Training with Piriformis/Sciatica (Page 2)

I have dealt with this for almost twelve years and have tried basically everything short of surgery. In my case it probably stems from some traumatic injuries (fall on ice that messed up my SI joint and a hamstring pull, again from falling on ice) So I don't run after buses anymore, and I live in an ice-free country LOL. Probably a combination of scar tissue in my hamstring and maybe other stuff that compresses the nerve--the general result is mild pain/pulling sensation just below the sit bone.I think my body type also aggravates it--I'm very lean and my leg muscles are naturally pretty tight.  I do get some tingling/numbness down my leg but only toward the end of long runs occasionally and more typically on long hikes, for some reason. It is more painful after races, speedwork, or prolonged sitting, but rarely keeps me from training.

My health coverage doesn't pay for diagnosis/treatment of pre-existing, non-life-threatening conditions, so have done what I can. Basically, I control it. No one approach really works but the following help:  dynamic stretching before/after running and biking; stretching during running if it starts to hurt, stretching after running/biking, ice after running and biking, warming up very thoroughly before speedwork or races, running lots of hills (odd, but true), strengthening glutes, hamstrings, hip abductors/adductors, foam roller or baseball (though sometimes this aggravates it--you have to hit the right spot), ART, deep tissue massage, compression shorts/tights, swimming, (breaststroke kick in particular).  In my case I often feel better when running after biking--biking seems to loosen my muscles rather than aggravate the issue. My bike is very comfortable so I think fit matters. I haven't used aerobars yet, partly because I'm concerned that the different hip angle could aggravate this problem. I recently started taking glucosamine (mainly because I got a free bottle of it and wanted to experiment) and it seems to help--not sure if it's a placebo effect or legit!

What doesn't help:  too much run speedwork, running more than about four days in a row, taking time completely off of everything (I just tighten up more), riding a different bike that doesn't fit as well, always running on flat, hard surfaces, long car trips (as driver or passenger), sitting on hard chairs, long haul flights (unfortunately, I have to do several of those each year), running on treadmills.

Hope this is useful. Not a doctor; just spent a lot of time dealing with my body!