentioned diagnostic criteria, prevalence of piriformis syndrome was found in 76 (86.36%) women. Of which, 35 (80%) patients werein working group while 41 (93%) patients belong to non-working group.It is found that this syndrome is common in both working and non-working women. However, there is no significant difference found between two groups (p-value = 0.06) in term of prevalence. Conclusion: Due to high prevalence of piriformis muscle syndrome among female patients with low back pain, clinicians must consider its possibility during differential diagnosis of low back pain. There is also a need to develop an awareness program of disability and the piriformis muscle syndrome among women

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com