Tailbone (coccyx) pain

Submitted by takecare on January 17, 2012 - 8:47am
Body: 

I am always searching my intuition and trying to come up with instinctive answers.
I have had this terrible coccyx pain for over a year now since the sudden demise of my rectocele and POP. Pain is debilitating and difficult to work when you are sitting on that constant source of discomfort. I do use wedge pillows with the gaps where the tailbone is and I use WW posture at all times.

I found when visiting a Women's Physio who specialises in our problems ... that when she performed an internal and gently moved around - that afterwards the pain disappeared for a short while. Because I imagine there are so many ligaments and nerves etc - the dragging of the rectal prolapse and associated POP symptoms has caused this constant pain and buzzing in my pelvis .. it was intriguing to think with some internal investigation it could deter it slightly.

So I have been playing a bit with stretching - for instance when the pain is significant, obvious and unavoidable - in the last two days I have tried laying down and bringing one knee as high as I can, clasping it and stretching through from the straightened leg through to the bent knee which is up near my head area - I try to manouvre myself so that I feel some stretch through the internal core ...

I have found when I do this and then return to the seating position the pain has lessened significantly.

It doesn't last forever but it certainly has a definite positive effect ...

Forum:

louiseds

January 17, 2012 - 7:22pm

Hi Takecare

In WW posture sitting your tailbone will be off the seat of your chair, unless it is a very squashy chair. Tight gluteal and hamstring muscles will tuck your butt under without you even knowing it. The fact that the pain lessened when you did some stretching tells me that learning how to stretch properly might be helpful. Getting them to stretch properly will enable your body to loosen up and do WW posture more easily.

Likewise with the physio. Find out from the physio what she did internally, and why it worked.

Pudendal nerve neuropathy might be what you are experiencing. Here is a website that explains it, http://www.coccyx.org/whatisit/puden.htm . There are also some other links on that website. For a woman with POP her pelvic organs are lower than normal, which can stretch or otherwise aggravate the pudendal nerve which supplies them. WW posture will lift these organs and the perineum and reduce the pull on this set of nerves.

Keep noting down what works and doesn't work. You sound like you are listening well to your body. All you have to do now is figure out how you can manage and reduce your pain without needing other people to do things to it on a regular basis.

Louise

takecare

January 17, 2012 - 7:50pm

Thanks Louise I don't think it is pudendal nerve neuropathy as I have checked the sites before ...

It says "This condition is not really coccydynia, as the coccyx is not involved. But it can be a cause of pain when sitting, and so can be confused with coccyx pain.Some people have mostly rectal pain, sometimes with defecation problems. Others have mostly pain in the perineum or genitals. The symptoms may include stabbing, twisting or burning pain, pins and needles, numbness or hypersensitivity. Usually the symptoms are made worse by sitting, and better by either standing or lying down."

I don't have pain anywhere except the tailbone - the perineum, rectum, vagina etc are not painful - just the sitting. And it is such localised pain ... I know the ligaments and nerves are affecting the coccyx area but everything I have read on PN mentions pain elsewhere where I don't have it.

I do sit in WW posture and of course there is no pain then - as I am off the tailbone. I do have very tight quadriceps from all the sitting I do and am working on having regular massage to try and lengthen.

I have already asked the physio and she said it was gently working on pelvic floor region - perhaps that is too tight .... I haven't been to a physio or doctor had anyone touch me for many months so I am doing it alone other than with the Vagifem assistance. I think massage would be a great help.

I can sit off the tailbone the majority of the time - however there are times you cannot avoid it - and you get tired ... I will be taking a plane journey to Europe in a couple of months and airline seats send you back on your tailbone - while I can sit in WW posture I'm not sure I can do it for so many hours... I will work on getting up and moving around, stretching etc... will put a pillow in the small of my back etc ... but I know I will have trouble.

louiseds

January 17, 2012 - 10:16pm

Hi Takecare

Most of the PNN I have heard about is in women who have had hysterectomy, in which case it is often extremely debiilitating. It is almost unheard of in women who have a uterus. I have not been able to talk with gyns about PNN and POP, but I must put it on my list of conversations to have.

Lowering of the perineum is identified as being one of the main factors. As you think you have the posture down pat I would think it unlikely that you could improve it further if PNN was a factor. Good to hear that you are not sitting on your tail bone. You are doing OK. Did you have this pain before adopting WW techniques?

Back to the drawing board. I would follow up with stretching and strengthening and whatever the physio did. Pain is often referred. Tight muscles can have effects all over the place because our body is one machine.

Louise

alemama

January 18, 2012 - 5:40pm

Look into this, you might find some answers

takecare

January 18, 2012 - 8:52pm

Am looking for very good massage therapists in my area at the moment - the very tight muscles feel so much better after deep massage and trigger point therapy.