This is a very effective technique for working on the piriformis that is very easy for the therapist.

Flex your client’s hip and place their foot opposite their other knee. Press their knee away from you so that their hip comes up off the table, then slide your knee in under their hip. Bring their knee back and press their knee in towards your knee. Move your client’s knee in different directions grinding their greater trochanter into your knee. (This can be very beneficial for the therapist who has trigger points in their distal quadriceps 🙂 ).  Play with internal and external rotation of the femur.

There are eight muscles that attach at the greater trochanter, so this can be a great way of working the muscle attachments. The eight muscles that attach to the greater trochanter are the deep six external rotators of the femur (including the piriformis), and the gluteus medius and minimus. Working the muscle attachments affects the Golgi tendon organs, helping to relax the muscles.

Thank you to June Motzer for this great technique.