A brick-of-a-wallet being lugged around in your back pocket may be the cause of the shooting pain in your legs and buttocks.
A back-pocket wallet can trigger piriformis syndrome, also known as “fat wallet syndrome” or “wallet sciatica.”
“If you’re sitting on a wallet, you’re sitting unevenly and it compresses one side of your back,”
An obese wallet can cause pain in two ways.
- It can compress the piriformis muscle – a muscle deep in the buttock behind the gluteus maximus, which functions to externally rotate your hip when walking. That in turn can irritate the sciatic nerve. Its branches travel either above, below, or right through the piriformis (varying for each person) from the lower back through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.
- A back pocket wallet may also compress several of the sciatic nerve roots exiting the lower back, resulting in pain down the back of the thigh, calf, and foot, pain when walking up stairs or incline or reduced range of motion of the hip joint.
Prevention & Treatment:
- It is recommended to carry your wallet in your front pocket or a bag.
- Take the pressure off of your spine by having a stronger core (transversus abdominis and multifidus muscles)
- Piriformis stretching exercises.
If you have any problem with Back Pain, Neck Pain, Knee Pain, Spine Pain Contact Dr. Prasad Kasliwal he is one of the best Spine Specialist in Nashik.