Category: Tailbone (Coccyx) Pain

30 Internal Scarring Facts for National Self-Check Month
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February is National Self-Check Month. Internal scarring (adhesions) in your pelvic region can occur throughout your life due to surgeries, accidents, and even natural wear and tear. This self-check month is meant for you to implement preventative health measures. These can include making better dietary choices, performing self-examinations, or going to a wellness visit with your physician to seek early treatment for symptoms associated with health problems.
What questions should you ask your physician during your wellness visit? Depending on what issues need to be resolved, physical therapy may be the treatment you need, particularly if you are experiencing illness, pain, and other health problems caused by adhesions.
How can you know if you have adhesion-related health problems? This article offers answers to these and other questions and makes a case for why you should ask your physician about physical therapy for adhesion-related conditions.
National Self-Check Month at Clear Passage®
National Self-Check Month raises awareness about the importance of taking proactive steps to prevent health problems and addressing existing health problems. One might imagine that preventing or addressing health problems would be easy, yet people avoid seeking medical care for many reasons. They may:
- Feel that they are too busy.
- Worry about the costs associated with care.
- Have unfavorable opinions about health care providers, or;
- Assume that symptoms will eventually improve without intervention.
No matter what it is, the truth is that avoiding medical care is not a good idea.
Lack of treatment, at best, can result in avoidable discomfort or suffering, and at worst, can result in late detection and treatment of a disease with severe or potentially deadly consequences.
Suppose you are experiencing illness, pain, or other health problems. In that case, it is crucial to advocate for yourself by seeking early treatment, not just any therapy, but customized solutions that are most likely to provide the best results. Doing so can result in the restoration of your body to its best possible condition or even complete relief and healing.
7 Questions You Should Ask Your Physician
During your wellness visit, your physician will review your family history of illness, your medical records, and vital signs, and perform an exam. Explain to your physician what habits you have regarding diet and exercise, sleep, and stress management.
Refer to this list of questions to help you get valuable feedback from your physician during your wellness visit. Be sure to jot down additional questions that come to mind as you continue reading this article.
1. Based on your observations about my appearance, vital signs, and weight, what is your initial impression of my health?
  1. Ask for an explanation of your blood work results or other diagnostic test results, if available.
2. Do you have any suggestions regarding my health habits?
3. Am I prone to certain health risks based on my family history?
4. Should I continue taking medications? Should the dosages be adjusted?
5. Make a list of specific pains or other symptoms you may have experienced. Go through the list with your physician. Ask after each item, “Is this normal?”
6. What treatment options are available for (fill in the blank)?
7. Would I benefit from physical therapy for (fill in the blank)?
Surgery and/or Medication vs. Wurn Technique®’s Physical Therapy
Although surgery and medication play a vital part in healthcare, they come with risks and a long list of potential side effects. On the other hand, Physical therapy can provide effective, long-lasting results without the risks and side effects, especially for adhesion-related problems.
Demonstrated Positive Results With Physical Therapy
Studies from major medical journals, available from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), demonstrate the results of physical therapy using the Clear Passage® Approach®. This non-surgical treatment utilizes the Wurn (hands-on) adhesion release techniques for various conditions caused or exacerbated by adhesions. This landmark 10-year study and many others demonstrated how this specialized, hands-on physical therapy yielded pregnancy rates for women with PCOS, small bowel obstruction (SBO), and at rates similar to standard medical treatments but without surgery or pharmaceuticals.
A Deeper Look: What are Adhesions?
What are adhesions? Adhesions are a type of scar tissue that forms inside the body after an accident, fall, surgery, infection, inflammation, trauma, radiation therapy, or endometriosis. Since surgery to treat adhesions can cause more adhesions, it makes perfect sense to treat adhesions with physical therapy rather than surgery.
Many people associate physical therapy with treatment for injuries or range-of-motion issues, and rightly so, because physicians readily prescribe physical therapy for those problems. But did you know that physical therapy can also effectively treat symptoms associated with a wide variety of diseases and conditions?
Clients with these ailments have found improvement and relief with physical therapy.
- Lymphedema
- Muscular dystrophy
- Osteoporosis
- Respiratory issues, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, and more,
When it comes to unexplained pain and dysfunction and biomechanical problems, physical therapy has a long track record of proven results. Physical therapists identify and treat the root cause of many peripheral problems, often a consequence of an underlying problem, such as adhesions.
The Comprehensive List of 30 Adhesion-Related Health Problems to Ask your Doctor about
Adhesions can squeeze nerves, organs, and joints – causing internal pain or dysfunction, including female infertility, life-threatening bowel obstructions, and numerous other problems. How can you know if you have adhesion-related health problems? This list provides some basic information about adhesion-related health problems and their causes.
1. Menstrual Pain / Dysmenorrhea – Adhesions pull ligaments, fascias, or connective tissues that attach the uterus to surrounding structures
2. Intercourse Pain / Sexual Dysfunction – Adhesions form between muscle cells deep within the cervix and/or attach to the vaginal wall, entrance, or other pain-sensitive structures.
  1. This reduces elasticity, potentially pulling the tailbone forward, and negatively impacts desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and satisfaction.
3. Endometriosis Pain – Adhesions pull on pain-sensitive structures caused by endometriosis.
4. Genital Mutilation – Adhesions can cause a lifetime of chronic pain and dysfunction.
5. Cervical Stenosis – Adhesions can tighten, narrow, or close the entrance to the uterus and pull on the uterus, causing inflammation, pain, and more adhesions.
  1. These can ascend within the uterus to block one or both fallopian tubes.
6. Mastectomy Pain – Adhesions can form in the chest wall, neck, shoulders, and arms, causing pain and tightness or a condition called “frozen shoulder.”
7. Hysterectomy Pain – Adhesions can form at the surgical site and connect to neighboring structures like the intestines, bowels, vagina, or bladder.
8. C-Section Pain – Adhesions can form at the surgical site and cause pain and tightness in the pelvic region.
9. Myomectomy Pain – Adhesions can form within the uterus and decrease the chances of successful implantation of a fertilized egg, increasing the likelihood of miscarriage, or form outside of the uterus and bind delicate reproductive structures together, impairing function.
10. Blocked Fallopian Tubes – Adhesions and internal scars are the primary causes of tubal blockage.
11. Hydrosalpinx – Adhesions can cause the swelling of the fallopian tubes.
12. Endometriosis Infertility – Inflammation that accompanies the endometrial swelling can continually cause more and more adhesions to form, impairing functions necessary for fertility.
13. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – Adhesions can cover the ovaries.
14. Pre-IVF Treatment / Age, High FSH & Hormonal – Adhesions can form at the uterus, cervix (called stenosis of the cervix), and fallopian tubes, and the dura and skull (near the pituitary, the “master gland” of female reproduction), reducing FSH levels and decreasing implantation rates.
15. Unexplained Infertility (UI), a.k.a. Idiopathic Infertility – Adhesions are invisible on X-rays, ultrasounds, MRI, or CT scans.
16. Secondary Infertility – A reproductive tract traumatized by the initial pregnancy or birth can result in adhesions that interfere with future fertility.
17. Neck Pain – Adhesions can form when neck muscles are inflamed by poor posture, injury, or other causes.
18. Back & Hip Pain – Adhesions can form at the sacral joints, causing biomechanical and soft tissue dysfunctions.
19. Tailbone Pain – A misaligned tailbone can cause mobility problems, constipation, reproductive problems, and the formation of adhesions that aggravate all of these issues.
20. Childhood Surgery/Trauma – When adhesions and scar tissue that form with surgery do not grow and expand with the rest of the body as the child grows, problems can last a lifetime.
21. Migraines/Chronic Headaches – Internal scarring creates unnatural pressure that affects complex pain-sensitive structures in the head.
22. TMJ/TMD – Adhesions can cause tightness or asymmetries that affect the jaw or temporomandibular joints.
23. Myofascial Pain (MPS) – Adhesions cause mechanical problems with the body’s structure, resulting in pain.
24. Post-Radiation Pain – Radiation therapy adhesions cause irradiated tissues to adhere to nearby organs, muscles, bones, and connective tissues.
25. Pain After Abuse – Trauma causes adhesions that can remain in the body for a lifetime without intervention.
26. Abdominal Pain – Internal scarring can form between the ribs and the pubic bone, decreasing function and causing pain.
27. Pelvic Pain / Groin Pain – Internal scarring can form when the membrane covering the abdominal and pelvic organs becomes inflamed and or the infection spreads throughout the abdominopelvic cavity.
28. Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and Inflammatory Diseases – Adhesions are a significant concern for patients with inflammatory diseases, slowing digestion and causing pain, nausea, bloating, distension, constipation, or diarrhea.
29. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) – Adhesions can slow or stop bacteria from exiting the digestive system, contributing to the recurrence of SIBO and causing additional adhesions.
30. Small Bowel Obstruction (SBO) – Adhesions can interfere with or completely block the passage of food and waste material, causing stomach pain and “stringy poop.”
Do not avoid medical care or ignore illness, pain, or other health problems. During National Self-Check Month, make a wellness appointment, and be sure to ask your physician about physical therapy for any adhesion-related conditions you may have. Take a stand for your health by seeking treatment that will produce the desired results while avoiding the risks and side effects associated with surgery and medications.
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March 23, 2022
Avoid Surgery to Remove the Tailbone (Coccygectomy)
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Overview
Pain at the tailbone (coccyx bone) can range from inconvenient to totally debilitating. As pain increases, some people find it difficult or virtually impossible to sit, making their lives miserable. Unfortunately, very few treatment regimens have been studied to treat this condition.
Coccyx pain (coccydynia or coccygodynia) generally begins with a trauma – often a fall or accident that pushes the tailbone forward or to the side. Persistent or repeated pressures on the coccyx from horseback riding, bicycling, or similar seating sports, or even office sitting for long hours, can cause tailbone pain. It can also occur after a pelvic surgery or infection.
As the body begins to heal, strong collagen fibers, similar to the strands of a nylon rope, lay down in a random pattern across the injured area. These fibers attach to the traumatized tissues and to each other with a chemical-molecular bond in a process called cross-linking. As they lie down one upon each other, they create adhesions (internal scars) to help stop bleeding and to isolate the injury, as the first step in healing.
Once the body has healed, these linked fibers remain in place. The resulting bond can leave the tailbone stuck in a position that is forward, bent to the side, or both. This flexed position of the tailbone can cause inflammation that is exacerbated with sitting. Unable to move out of the way when a person has a bowel movement or a woman has intercourse, the fixed position of the tailbone can act like a partially closed door, causing significant pain with these movements. Sometimes the tailbone sticks out at an unnatural angle, causing pain while sitting.
Physicians will sometimes suggest an anti-inflammatory or may inject a steroid along with a numbing agent to help decrease the pain. These can provide temporary relief in some cases. Since these treatments focus more on the symptom than the cause of the pain, they may not provide a long-term solution.
Avoiding Surgery (Coccygectomy)
When pain is persistent or severe, patients begin to seek other treatments for their tailbone pain in order to regain their quality of life. Some become so frustrated that they opt to have part or all of the tailbone surgically removed. While we have seen this help in some cases, for other patients, surgery has brought a lifetime of constant, debilitating pain – often worse than the original tailbone pain.
The intent of surgery is generally to remove the coccyx so it no longer causes pain. The intent of therapy, on the other hand, is to free the bound tissues, enabling the coccyx to return to normal, to the usual pain-free position and flexibility it had before the trauma and healing events occurred.
Discover lasting relief from tailbone pain without surgery – Clear Passage® Physical Therapy offers a Free Consultation and Request Info to explore their unique, non-invasive approach that has helped countless patients regain comfort and mobility, potentially avoiding risky coccygectomy and its long, painful recovery. To learn more, visit our Apply to Therapy page.
Two Forms of Treatment
According to medical literature, adhesions in the abdomen or pelvis can be addressed in two distinctly different ways:
- Clear Passage®️ Approach
- Surgery (coccygectomy)
Therapy to Decrease Adhesions
Description of the procedure. The Clear Passage®️ Approach is a manual physical therapy that uses no drugs and no surgery. It has been cited in numerous studies and peer-reviewed medical journals for its ability to decrease adhesions. The studies show effectiveness with abdominopelvic pain and dysfunction caused by adhesions.
In the case of coccydynia (tailbone pain or coccyx pain), we find the tailbone is generally bound by adhesions that formed after the initial trauma or cause. In these cases, the coccyx may be pulled forward or to the side (or both), causing inflammation and pain. The pain often increases with movements such as sitting, bowel movements, and sexual intercourse.
To relieve the pain and return the body to pain-free mobility and function, we focus on decreasing the adhesions pulling the coccyx out of its normal position. We start with a thorough evaluation of the entire body, with a focus on the structures of the pelvis and lower back. We want to bring all of those areas into symmetry. We suggest – but do not require – that a person with coccyx pain undergo internal treatment via a gloved finger in the vagina or rectum. Due to the structure of the coccyx and its supporting ligaments, success may be limited without internal treatment. We always discuss the need for internal treatment with the patient before starting, and show the utmost respect for the patient’s privacy and comfort.
A good analogy to this part of the treatment is a pup tent, with poles at the front and back held in midline position by ropes on each side. If the rope on one side is pulled too tight, the pole will bend to the side, forward or backward, in a strained, awkward position. By loosening the tightness and restrictions, we return to the normal symmetry and tone, with easy, equal pressure on each side.
This therapy is ‘all natural’ in that it is 100 % ‘hands-on.’ Patients describe it as feeling like a very deep massage. In some areas, the therapy can sometimes be much lighter, depending on the area and depth being treated. Internal treatment is often described as feeling like pressure, rather than pain.
We use our hands to find adhered areas. We work to deform and detach the tiny strands that comprise adhesions – similar to pulling out the strands of a nylon rope or pulling out the run in a sweater. Your therapist may describe it as “pulling out salt-water taffy, in very slow motion.”
The therapy is site-specific; our therapists are experts at palpating and manipulating the soft tissues of the body, where adhesions generally form. We use data from the patient’s history, direct feedback from the patient during therapy, and a thorough training and understanding of methods developed over 30 years to deform and detach the molecular/chemical bonds that are at the core of adhesions. The usual protocol, which is cited in our studies, consists of 20 hours of therapy spaced over five days. Treatment for coccyx pain can generally be completed in as little as 10 hours. A small percentage of the work, generally around 10 to 15 percent, is performed internally. View a short video of what Clear Passage®️ therapy feels like.

Advantages of Therapy
Direct access to the adhesions that are causing the pain. Due to its location and accessibility, we can directly palpate and treat adhesions that are pulling the coccyx out of its normally relaxed, midline position. In doing so, we do not cut or burn anything in your body; we do not remove anything from your body. Our focus is to deform and detach adhesions.
No hospitalization. Therapy is performed in a private treatment room, one-on-one with a highly skilled therapist certified in the work. Patients may bring a partner or family member along for company, if they like.
No anesthesia. The patient is awake and communicative during therapy. Patient involvement is encouraged, with the patient invited to give feedback throughout the course of therapy.
Decreased risk. Risk is minimal. There is no cutting or burning, and no risk of side effects from anesthesia or medications.
No foreign bodies are introduced. No staples, stitches, films, meshes, or surgical instruments are inserted into the body.
Side effects are mild and transient. The most common side effects reported with therapy are temporary tenderness, aching, fatigue, and hip or back pain. When they occur, these symptoms pass within a few days.
Improvements in other areas of the body. Because therapy focuses on detaching adhesions throughout the body, with a particular focus on the pelvis and the lower back for tailbone patients, patients regularly report significant increases in flexibility and range of motion after therapy. Many report decreased pain and/or increased function in areas near the site where they are being treated. Some report this in areas where they had forgotten or had not realized they were having a problem, until therapy relieved the pain or tightness. A significant number report decreased back, neck, and headache pain due to relieving pressure on the spinal cord up to the base of the skull.
Written reports. After therapy, we send each patient a typed, detailed Initial Evaluation along with a typed Progress Report or Discharge Summary. If needed, we are glad to send you daily notes of every therapy session.
Disadvantages: Risks and Challenges of Therapy
Temporary soreness. Some people report temporary soreness during therapy, which dissipates within a few days.
Costs of therapy are generally a fraction of the cost of surgery; as with surgery, insurance reimbursement may vary based on your insurer and your plan. Clear Passage®️ is an out-of-network provider for your insurer.
Travel and time are considerations. The 20-hour therapy protocol generally takes five days (e.g., Monday – Friday); a 10-hour session takes half as long (figure 2 1/2 days). Our therapy is only provided by trained, certified therapists in several cities in the U.S. and U.K., and is designed for out-of-town and out-of-country patients. Most patients fly to the clinic city during the weekend, start therapy Monday morning, and are done before the next weekend.
Surgery to Remove Part or All of the Coccyx
Description of common procedures. The surgical option, coccygectomy to remove part or all of the tailbone, is rarely performed. Recovery can be long and uncomfortable for the patient. In general, the surgery involves creating a one to two-inch incision over the top of the coccyx. The bone covering (periosteum) is then dissected away from the bone. This allows the coccyx to be separated from the sacrum.
Unless complications arise, the operation is brief and may be done on an outpatient basis. The most difficult part of the operation is the long time it takes for the patient to heal. Reports show that it may take three months or longer after the surgery before patients note the desired relief from their symptoms. Naturally, sitting is very difficult throughout the healing process.
View surgery to remove part of a coccyx by clicking here.
Advantages of Surgery
Ease of access. The surgeon can easily access the coccyx, and surgical removal is relatively easy in most cases.
Disadvantages: Surgical Risks and Challenges
Long, painful recovery. As noted above, recovery from coccyx bone removal (coccygectomy) has been documented to take up to a year. Because the area is involved with basic daily activities (sitting, bowel movements, sexual intercourse), the recovery time can linger since the remaining portion of the sacrum cannot be isolated without activity in order to heal quickly.
Uncertain outcomes. In some cases, we have seen, surgery to remove the tailbone has been very successful. In other cases, it has brought a lifetime of pain, more debilitating than the pain before surgery.
Hospitalization during recovery. In some cases, patients must undergo a hospital stay after surgery to remove the coccyx. Patients are monitored to ensure their recovery and that there are no immediate post-surgical complications or infections.
New adhesions generally form after surgery. Medical literature compiled from over 50 years of abdominal and pelvic surgeries shows that nearly all surgeries cause new adhesions to form. Thus, despite the skills of the finest surgeon, adhesions often recur, sometimes worse than before surgery. Because surgeries cause adhesions, some of our patients feel trapped in a cycle of pain-surgery-adhesions, with no end in sight.
Pre-Treatment Screening (Surgery and Therapy)
Both therapy and surgery require patients to be screened for appropriateness and contraindications before treatment.
Screening before therapy. Before therapy, Clear Passage®️ directors consult applicants to review goals, risks, and potential benefits they can expect. We conduct a thorough review of the applicant’s history of healing events (prior surgery, trauma, infection, endometriosis, etc.) to determine if and where adhesions have likely formed and how they might be causing problems.
We screen applicants for two reasons:
- to determine the likelihood that we can help an applicant reach his/her goal, and
- to rule out contraindications that could decrease the effectiveness of therapy or cause problems.
Screening before surgery. Before surgery, physicians consult patients to review the goals, risks, and potential rewards they can expect from the procedure. They may order diagnostic tests to help rule out contraindications, such as active infection, and to help identify problem areas in the body that should be assessed during surgery. It is reasonable to ask your doctor about the likelihood of adhesion formation after surgery.
March 22, 2021
Tailbone (Coccyx) Pain
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We Treat Tailbone Pain Without Drugs or Surgery
The tailbone (coccyx) is vulnerable to direct and often repeated traumas that can begin early in life. A fall onto the buttocks while walking, climbing, skating, or during other athletic activities can cause direct blows that injure this delicate area. Repetitive traumas to the coccyx can occur from prolonged periods of sitting at work, bicycle or horseback riding, or similar activities. Car accidents and a difficult childbirth are also frequent causes of tailbone injuries.
With an early focus on pelvic pain and dysfunction, Clear Passage®️ therapists have successfully treated coccyx pain since 1989. Our therapy is conservative and designed to relieve the pain permanently, without the risks of surgery or the need for pain medications. Studies published in peer-reviewed U.S. and international medical journals attest to our success in this area.
Complete the online Request Consultation form to receive a phone consultation with an expert therapist, at no cost to you, to learn more about non-surgical treatment for coccyx pain and whether it is appropriate for you.
Causes and Frequency of Tailbone Pain
The tailbone can cause pain or dysfunction when it is pushed or pulled forward
A fall, surgery, accident, or any of the examples above can move the tailbone out of its normal alignment and restrict its mobility, causing constipation, tailbone pain, or lower back pain. In these situations, the coccyx may be pushed into an awkward angle. The internal adhesions that form, along with the consequent pulls on support ligaments, muscles, and nerves, can cause moderate to debilitating tailbone pain. Reproductive and sexual function can also be affected by this mechanism. Examples of problems can include inability to have an orgasm, difficulty maintaining an erection, decreased libido, and infertility. When out of alignment or stuck in a forward position, the coccyx can act like a partly closed door, causing pain with bowel movements and during deep intercourse for women.
A fall, surgery, or accident can move the tailbone out of its normal place, causing constipation, tailbone pain, or lower back pain. In all of these situations, the coccyx may be pushed into an awkward angle. The consequent pull on support ligaments and nerves can cause moderate to debilitating tailbone pain. Reproductive and sexual 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.
The tailbone is vulnerable to numerous traumas in life, with blows from behind during a fall…
and from adhesions in front, which can pull the tailbone forward.
Symptoms
Tailbone pain (coccydynia or coccygodynia) can affect all aspects of a person’s life and the lives of their families and friends. Pain that persists for more than three months is considered chronic.
Symptoms may include:
- Constipation
- Severe Headaches
- Difficulty with sitting
- Independent or concurrent back pain
- Pain with deep penetration during intercourse (for women)
Treatments
Clear Passage®️ Treatment
Clear Passage®️ therapists have successfully treated tailbone pain since 1989. Many of our tailbone pain patients spend years searching for relief before finding us. For most of them, the search for pain relief ends with significant or total resolution after treatment at one of our clinics.
Our treatment of coccyx pain requires no surgery or medications. We will sometimes perform a slow and gentle stretch of the ligaments on each side of the tailbone, accessed by a gloved finger in the vagina or rectum. We work with tender areas in the pelvic floor muscles that attach to the front of the coccyx (obturator internus, coccygeus, iliococcygeus, pubococcygeus). These are important for many pelvic functions, including bowel movements and continence (the ability to retain bodily waste).
Due to its unique placement in the body, the coccyx can affect functions as diverse as bowel movements and the ability to walk or run symmetrically and without pain. To thoroughly treat this area, we may also address nearby muscles in the buttocks, hips, and lower back, freeing whatever tight and restricted areas we find. For example, the gluteus maximus, which extends the thigh, has strong attachments at the sacrum and coccyx. Freeing the soft tissues in this area of adhesions that developed in response to falls, surgeries, or even poor posture helps us correct any imbalances or restricted mobility of the sacrum, pelvic bones, and joints – as well as the coccyx.
Pain in the coccyx sometimes originates from or is exacerbated by problems in other locations. Because of this, we often find it important to treat the sacroiliac joint (junction of the sacrum and ilia), the hip, or the lower back.
Our initial goal is to decrease adhesive bonds and any consequent spasm, tightness, or tensions in the area. As we do this, bones and joints return to an earlier state of symmetry and improved mobility, one that occurred before problems at the coccyx.
Depending on the patient’s history, adhesions in the low back, hip, and coccyx can form over years – or even decades. Thus, as we treat, it can take some time (a few minutes to many minutes) for us to begin to make permanent changes in the body. During that time, the tissues begin to slowly relax; the molecular-chemical bonds that bind collagen fibers together, causing adhesions, appear to dissolve or detach. This process is designed to slowly return the body to an earlier state of pain-free mobility. Simply put, rather than forcing change, we work within your body’s limits.
A displaced tailbone can cause persistent or recurring headaches due to the pull of the dura, which stretches from the tailbone to the skull.
When working “with” the body and allowing change to happen at the body’s “own pace,” we created more permanent changes. We take the time required to achieve lasting results.
Depending on your goals, we may teach you stretching exercises for the involved muscles, such as those in the pelvic floor, buttocks, hips, and lower back. We also provide a home program that may involve exercises to relax and strengthen the pelvic area.
Few clinics or physicians offer treatment for tailbone pain other than medications to mask the pain. While chiropractic adjustments may help temporarily, trying to “force” the coccyx into a more normal position doesn’t generally provide a lasting solution, in our experience. We find that long-term pain resolution requires decreasing the strong, underlying adhesions that attach to the coccyx, pulling it out of its normal alignment and causing pain or dysfunction.
Clear Passage®️ therapists have extensive experience treating this delicate area. We do so with the patient’s permission, respect for their privacy and comfort, and professionalism. Patients are totally draped to preserve their modesty at all times during this treatment. We explain what we are going to do, the reason it will help, and explain what we are doing while we are treating.
Experience relief from debilitating tailbone pain with Clear Passage® Physical Therapy’s gentle, non-invasive approach – Request Information and schedule your Free Consultation today to discover how our expert therapists can help you regain comfort and mobility, then visit our Apply to Therapy page to take the first step towards a pain-free life.
Other Treatment Options (Surgery, Drugs)
Most physicians agree that surgery is a treatment of last resort for coccyx pain. While surgery can address adhesions and other mechanical problems, surgery also causes more adhesions to form as the body heals from the surgery. Surgically removing part of the tailbone has brought relief for some; for others, it has brought a lifetime of debilitating pain. If you are considering surgery to remove your coccyx, visit our Avoid Surgery to Remove the Tailbone page.
Testimonials
To read past patient success stories, please visit our Testimonials page.
Related Content:
Chronic Pain
March 21, 2021
Back & Hip Pain
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We Treat Back and Hip Pain Naturally
“After years of incapacitating back problems, I have now received my first 12 hours of treatment at Clear Passage®. I am amazed that I feel physically so much better, in such a short time. It is remarkable to me that I can now bend over, virtually pain-free, for the first time in 14 years! Had I come here sooner, I would have saved myself so many years of pain and misery! Thank you so much.” – Midge
Back and hip pain are specialties for Clear Passage®️ clinicians. We have over two decades of experience eliminating back and hip pain, without surgery or drugs. Our therapists decrease the adhesions or internal scars that form in our bodies throughout life, using manual physio/physical therapy. We help clarify the mystery of chronic back and hip pain and eliminate it.
Complete the online Request Consultation form to receive a free phone consultation with an expert therapist to learn more.
Causes and Frequency of Back & Hip Pain
Chronic back and hip pain can affect all aspects of a person’s life, as well as the lives of their family and friends. Back and hip pain that persists for more than three months is considered chronic.
Symptoms may include:
- Prolonged morning stiffness
- Concurrent sacroiliac or tailbone pain
- Back or leg pain when standing, walking, or sitting
Chronic back or hip pain is often caused by structural or mechanical problems associated with adhesions. Adhesions are tiny glue-like bonds that form in the support structures of the pelvis, back, and hip after a surgery, fall, accident, or other tissue damage. They can pull the structures of the back or hip out of proper alignment.
Two important factors that contribute to back and hip pain are biomechanical and soft tissue dysfunctions of the sacral joints. The sacrum is the body’s center of gravity and stability, simultaneously negotiating forces transferred from the spine and torso above and the legs below it. A complex series of ligaments attaches the sacrum to the two large pelvic bones (the ilia) at the sacroiliac joints. In doing so, they help provide a stable transition between the upper and lower body. The sacrum also forms a joint with the fifth lumbar vertebra at the base of the spine — the lumbosacral junction.
The sacroiliac joints contribute significantly to lower back stability, and the lumbosacral junction contributes greatly to low back mobility. Together, these joints and their support ligaments support the entire body above the pelvis. They represent significant structural and functional units when we walk, bend, lift, twist, or perform most activities of daily living.
We find a strong correlation between dysfunctions of the sacroiliac joints and the lumbosacral junction, and back and hip pain.
Treatments
Clear Passage®️ Treatment
Clear Passage®️ therapists are experts at decreasing and freeing the excess collagen fibers and adhesions that form during the body’s healing process. As we decrease the collagenous bonds that pull the structures of the sacrum, pelvis, and lower back out of alignment, mobility returns, and pain generally decreases significantly. Free of the glue-like adhesions, most patients find that they can move as they did years ago, before the onset of chronic pain.
Free of the glue-like adhesions, most of our patients find that they can move as they did years ago, before the onset of their hip or back pain.
Our goal is to first decrease your pain and then restore your function. As pain begins to resolve, we work to restore alignment, balance, and mobility to the low back, sacrum, sciatic, and hip areas. As symptoms begin to subside, we realign these structures with your legs (below) and your trunk (above) to allow your body to become more balanced, symmetrical, and functional.
Other Treatment Options (Surgery, Drugs)
We have found that many patients do not obtain pain resolution after traditional physical therapy or medications. Chiropractic care may help, but only temporarily, as it does not address the underlying adhesions that pull bony structures out of balance. Our work can be a natural complement to expert chiropractic care.
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. We suspect that new adhesion formation is one reason that surgery does not always result in lasting relief. In fact, some people find their pain worsens after surgery.
Surgeons may insert rods, cut or replace discs, or shave openings in bones, hoping to relieve back or hip pain. Spinal surgery will not give complete relief if the pain is due to tightness or adhesions in the support ligaments or the muscles of the lower back.
The cause of back or hip pain can be difficult to diagnose. Most doctors suggest trying the most conservative interventions first. This generally means therapy before drugs, drugs before surgery, and surgery as a last resort.
Testimonials
To read past patient success stories, please visit our Testimonials page.
Related Content:
Chronic Pain
March 21, 2021
Cervical Stenosis
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We Treat Cervical Stenosis Naturally
Cervical fibrosis or stenosis (stiffening) can be a significant problem for women who have infertility or deep intercourse pain (dyspareunia). In some cases, women do not realize that they have cervical stenosis. You can often diagnose it yourself by feeling your cervix. Is it soft and pliable, or is it quite firm? If it is firm, that indicates a cervix with stenosis.
Discover hope for cervical stenosis with Clear Passage® Physical Therapy’s non-surgical, drug-free approach – Request Information and schedule your Free Consultation today to explore how our expert therapists can help increase fertility, reduce pain, and restore cervical function using over 200 manual techniques. To learn more, visit our Apply to Therapy page.
Success Treating Cervical Stenosis Without Surgery or Drugs
For over three decades, Clear Passage®️ has been a world leader in treating adhesion-related disorders and dysfunctions. Using over 200 manual techniques, our expert therapists are able to decrease or eliminate adhesions without the need for surgery or drugs, and prepare you with tools and exercises so you can continue your treatment at home.
Causes and Frequency of Cervical Stenosis
One of the causes of cervical stenosis is infection, caused by exposure to items from the outside world. Over the course of a woman’s life, items enter the vagina from the outside environment. Whether the item is a tampon, a finger, a device, or a partner during intercourse, those items are generally not sterilized.
If those objects have any bacteria on them, bacterial infections can occur. Bacteria can thrive in the warm, moist, and dark environment of the vagina. A woman may have infections that are considered subclinical ー an infection without symptoms. Even if the woman is not taking antibiotics for a vaginal, bladder, or yeast infection, the body realizes that cells within the vagina are being damaged. In response, the immune system sends in tiny strands of collagen in an attempt to surround and isolate the affected area. Like the strands of a nylon rope, these internal strands can be tiny but powerful.
Inside the vagina, these tiny strands can form on the vaginal wall, at the entrance of the vagina (introitus), or at the cervix. Once formed, these tiny internal bonds (now called microadhesions) can bind structures together, causing pain or contributing to infertility. Adhesions that form on the vaginal wall can cause significant pain at the introitus or deeper within the area during sexual intercourse.
Cervical stenosis can cause pain with deep penetration and contribute to infertility
Treatments
Clear Passage®️ Treatment
Adhesions that form at the cervix or tailbone can cause pain with deep penetration. Patients sometimes tell us, “It feels like my partner is hitting something.” The partner is generally hitting an adhered cervix or coccyx. When adhesions form at the cervix, it tends to tighten, narrow, or close the entrance to the uterus. This can cause pain and will decrease the opportunity for a partner’s sperm to enter the uterus. For in vitro fertilization, cervical stenosis can make it difficult for the physician to insert a catheter (flexible straw) into the woman’s uterus to place the husband’s sperm or fertilized egg, risking the embryo being damaged or dying from being exposed too long to the relatively cool air in the transfer room.
As well as causing tightness at the cervix, cervical stenosis can create a pull on the uterus so that over time, with every step a woman takes, there is a pull up into the uterus that can cause inflammation and pain. The body’s response to inflammation is to create adhesions, resulting in adhesions blanketing the inner wall of the uterus. Over time, the adhesions from cervical stenosis can ascend within the uterus to block one or both fallopian tubes, making a bad situation even worse. When adhesions cover the inner wall or block the fallopian tubes, they decrease a woman’s ability to conceive.
The Clear Passage®️ therapy appears to restore the body to its healthy condition before adhesions form on the cervix. This manual therapy has helped:
- increase natural fertility,
- improve success rates for in vitro fertilization,
- decrease or eliminate deep intercourse pain, and
- increase the mobility and function of the cervix.
The directors and therapists at Clear Passage®️ have been treating cervical stenosis and tailbone pain successfully since 1989; we know this area very well. Our goal is to decrease the adhesions at the cervix or coccyx that are causing pain, narrowing, or closing the cervical opening, and decreasing your chance of fertility. We have seen excellent results in both of these categories for our patients with cervical stenosis. We encourage you to contact us to see if our treatment is right for you.
Other Treatment Options (Surgery, Drugs)
Depending on the pain and dysfunction that your condition is causing you, there are various treatment options for you to consider.
If the pain is not debilitating, your options are limited to over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine, such as Advil. However, this treatment option is used to treat the symptoms, not the condition.
If the pain from your cervical stenosis is chronic and debilitating, your physician may recommend surgery. However, keep in mind that 50-100% patients who underwent pelvic surgery formed post-surgical adhesions, resulting in more chronic pain symptoms. Additionally, it is important to consider the risks associated with surgery, along with recovery time.
Published Success Rates
To view our success rates in treating women’s health and infertility, please visit our Success Rates page.
Testimonials
To read past patient success stories, please visit our Testimonials page.
Related Content:
- Cervical Stenosis
Apply For A Fertility Loan
March 21, 2021
Meet the Therapists: Belinda Wurn
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What is your name?
Belinda Wurn
How long have you been a physical therapist (or PTA/LMT)?
36 years
How long have you been practicing the Wurn Technique®?
22 years
How did you first become interested in this work?
I was trying to figure out how to get myself out of the chronic pain I was experiencing after 40 external radiation treatments and 2 internal radium implants for cervical cancer in 1984.
Where did you grow up?
Jacksonville, Florida. I lived in the Arlington area, and went to the beach (30 minutes away) every free minute I had!
What’s your favorite food?
Seared foie gras or good pizza
Where did you receive your education?
The University of Florida (go Gators!)
What is your philosophy on continuing education?
From 1988 until 1999, I took 4 to 6 courses a year. There was so much knowledge out there about different myofascial and visceral manipulation techniques, I wanted to learn them all. I think continuing education is extremely valuable. The techniques I use now are not ones I learned in PT school. You get the basics there, but in order to develop your work into an art, it is vital to keep up with the latest techniques that are developed over time.
What conditions do you have experience treating?
Chronic and complex pain, women’s health issues (pain with intercourse, painful periods, endometriosis, urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction), bowel obstructions, post-surgical adhesions, headaches, facial and jaw pain, tailbone pain, abdominal, pelvic, back, or neck pain
Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?
France and Italy, Africa on safari
What is your favorite part about treating patients?
Hearing from them at the end of the week and seeing on their faces that they feel so much better, and I have helped give them back their active lifestyle.
What one word describes you best?
Caring
What drives you every day?
Helping to relieve my patient’s pain. Coming home to the lake and playing with my 2 beautiful Golden Retrievers!
August 26, 2011
Hello from Belinda Wurn
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Hello!
As one of the founding members of the Clear Passage® Therapies team, I feel very fortunate to work with an exceptional group of therapists as well as our excellent administrative staff.
I became a physical therapist to help others heal from injuries and return to active lifestyles and full function. But after being
Diagnosed with cancer of the cervix in 1984, I became the patient who needed help healing. Following the diagnosis, I had surgery and extensive internal and external radiation therapy. I survived the cancer, but the treatments designed to heal me left my lower abdomen, pelvis, and lower back scarred, and adhered all of my pelvic organs to neighboring tissues and structures, causing a “frozen pelvis.”
Over the next few years, I began experiencing many symptoms caused by chronic complications that were the result of adhesions and scarring of the radiated tissues and narrowing of blood vessels within the original treatment area. Unfortunately, when a malignant tumor is irradiated, many structures and surrounding normal tissue cells are also damaged. I found out I was infertile, menopausal, and was developing chronic pelvic and tailbone pain, and dysfunction of many of my digestive organs.
My career as a physical therapist came to a halt when I found that conventional medicine offered little relief. I began to search for an alternative treatment for my debilitating symptoms. I got tired of hearing “it’s all in your head,” or “you will have to learn to live with it.” Wanting to avoid further medical treatment or surgery, I was treated by many expert osteopathic physicians and manual physical therapists throughout the U.S. and abroad with a variety of hands-on treatments.
I then began taking many post-graduate courses in various manual physical therapy and osteopathic techniques. As the first faint glimmer of hope dawned in my pain relief, my curiosity turned into a passion and then a lifetime journey. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became. Manual soft tissue therapy became my passion as I refined my ability to use my hands to palpate restricted areas and “listen” to the body. My husband, Larry, then began to study with the same experts I had been studying with. He continued to treat me, and I was finally feeling good enough to go back to work. We modified and refined techniques we learned from many experts, and began developing our own techniques.
In 1989, Larry and I opened Professional Touch Physical Therapy (PTPT) to treat a large chronic pain population. Then something remarkable happened. We began seeing “infertility reversals” in patients diagnosed as infertile. And so our journey with Clear Passage® began.
What motivates me professionally and personally is leading a life centered around the principles of excellence, empowerment, integrity, and honesty. My goal was to create the type of clinic I wish I had been able to go to while I was searching for relief from my pain. I wanted to create a space of true healing, support, compassion, empowerment, caring, and mutual respect.
I love to travel, and want to see as much of the world as possible in this lifetime. France and Italy are among my favorite countries. I love to go back there as often as possible! Last winter, Larry and I went skiing in Chamonix, France, for a week. Last summer, we went on a 3-week photo safari to Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, which was the trip of a lifetime. We recently enjoyed a trip to beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which is located at the very tip of the Baja Peninsula.
I also love to snow ski, go boating on the lake we live on, swim, work out, listen to audiobooks on my iPod, and play with our two 4-legged “kids.” Larry and I have 2 beautiful Golden Retrievers. Our 2-year-old female is Chablis, from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The theme of her literature was book titles. Our 1-year-old male is Dylan. The theme of his litter was rivers, so his registered name is Watchin’ the River Flow, by Bob Dylan. I also adore gourmet food and fine wines. Life is good!
One of my favorite expressions is “create your vision, and then step into it.” Best wishes to all of you on your journey!
-Belinda
November 8, 2008