Piriformis and squat setup

[StevenHodas]

I’m a 55 year-old 150b man, came to SS about five months ago after having done Crossfit for a couple years and giving it up after incurring wrist, elbow, and patellar tendinitis. On SS I’ve gotten my squat up to 250 and my deadlift to 300 and I feel like I’ve got about 50 pounds more in me on each.

I’ve also developed piriformis syndrome on my left side, bad enough that I can’t sit for more than 20 minutes or so without becoming very uncomfortable. At first I thought it was the DLs that brought it out, but either that’s not the case or it’s progressed to the point where squats now also initiate it.

I foam roll, pigeon pose, lacrosse ball, and piriformis stretch regularly (but not religiously) but the only thing that reliably helps is laying off the workouts that I love. I was wondering whether playing with the depth, stance width, and/or foot angle might help. By the time I’m able to test these variables myself it’s usually already on fire so I’d appreciate any tips for starting out from the anatomists amongst you.

Thanks much,

Steven

P.S. Today was my first day in the gym after laying off for two weeks. I high-bar squatted for the first time (I have shoulder trouble too) and the piriformis kicked in sooner than usual. Coincidence?

[Michael Wolf]

Adjusting those things you mentioned might help, but we'd need to see how you're currently squatting to have any comment. Post a high quality video with a set from directly behind and another from rear oblique at a working weight (not absolute 5RM).