Treating And Preventing Piriformis Syndrome

Iontophoresis

Some piriformis syndrome patients may be advised to try iontophoresis to help relieve their pain. Iontophoresis is a therapeutic method that involves the use of an electric current to diffuse a medication or another chemical through an individual's skin. An electrode connected to an iontophoresis machine is used to deliver the medication through the pores in a patient's skin. Iontophoresis has been successful in reducing an individual's pain, inflammation, swelling, and muscle spasms that occur due to piriformis syndrome. Depending on the goals of the treatment, medication is selected that will either be positively charged or negatively charged. The iontophoresis machine has one positive electrode and one negative electrode. If the medicine is negatively charged, it will be put onto the negative electrode. If the medication has a positive charge, the medication is placed on the positive electrode. The medicated electrode is then applied to the area of the patient's buttocks where the sciatic nerve is being compressed, and the non-medicated opposite charge electrode is applied nearby on the body. This mechanism produces a full electrical current that delivers the medication under the skin without the use of any type of needle.

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