Magnetic resonance imaging findings in piriformis syndrome: A case report

Piriformis syndrome (PS) is an unusual cause of sciatica that, because of t he lack of strict diagnostic criteria, remains a controversial clinical ent ity. The diagnosis of PS is still primarily clinical because no diagnostic tests hale proven to be definitive. We report the case of a 30-year-old wom an, affected by a severe scoliosis, who developed a persistent buttock pain resembling that of PS. The clinical suspicion was confirmed by magnetic re sonance imaging (MRI) of the pelvis. which showed an enlargement of the lef t piriformis muscle with an anterior is placement of the sciatic nerve. The role of MRI in the diagnosis, clinical definition, and therapeutic approac h to PS is discussed.