Coccyx cushion and standing desk helped
Anonymous, UK
Posted 2023-05-21
I started noticing coccyx pain in May 2022. At first, it was intermittent, however sadly the pain got much worse around August. It was extremely painful when getting up to stand from sitting down. I hadn't had an injury or fall, but I did have a sedentary lifestyle due to a combination of office work and studying.
I contacted my GP who did an initial examination of the coccyx. The GP advised that tailbone pain usually goes away on its own after 3 months, but that in the meantime I should walk and stretch more and sit down less. I followed the GP's guidance and I also purchased a coccyx cushion. This helped massively although I found that the type with a hole in the middle are not the best - the best type are the ones with the coccyx area cut out at the back.
When the pain didn't go away as expected after 3 months I asked to be referred to a Specialist, who I saw in November 2022. Interestingly they didn't perform any sort of physical examination on my actual coccyx area but they did perform X-rays. The X-rays showed 'wear and tear' on the coccyx. However, the doctor was unable to advise if the wear and tear was the cause of the pain or coincidental.
I was offered the options of internal manipulation and, if this didn't work, surgery to remove the coccyx. I declined and decided to further increase my lifestyle changes to see if I could reduce the pain without resorting to an invasive procedure. I got a standing desk for working which dramatically reduced the amount of hours per week I was sitting down. I declined any invitations and avoided activities which required prolonged sitting. I tried to bring my coccyx cushion everywhere with me. When I did have to sit down without my cushion, I adjusted my posture and leaned forward to remove any pressure from the tailbone. I stopped sleeping on my back and started sleeping on my side. In short, I had to majorly overhaul my lifestyle in a way I never expected. All decisions revolved around the coccyx pain.
From Feb-April 2023 I saw a noticeable improvement in the coccyx pain. I noticed this gradually - one day I accidentally rolled up out of bed (which before was a normal movement but I had to start lifting myself onto one side with my upper body to get out of bed) and there was no pain. I went away for a week without my coccyx cushion and whilst I was still careful not to sit down too often, there were occasions where I was sat continuously for a couple of hours and there was no pain. I was pleased and thought that perhaps my efforts had finally paid off, and perhaps my tailbone was going to heal on its own - albeit at a longer rate than the GP first expected.
Sadly in early May 2023 the pain got worse again. I suspect that this may be to do with the fact that I started working out in the gym again. The GP advised me that any physical activity was fine provided that I don't experience tailbone pain whilst doing the exercises, but unfortunately I've not found this to be quite true - there are certain exercises which feel fine at the time but I always notice a pattern that the pain is worse afterwards, so I've eliminated them entirely now. I've also started taking vitamin D3 supplements which I've read can apparently help with coccyx pain. I'm hoping I can get back to the point I was at a couple of months ago where I was starting to do normal things again.
