Stretches and ketamine infusion really worked

Anonymous, Australia

Posted 2022-09-04

I've finally (finally!) had fantastic luck getting rid of my coccyx pain (can still feel it on occasion but now have some things that work and one thing that really really works very quickly).

They were:

* Hamstring stretches seemed to help a little (a bit more over time, still not life changing but definitely made a difference)

* A lying cross over stretch (Youtube). The only difference is that when I do it my foot is below my knee and I use the hand on the same side as the knee is going to, to gently pull up and raise the knee higher towards my shoulder. I should imagine both parts aren't particularly important, I'm guessing pull the knee up deepens the stretch (my physio added it in after I had done it for awhile.

This stretch was the absolute game changer for me. My sitting went up, my coccyx pain and vulval pain (which for me were linked) went way, way down. If it flares up I do some of these and it really helps. That second stretch probably got my pain down by about 50%.

Then I did a ketamine infusion (they put me in hospital for a week, gave me 2mg of ketamine an hour for four hours and then added 2 more three times a day and stalled it when I felt too sick until I coped again.). I went in on a tuesday morning and by Wednesday night I didn't even feel coccyx pain. After the treatment it came back but maxed out at about 10 to 20% of what it did previously. It wears off slowly (about 4 months in most people) but enabled me to go to gym and get everything stronger, something I couldn't do without flaring up the pain before.

I know they have ketamine infusions in the states in a different form. I've just done my second. I've only felt my coccyx pain a few times since and it's either been a little wave of nerve pain that is quickly resolved, some discomfort from sitting too long or a tiny pinch when I do my pelvic floor exercises that now goes when I relax. I do think that easing my pelvic floor muscles off at the start (mine were permanently tight) enabled the rest of the things to work, but buy themselves they weren't enough.

I had chronic pain (I fractured T6 a couple of decades ago) already though, so my body likes to take pain and run with it. The pain doctor I see in Melbourne (Australia) is Kenneth Shum from Melbourne Pain Group. He's awesome.

I did pelvic floor Physio and relaxation exercises for a few months before ketamine (but clearly they are easier when you're not in so much pain) but I made a lot of progress with that and the stretches I mentioned before ketamine. Not going to say it wasn't hard work though. Also not wearing tight pants or skinny jeans, but that was more as my coccyx pain also caused pain all the way around my crotch (I'm so lucky, ha!).

I also found that I had to really lay off too much exercise, walking lots, jogging (if you could call the playing I do with my Bichon jogging- a tiny bit of running in the park) and even now post ketamine I have to watch how much core and leg exercise I do or as I found out after leg day yesterday I still get an increase in coccyx pain. I eased it off by doing pelvic floor slight contractions and relaxation (which didn't work so well) plus glute and lower back stretches (including the ones I've mentioned and then doing the pelvic floor relaxation again and it worked much better. I can certainly tolerate far more now and if I flare it up post ketamine it doesn't last as long.

The muscles from the pelvic floor wrap and join to the coccyx so it makes sense.

I do have chronic pain anyway (I crushed T6 in a fall and have disc indenting my spinal chord) so my response to any pain is ramped up as my nervous system is overly sensitized.

The other thing that made everything work better IMO is working through the book Protectormeter by David Butler and Lorimer Mosley and the more in depth Explain pain by the same people (but Protectormeter is better as you fill in your own pain journey and apply the principles directly to yourself). I was lucky enough to explore those principles with a pain psych but you could certainly do it by yourself.

Strongly recommend those books if you still have pain or to anyone in chronic pain. The first in all cases and the second if they have a medical interest.

The information in them is helpful to overcome pain, but obviously it's a whole lot easier with a nervous system time out from ketamine. I think in part it worked so well on me though as I had already learned them and then worked hard at applying them during the 7 day hospital infusion. I also meditated. Maybe not a biggy though as I just had my second infusion and was too nauseous to do any real practice or meditation (think I did it once) and it worked even better.

Hope that helps someone. I've had bad coccyx pain since Feb 2021 and it sucks. For me it came on really fast after using a percussion massager on my glutes of all things, and then just refused to go away.