Comparing Two Soft Tissues Technique on Piriformis Syndrome Patients

NCT07661485 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: TUF/EIRB/148/2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 26
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Piriformis Syndrome is a neuromuscular condition with symptoms of pain, numbness and tingling tracing the route of the sciatic nerve, due to the nerve impingement by the piriformis muscle. Two common manual therapy techniques used to treat musculoskeletal conditions are myofascial release and post-isometric relaxation. The intent of the research is to evaluate the effects of myofascial release (MFR) as compared to post-isometric relaxation (PIR) in improving pain and lower extremity function in piriformis syndrome (LEFS). The study population involved 32 individuals aged between 20 to 50 years who will be randomly assigned to two groups; a group that received MFR and a group that received PIR. Both groups received the baseline treatment for four weeks. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) will be employed to gauge the amount of pain, while the LEFS was used to measure functional mobility

Conditions

Piriformis Syndrome; Musculoskeletal Abnormalities; Sciatica

Keywords

myofasical release; Post isometric relaxation; physiotherapy; Radiculopathy; Piriformis syndrome

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Visual analogue scale

  Comparison on effect of pain. The Visual Analog Scale is a self-reported measure of pain intensity. Participants rate their pain on a 10-cm scale ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates "no pain" and 10 indicates "worst imaginable pain."

  Baseline and 4 week post intervention

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Lower Extremity Functional Scale

  Baseline and 4 week of post intervention

Study Arms (2)

Myofascial release

EXPERIMENTAL

Myofascial release was then performed with the patient positioned in prone lying. The piriformis muscle was identified. Sustained pressure was applied directly to the trigger point/piriformis muscle for 10-100 seconds while the patient actively moved the affected limb repeatedly from internal to external rotation. Kneading strokes parallel to the muscle fibers were then performed for 5 minutes to promote elongation. This sequence was repeated three times.

Other: Myofascial Release

Post Isometric Relaxation

EXPERIMENTAL

The patient is in supine and the hip in neutral rotation. The affected hip was passively moved into horizontal adduction until a mild stretch was felt, while the lumbar spine was stabilized. The patient performed a gentle isometric contraction into hip abduction for 7-10 seconds, followed by 2-3 seconds of relaxation. The leg was then moved into further adduction to a new barrier. This contraction-relaxation-stretch cycle was performed for 3 sets of 5 repetitions.

Other: Post Isometric Relaxation

Interventions

Myofascial Release OTHER

Myofascial release is performed with the patient positioned in prone lying. The piriformis muscle was identified. Sustained pressure was applied directly to the trigger point/piriformis muscle for 10-100 seconds while the patient actively moved the affected limb repeatedly from internal to external rotation. Kneading strokes parallel to the muscle fibers were then performed for 5 minutes to promote elongation. This sequence was repeated three times.

Myofascial release

Post Isometric Relaxation OTHER

Post-isometric relaxation (PIR) is performed with the patient in supine and the hip in neutral rotation. The affected hip was passively moved into horizontal adduction until a mild stretch was felt, while the lumbar spine was stabilized. The patient performed a gentle isometric contraction into hip abduction for 7-10 seconds, followed by 2-3 seconds of relaxation. The leg was then moved into further adduction to a new barrier.

Post Isometric Relaxation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Positive Lasegue sign
• Positive FAIR test
• Grade 1-3 tenderness on palpation of piriformis between sacrum and greater trochanter of femur
• or more pain intensity on the VAS scale

You may not qualify if:

• Lower extremity injuries including ligament, tendon injuries, muscle strains as well as nerve injuries
• Systemic diseases including tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease as well as chronic inflammatory conditions
• Congenital deformities including hip dysplasia, limb length discrepancy, scoliosis and congenital pelvic asymmetry
• Cognitive issues including dementia, severe depression and severe psychotic disorders
• Lumbar Radiculopathy
• SIJ Dysfunction
• Lower Extremity Fractures
• Pregnancy
• Malignancy

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Faisalabad: lead

Study Sites (1)

The University of Faisalabad

Faisalābad, Punjab Province, 38000, Pakistan

Location

Related Publications (2)

• This citation will not be hyperlinked on ClinicalTrials.gov. Aleem A, Arfan MT, Razzaq et al. (2022) Effectiveness of post isometric relaxation versus reciprocal inhibition technique on hamstring muscle flexibility. Annals of King Edward Medical University 28(2): 205-209.

  RESULT

• Ajimsha MS, Al-Mudahka NR, Al-Madzhar JA. Effectiveness of myofascial release: systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2015 Jan;19(1):102-12. doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2014.06.001. Epub 2014 Jun 13.

  PMID: 25603749 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Piriformis Muscle Syndrome; Musculoskeletal Abnormalities; Sciatica; Radiculopathy

Interventions

Myofascial Release Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Sciatic Neuropathy; Mononeuropathies; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Nerve Compression Syndromes; Neuralgia; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Pelvic Pain; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Congenital Abnormalities; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Massage; Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation

Central Study Contacts

Dr. Muhammad Muneeb Jafar, PhD Physiotherapy

CONTACT

+923127000616; Muneebjafar.DPT@tuf.edu.pk

Dr. Muhammad Ateeb, PhD Public Health

CONTACT

+923357333383

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 16, 2026
• First Posted: June 22, 2026
• Study Start: June 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2026
• Last Updated: June 30, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (1)