Arthritic coccyx with bone spur
Tony, UK - TonyJG@live.com
Posted 2022-07-17
I started to get coccyx pain in December 2014. It started for no obvious reason and within a few months had forced me into semi-retirement. I couldn't do long car trips or attend meetings that required me to sit down for more than an hour. All in all it was a bit of a disaster for my work and social life. I tried a lot of the treatments that other people describe in their personal experiences. Some with people who list themselves as 'coccyx experts' here. Prior to any surgical intervention I tried 3 chiropractors and an acupuncturist. Of the chiropractors 2 did x rays of me in a sitting position. As it turned out neither gave an accurate diagnosis of what was wrong. The lesson here is to make sure you do all your research before starting your treatment. This is a great site for helpful information, there is also a book available on Amazon (sometimes free) called Tail Bone Relief Now by Dr Patrick Foye a USA expert on the topic.
Finally in 2016 I paid to see an Orthopaedic surgeon privately in Birmingham. He thought from my MRI I may have a dislocation but could see no other issues. He recommended I have a Manipulation of the coccyx under anaesthetic and a steroid injection. None of this helped my pain. I found as a general rule the NHS has little expertise in dealing with coccyx issues. You have to find someone that has dealt successfully with them previously. I also found that radiologists had little training on coccyx imaging and diagnosing problems.
In 2018 after 5 years of unresolved pain I found Mr Hardy who at the time operated clinics in Bristol at the Spire and in London (now only in London) (see Doctors and specialists in the UK, London). He is a private consultant and does no NHS work. But he is an absolute expert on all things coccyx. He arranged another MRI with his own radiologist, as well as carrying out a thorough physical assessment and taking a medical history. The images came back and it was clear to see that the joint of the coccyx was arthritic and degenerating, there was a dislocation as well as a bone spur on the join with the sacrum and lower down on the coccyx. Mr Hardy said he'd be happy to try another injection but felt given my diagnosis and prior experience with an injection that removal would be my best option. At this point I got pretty anxious but he answered all my questions patiently. He has done literally 100s of successful removals. He has a very thorough infection prevention regime which is critical with this operation.
In January 2019 my coccyx was removed in Bristol. I stayed in a local flat until day 7 post operation when my stitches were removed. Immediately post operation it was sore but manageable with fairly normal pain medication - codeine and paracetamol. I stopped taking the codeine on day 4 post operation. It was important to prepare for a good recovery so we had frozen fresh meals to make cooking easier. I also had a grabber and a raised toilet seat. For the car journeys a back seat air mattress. I started sitting from day 7, 1 minute each hour, 10 times. I was told just to gently rock from side to side so as not just to put all my weight on the operation site. This increased each day so on day 2 it was 2 minutes each hour 10 times etc etc. As part of the operation I had my sacrum shaved as there was a sharp point on it. This made leaning backwards very sore up to around the 3.5 month point when the pain reduced a lot. Within 6 months of the operation I was able to do all the normal things in life with minimal pain. As I sit and write this I'm now 3 years after my removal and am absolutely pain free. I had a difficult journey to find a permanent solution. But finally I got there.
