COCCYX PILLOW

ANATOMY OF THE COCCYX

The coccyx pillow takes the pressure off the bruised coccyx in the acute phase after injury. Where exactly is the coccyx? Slide your finger down between the buttock crease and eventually, deep, just before you reach the anus, you will feel a hard bony prominence. That's it! A normal coccyx is not at all tender.

The coccyx lies at the end of the vertebral column, consisting usually of four bones lying below the sacrum. It�s incorrectly been considered a �vestigial tail� that has no real function in the human, which is far from the case.

So what are the causes of coccygeal pain? About the only time the coccyx seems to give trouble is after direct trauma, and perhaps after child birth. And then it certainly let�s you know of its presence! It hurts, and prevents us doing what first comes to hand, namely sitting. When a person can�t sit, they are supremely miserable!

Nine muscles, including one of the largest muscles in the body, the Gluteus Maximus, and numerous ligaments are attached to the coccyx. These muscles are used during defecation, urination, orgasm, childbirth, walking and running. The coccyx is important!

Can you see the coccyx in this picture (in tiny letters, see it?), and the Levantor Ani and the Coccygeus muscles attached to it. Well there are seven other muscles, all attached to the coccyx.

A fractured coccyx only rarely occurs as it is fairly mobile, able to bend forwards and backwards. But a violent force directly to the coccyx (like falling down the stairs), may subluxate the coccyx and sprain its ligaments, and cause pain for months and even years.

Tip: Make sure your child knows that pulling a chair out from under someone about to sit, is about the meanest trick they can pull. I have had patients who have had coccyx and low back pain for the rest of the lives. Intended as a joke, it has caused a lifetime of misery. Mind you, knowing some kids, perhaps you will be putting ideas into their heads. Some people's children! Not yours of course.

Owing to its attachment to so many muscles, the coccyx, when injured, can have a detrimental effect on movement, sitting, bearing down on the toilet may be painful and urinating may also be affected. Some women may experience pain during sexual intercourse. The coccyx is not without some importance!

Chiropractor Bernard Preston tells delicious anecdotes about such events in our lives. If you love reading, and at the same time want to improve your health, you will love to read his stories. To read one of his short stories, click here.

TREATMENT

So much for the doom and gloom. The good news is that this little tailbone responds well to chiropractic, and the treatment is not particularly painful. Coccyx pain relief is at hand. It's only very rarely that coccyx amputation is indicated.

The first phase of chiropractic care is no different to any other acute joint injury. It needs to be iced to reduce any swelling and inflammation, the subluxations should be reduced as soon as possible, and you need to avoid sitting directly on it for a few weeks. Fortunately there are several aids in the form of a coccyx pillow that take direct pressure off the offended dignity of this little group of bones.

A painful coccyx is called coccydynia. Sitting in the car is often painful, and this little coccyx pillow does wonders.

Really this injury should be considered as a syndrome, as trauma to the coccyx often affects the sacrum, the sacro-iliac joints and the myriad of muscles around the coccyx. And of course, the trauma may well have affected the spinal joints as well.

So, chiropractic begins with a thorough exam. Has there been fracture? Of the coccyx or even the sacrum? Black and blue? The SI joints, the lumbar spine, the hips, and the superficial muscles.

Fortunately, the skin is very tight around the coccyx, and can be used in most cases to correct the subluxated coccyx. The treatment is not usually particularly painful, despite the fact that the general area is so sore - as your chiropractor uses the skin away from the joint to correct the subluxation. Occasionally, it has to be done rectally. This also is not painful, but obviously awkward and embarrassing. I have never seen research, but on the odd occasion when I have had to do an internal rectal correction of the coccyx, I have been of the opinion that it can be corrected even more quickly. This is perhaps because at the same moment one can do cross-friction of the adjacent ligaments and muscles. Thereafter a coccyx pillow is usually a good idea for a few weeks.

For an interesting case history from the Coalface, click here.

Before surgery, don't you think it might be an idea to pay your local chiropractor a visit? Reducing the subluxation together with a coccyx pillow is far less misery.

The black arrow below points to the coccyx.

To go from COCCYX PILLOW to Sacro-iliac joint treatment.

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