Piriformis Stretches: Physical Therapy for the Hip and Pelvis

Video Transcript

" Hi, I’m Monica. Another stretch for the pelvis area is for your piriformis muscle. So let’s go ahead and have you guys on your back. Again, the bed or the floor will be fine and what we are going to do here is stretch the right leg. So you want to cross your right leg just like if you are sitting down in a chair. And then as you start to pull your leg towards you, you are going to feel it right here. This is where your piriformis muscle is. Deep inside your butt should you feel a nice stretch there. The other option is just to take your leg and kind of pull in this direction so I am kind of pulling towards my left armpit here. That will do the same thing so whatever you’re most comfortable with either pulling up with your arms or if you like using your leg kind of to pull down on you. Then you are going to want to hold this for 30 to 60 seconds. This is a good stretch for people who have sciatic problems. A lot of times a piriformis muscle might be more tight and possible sciatic problems so this will help with that. "