Tailbone Question

[Scarlett]

My main back problem now is that I can’t sit without pain. This is stopping me from working. The pain is a compression type, going down through my tailbone. Here’s the odd thing- I can sit on the toilet fine! Presumably because my weight isn’t pressing down into the flat of a chair, but into a hole. I’ve tried ring cushions (they just squash flat) and a stiffer cushion with a cut out bit at the back (still hurts). I’m wondering what is causing this pressure type pain- is it really the disc bulge at L4/5 and stenosis at the same place? I don’t want to have a discectomy if it doesn’t solve the pain I feel when sitting. Thanks for any ideas !

[woofgang]

sounds like coccydynia https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tailbone-pain-coccydynia/
I had it after a fall downstairs landing on my tailbone. It took about a year to heal completely. At the time the options were do nothing except use pain relief and a ring cushion or get steroid injections which were painful and the evidence for them was weak. I elected the pain relief and ring cushion option. I bought a piece of firm upholstery foam, cut my own shape and size of ring cushion and used it in a cushion cover which I also made.

[Sqad]

Good answer by woofy.

[woofgang]

us old'uns have our uses :)

[Sqad]

oi! less of the " old ones".-:).
Almost perfect except for that bloody link that you put in to spoil it .
Can't stand links...never will.

[Scarlett]

Thanks Woof and Sqad. I asked the doc today if it could be tailbone rather than lower back and they said that it probably would have been picked up by the MRI scan if there was something wrong with the coccyx. I’ve asked them to have another look at the scan. They said an X-Ray wouldn’t show anything.

[woofgang]

lol sqad. If it was me, my feeling would be to try pain relief and a ring cushion to see if it helps. If it does then carry on with it, but you may need to be patient. If it doesn't then you have other more invasive options.

[Barmaid]

I fell down the stairs in January. It still isn't right. I use painkillers, a ring cushion plus making sure I get up and down regularly. It is slowly improving but for the first 3 months it was awful.

[woofgang]

BM it takes blooming ages.