Curiously, my pain in the groin moved to the buttocks after running a full marathon in April. It was good that the dull pain on the front side had gone, but the stiffened gluteal, gluteus medius and piriformis muscles stimulated the nerves passing underneath them and I suddenly feel a sharp pain. It is called Piriformis Syndrome.

The reason for my stiff buttocks is that I am not using my joints and muscles properly. I only use muscles that work with ease, which leads to poor running forms. As a result, I got injured. I know in theory that it is important to interlock the upper body and legs, but I do not practice it.

I know that the cause and effect are the opposite, but this time I hoped that if my body gets flexible, my movements will be smoother, so I decided to buy a device that gives me a massage. A massage gun is a handheld, portable device that delivers percussive massage treatment or vibration therapy. I was hesitant to use appliances without medical backing, but recently my orthopaedics clinic has started using this tool to treat patients. The Amazon website is full of cheap Chinese-made ones, but I avoided them and bought a proper product.

The massage was more like a fine tap than a rub. I found that the area below my hip bone was particularly stiff. The stimulation reaches deep muscles. Perhaps one disadvantage is that there is no expert guidebook on how to use the machine. I tended to skip stretching and rehabilitation before, but I use the device every day. I have only just started using it, so I don’t feel that my body has become flexible, but I would like to keep using it.