The tail and coccyx

Submitted by louiseds on January 1, 2010 - 9:32pm
Body: 

Hey, I have just had an Aha! moment. Christine describes in Saving the Whole Woman the way quadrupeds curl their tail under the body if they come up high on their hind legs (but not if just on their haunches), as many do at times. I see our sheep getting up high on their hind legs to reach foliage on trees. Many animals, including dogs and cats do it when they need to, in play or in battle or in pursuit of food.

I have always wondered how the human tail became embedded in the pelvic region instead of outside the body? I can now see that it probably just became that way slowly because the most mechanically efficient way of keeping it over the pelvic opening in quadrupedal stance was to embed it firmly in muscle and ligament inside the body. Human ligaments and muscles would have adapted themselves to new ways of doing things the same way as our own bodies adapt, by allowing muscles and their attachments and supporting structures to atrophy and strengthen as our activities change. Scientists are discovering that changes in one generation of a species are being transferred to the DNA of the offspring. Maybe this is how it happened?

L

alemama

January 1, 2010 - 10:51pm

here seems like a good place- I liked the silly information about the tail the most- and here you go talking about the tail....
http://www.jmweissmd.com/pdf/Chronic_Pelvic_Pain_Myofascial_Trigger_Poin...
To visualize how the pelvic floor responds to stress, one need only look at the movement
of a dog’s tail: when the dog is happy, the tail wags loosely from side to side; when the
dog is stressed, the tail is pulled tightly under its legs. It is the pelvic floor muscles that
control the tail. They were also the tail-waggers in man before the evolutionary loss of
the tail and the assumption of the upright position made them supporting muscles. In fact,
the pelvic floor muscles are still attached to the rudimentary tail, the coccyx, which is
pulled forward when contracted, thereby compressing its penetrating organs. Therefore,
man’s pelvic muscles, as the dog’s, may be the ultimate representation of the mind/body
connection, for they are constantly responding to fluctuations in feeling. As a result, they
may become overloaded and develop self-sustaining dysfunctional patterns.

hmmm...like tucking under ya think? :)

louiseds

January 1, 2010 - 11:37pm

yeah! I am sure that tucking under developed as a part of the 60's womens lib movement. I think it is a woman's way of protecting herself against 'penetration, both physical and metaphorical' in a world where she is mixing freely and closely with men, and expected to deliver, the same as a man, but in a woman's body and with a woman's vulnerability. Also, to deliver like a man she has to make herself as much like a man as possible, and if she exercises like a man, and acts like a man, she can almost be a man, if that's what she is aiming for (or thinking that is what she needs to aim for).

Then I read the article, about using particular muscles in particular ways for long periods of time. I used to tuck for about 35 years. My coxxyx seems to be curled under. I cannot feel the end of it. Maybe it is from all that tucking and sitting on it! Maybe it is pushing my anus and rectum forward?

Now, the question is, how do I uncurl it?

L

Christine

January 1, 2010 - 11:56pm

I think just the strain to the pelvic wall of standing on two legs flexes the tail under. There may be an instinctive urge in animals to protect their pelvic outlet, but probably it’s more the physics of stretching the muscles to their maximum dimensions.

I can see our oldest relatives struggling about the savannah with tucked under bums. Routinely sleeping on their backs (probably studying the night sky) helped dismantle the tail. The most adept (probably women) got really good at lifting their tailbone, which created a deeper lumbar curve and the ultimate stability of the human pelvis. I can’t imagine any movement that would’ve widened the hips enough to carry and birth large-headed babies other than the deep, externally rotated plies seen regularly in African dance.

Clearly, the whole body-language thing of tucking under is a reversion.

You’ve misplaced your coccyx, Louise? How large is the last bone you feel just above your anal sphincter?

louiseds

January 2, 2010 - 2:22am

It's hard to tell how many bones there are. All I can feel is a bone that feels about 1.5cm wide, then there is lump and it turns about 70 degrees inwards. The bones that turn inwards feel like about 2.5cm in total. The bit that turns inwards has a little lump that might be another joint, then another bit of bone that turns slightly further in for another 1cm or so. The last little bone seems to be approximately horizontal relative to the vertical bit of the coccyx above the first big turn. I can push a finger under the turned bit without touching the anus. so the anus is about 2.5cm below the turn. the whole thing seems to be pretty rigid.

This site, http://www.coccyx.org/whatisit/curve.htm , shows that a person's coccyx can look like almost anything. From the sounds of it mine could be regarded as normal. I have never had any coccyx pain at all. It would seem that no pain means OK.

I do have some old chiropractor x-rays somewhere, but I haven't been able to find them for several years now. Very frustrating.

L

bad_mirror

January 2, 2010 - 1:24pm

I agree with your theory here, Louise. Not that I want to go back to an age where a women could not have a bank account without a husband or father, but there are lots of bits of important femininity that have been lost for sure. In WW posture, I feel like a glamorous Victorian woman -- can't slump in a seat because of your bustle, have to slightly tuck your chin to support your Gibson Girl coiffure and feathered hat, have to lift the breasts to breathe in a corset! There are some iconic WWII pictures of nurses hanging in the hallway at my school, and those ladies of the 40's are in beautiful posture. I was standing beside one and a classmate said, "hey, you look just like her (the the nurse in the poster)." I thought that was a fantastic compliment!

aza

January 2, 2010 - 3:13pm

That sounds pretty normal to me Louise, but I am notoriously bad at picturing what people are describing in words. Sounds like you have a pretty hooked coccyx, though if you can push a finger under the turned bit at the end, it must not be too extreme. If you are dexterous enough or have a willing partner, feeling both through your vagina back towards your coccyx and externally at the same time can give you a definite idea of exactly where things sit and at what angle.

Christine

January 2, 2010 - 5:53pm

Gosh, mine is very plain-jane. I'm not sure how many little bones I'm feeing, but they're all right there at the tip, which doesn't curl under. The last one is fairly large and rounded - or feels that way through all the layers of connective tissue.

Very good point, Aza. And while you are at it (this is very easy to do in the bathtub), place your thumb in your anus and your index finger vaginally (or maybe the other way around). You will be able to feel exactly how much tissue you have between the two structures, including your perineal body. For those who think you have nothing left after episiotomy and menopause, it can be very reassuring to have a feel about. My perineum is pretty disintegrated, but my anal sphincter completely intact - this is a very large structure that should be preserved at all costs. Studies show the perineum actually *lengthens* during pregnancy, therefore protecting the anus during birth. Who says we don't live in a perfect Universe?!

louiseds

January 2, 2010 - 10:51pm

Aza, I meant that it turns straight inwards. By getting my finger between anus and coccyx I meant that running my finger down the outside surface of the coccyx from the sacrum going downwards, my finger would eventually trace that outside surface until it turned straight inwards. I could only just feel the end of the coccyx. I couldn't get my finger around the very end of the last pointy bit. It is just too far in.

aza

January 3, 2010 - 6:54pm

Is this what you mean Lu:
http://erikdalton.com/images/dalton01__1_1_1396.jpg

This shows the incredible diversity of all our tails, and am I mistaken in thinking that the rotating pelvis is at an angle that is aligned with WW theories?
http://www.coccyx.org/whatisit/normal.htm

This thread made me look up some stuff on perineums and I didn't find what i was looking for but I did learn the origin of the colloquial term 'taint' for the peri...."It ain't your genitals and it ain't your bum. Taint." :) Love it.

louiseds

January 4, 2010 - 9:22am

Hi Aza

Yes the first pic is exactly what it feels like. Weird, isn't it? I wonder what happened to my coccyx when I birthed my babies? It is quite immobile now.

Yes, the rotating pelvis does look pretty Wholewoman like. I found that image yesterday and thought the same thing. The bottom surfaces that we sit on seem to be shaped like a very shallow rocker. I think what happens when we sit slouched over is that the pelvis tips over backwards off the rocker mechanism and we end up sitting on the vertical surface at the back of the sit bones. It is almost a full 90 degrees different from WW sitting.

I just checked out the Article that your picture of the hooked coccyx comes from. It may explain some of the pain I have been experiencing the last couple of years. I'm off to see my masseuse.

Aza, there is also another article that you might be interested in on the same site. http://erikdalton.com/article_Miracle%20of%20Motherhood.pdf about the role of keeping your body balanced and adjusted during pregancy, for optimum development of the foetus and maintaining normal presentation of the foetus.

Another piece of the jigsaw, eh?

Cheers

Louise