Crippling sciatica from PIP

[Baby Shark]

I felt i just had to post the errors of my ways on something i wouldn't wish on anyone.

2 days post injection i started suffering with what i thought was going to be 2-3 days of usual glute PIP. However it got worse and worse until on post 5 days i was in agony, and i do mean agony.

I went from not being able to sit to not being able to lie to not being able to even touch the glute area.

It was apparent this was NOT standard PIP and was now concerned. No infection sign, redness, swelling, discharge, change of gear etc. What went wrong?

Post 7 days i found myself with what i now know to be sciatic nerve pain from a very sore and swollen piriformis muscle pressing on the nerve. I can honestly say despite multiple injuries, surgeries and accidents i have never known pain like it. At one stage i was considering A&E, no joke.

Fortunately with my own knowledge and the help from a friend physio, some heat, pain relief, anti inflamotary and stretching has helped my ease it off back to around 50% of where it should be. I'm 9 days post injection.

So what have i learnt?

I've worked out why i nearly always get PIP in only my left glute.

My technique is very poor due to being right handed. Also on this day in particular i was stiff with limited rotational mobility and despite the injection being pain free, it moved around all over the damn place whilst inserted and must have torn the muscle fibres in my glutes to shreds - particularly my piriformis. The result was a ton of inflamation and the rest is history.

Forget man up PIP comments, i get that, but this was something i never ever want to experience again.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers all.

[MuscleScience]

I’ve had that, always on my left side. You could try ventral glute as opposed to glute.

[Baby Shark]

Think i'm going to have too.

[EDCG19]

Wait, that's some serious sounding pip issues
I've never had something this bad tbh, worst pip is maybe a day if that

You had pip for over a week? What happened during the injection? Did you get an infection or something?

[Baby Shark]

Wait, that's some serious sounding pip issues
I've never had something this bad tbh, worst pip is maybe a day if that

You had pip for over a week? What happened during the injection? Did you get an infection or something?

I put it down to just too much moment during the injection with an unsteady hand. I'm sure I'm aggregated the piriformis which inflamed it which touched the sciatic nerve. Horrendous, but heat, massage and stretch cleared it up after 8+ days

[redz]

This is why quads are best!

[Quester]

At my nursing school, all of the more recent textbooks and materials say not to inject into glutes because it is so easy to hit the sciatic nerve.

[MuscleScience]

At my nursing school, all of the more recent textbooks and materials say not to inject into glutes because it is so easy to hit the sciatic nerve.

Where do they recommend as an alternative site? Ventral glute?