Manipulation worked after all other treatments failed

Rosie, Oxfordshire, UK - rosie_clarke1959@hotmail.com

Posted 2021-07-04

I've spent my working life sitting down and being very sedentary with not enough exercise, but have luckily always stayed fairly slim and healthy. Three years ago, aged 58, in the summer of 2018, I started to get pain in my coccyx upon sitting and especially upon rising. My local doctor gave me a steroid injection which 'cured' this. In May 2019 I went on a bike ride for the first time since my teenage years, the terrain was very uneven, and I slammed down extremely hard on the saddle – it was like someone had hit my coccyx with a hammer. From then on I not only had coccyx pain, but also left lower back/buttock pain.

My paid a couple of visits to an osteopath in June who gave me acupuncture and massage. This didn't help at all, so I went back to the doctor and had another steroid injection in July 2019, which gave no relief. I visited a physiotherapist in September 2019 and she gave me stretching exercises which were excruciating. She thought it best to refer me to a spine consultant. An MRI in October didn't show anything in particular but he suggested steroid and anaesthetic injections under imaging in December, to both my coccyx and left SI joint. The coccyx pain subsided briefly, but not the LLB pain.

I had a second MRI in January 2020 covering lumbar and pelvis, which again showed nothing and he referred me to a pain consultant. Due to COVID I finally saw him in May, having taken Duloxetine for 2 months which made no difference. He confidently diagnosed 'cluneal neuralgia' in my left buttock and offered radio pulsed frequency and a local anaesthetic injection under imaging for both coccyx and LLB in June 2020. This didn't help and I had repeat treatment including steroid in September. This provided relief for the coccyx but not the LLB pain. Next step was a local chiropractor in November/December 2020. I religiously did more stretching exercises but again, my back pain was always there. I've since learned that steroid and local anaesthetic injections really aren't the way to go, as they only mask the pain for a period of time, and not treat the cause. When my coccyx pain returned in January this year I was at my wits end, not knowing which way to turn and just wishing I could be fixed. The thought of being like this for the rest of my life was unimaginable.

I approached the spine consultant again in February and had another MRI as I was convinced something had been missed, but nothing showed and all he could suggest was pain management. Thankfully in April this year I found Coccyx.org and the amount of information on there was phenomenal – at last I got the bigger picture from reading many reviews and realised that treatment from a specialist in coccyx pain was what I needed, and actually should have pursued right at the start. I embarked on a course of treatment with Michael Durtnall (see Doctors and specialists in the UK, London) at the end of April and have now had 8 weekly treatments over a 2 month period, and I have a few more appointments lined up at 2 weekly intervals. Michael has mobilised my coccyx from its stuck position and I'm currently 70%-80% better. My buttock, back and shoulder muscles were extremely tight, knotty and spasming from my sedentary lifestyle and tense from the coccyx pain, and Michael has worked on my muscles and advised on my posture generally. Michael is an extraordinary man, and has transformed my life due to his hands on treatment, wealth of wisdom, clear instructions and suggestions, and I finally understand how I can help myself as well.

I've realised the implications that lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle have had on my whole body and muscles in particular, and I've begun on-line exercise classes (in my kitchen) which include Zumba twice a week, and daily 15 minute workouts targeting specific area e.g. legs, glutes, back, cardio. My company have bought me a desk riser so that I can stand for part of the day, usually about 3 hours, and I am using a coccyx cushion everywhere I go. In the last month I've also had deep tissue massage once a week which together with exercising has really begun to stretch out and relax my muscles. The cost to me has been money, time, effort and commitment, and I work 4 days per week, but by golly I am in a hugely better physical state than I was. I also realise these life changes are exactly that, for life, and I have committed to maintain the exercise and care for myself ongoing. Sorry this has been such a long piece, but I hope you have found it useful. I really appreciated the long stories people have posted on Coccyx.org, they are so informative and helped me enormously.

Update, 2022-10-02

My coccyx pain has completely gone! I continued seeing Michael until the end of September 2021, having had 12 appointments with him, and I would say at that stage I was 95% better and thought that was the best I could expect. I've continued to use the coccyx cushion the majority of the time, but I'm now able to sit comfortably without it if necessary. Some chairs/sofas really don't suit me at all, it all depends on the angle of the chair back. Upright ones are best, but if I have to use a chair with a backward slanting backrest I usually sit upright or lean forward, therefore using my back muscles to support myself.

After my sessions with Michael ended I still had considerable LLB pain, so I started to see a local chiropractor in October 2021. She found that my pelvis was slightly twisted forwards on the left side with very tight muscles throughout the left side of my back and buttock. This probably started with the coccyx trauma on that fateful bike ride in May 2019. Through a combination of hands-on manipulation, strengthening exercises, stretches and being very aware of my posture, that pain has improved hugely but not quite gone away, and particular muscles on the left side of my back tighten and knot despite having massages from a Sports and Remedial Masseur. I'm now only seeing the chiropractor every 2 months and the masseur once a month. The chiropractor has suggested I have a few sessions with a personal trainer to improve my core strength and keep all my back muscles in good condition.

I never believed I would get better and imagined I'd never be able to sit in the car for very long, or on an aeroplane, but this year we've done a couple of short haul flights, several car journeys of 2-3 hours, and are planning driving to Germany for the Christmas markets in December. Don't give up hope, try anything and everything to continue to get better, read as much as you can about your injury and different approaches to tackle it.