Tailbone pain ( coccydynia or coccygodynia )
A fall, surgery, or accident can movethe tailbone out of its normal place,
causing constipation, tailbone, or low back pain.
Tailbone pain can affect all aspects of a person’s life as well as the lives of families and friends. Tailbone pain that has persisted for more than three months is considered chronic. Symptoms may include difficulty with sitting, painful intercourse (for women), constipation, and even severe headaches. Some people report concurrent low back or sacroiliac pain.
The coccyx is a delicate structure situated at the lowest point of the sacrum. Its position in the body leaves it vulnerable to trauma from falls onto the buttocks, car accidents, childbirth (especially difficult deliveries), and scarring from abdominal surgeries such as hysterectomy and episiotomy. Physical or sexual abuse and chronic slumped sitting posture are other causes or contributors to tailbone pain.
In all of these situations, the coccyx may be pushed into an awkward angle. The result may be moderate to debilitating tailbone pain, often spreading into the low back, hip, or neighboring structures. Reproductive function can also be affected by this mechanism. Examples of problems can include inability to have an orgasm or difficulty maintaining an erection, decreased libido, and infertility.
Clear Passage Therapies® has successfully treated tailbone pain (coccydynia or coccygodynia) since 1989. Over the last two decades, we have become experts at treating this condition. Most of our tailbone pain patients have searched for years to find relief, before finding us. For most of them, the search for pain relief ends with good or total resolution at one of our clinics.
Few clinics or physicians offer treatment for tailbone pain, other than medications to mask the pain. Chiropractic care may help temporarily, but unless we treat the strong, underlying adhesions that pull bony structures out of balance, pain resolution does not occur.
Most physicians agree that surgery is a treatment of last resort. While surgery can address adhesions and other mechanical problems, surgery also causes more adhesions to form. One surgical option includes removing part of the tailbone. This has brought relief for some; for others, it has brought a lifetime of debilitating pain.
Ligaments of the pelvis, sacrum, and coccyx canall have a profound effect on tailbone pain.
The primary goals of our work are to increase mobility, decrease pain, and restore normal function. We are highly skilled in using our hands to palpate and treat restricted areas of the body. When we treat the adhered tissues that pull the tailbone out of proper orientation, pain generally decreases, and soft tissue mobility improves significantly. For more detailed information on how treatment works and how it feels, see “treatment philosophy” and “what treatment is like.”
