Stefan -stefan@tordenmalm.com
Original posting, 2003-11-16:
I've had pain when sitting for three years now, growing worse all the time. I've had 5-6 cortisone shots without any permanent relief. All the time I've been under the impression that the pain comes from pressure on my tailbone, but now I'm not sure. Last week when it was so bad that I could hardly sit at all, I by chance found out that I have pain when my buttocks are pressed together and no pain when they're separated. By "pulling" my buttocks apart when sitting down I've been able to sit without problems for the past week, even in soft chairs. My doctor thinks that problem is in one of the ligaments that attach to the tailbone and that for some reason this ligament is affected when my buttocks are pushed together.
Does anyone have any similar experiences? I'm still trying to understand how my problem works and hope that someone can help me.
Update, 2004-11-21:
In the past year my tailbone situation has stopped getting worse. I've visited Dr. Maigne in Paris and he diagnosed me with a hyper-mobile coccyx. Understanding the reason for my pain has helped me to avoid triggering it, and that has kept it from getting worse. I've also been able to find/create seats that make it possible to sit throughout the day at work (see below, made from the back of a cheap IKEA chair), or during long car travels. I still have to do the funny procedure of pulling my buttocks apart when sitting down though, as my buttocks seem to be what pushes my coccyx out of place when sitting.
What is my biggest problem now is that I still can't sleep on my back. When in Paris I also met with professor Doursounian, to discuss a possible surgery, and he seemed to find it strange that laying on my back could cause pain. From what I've been able to gather from stories on this site, it seems I'm not the only one but it would be nice to have that confirmed. As my shoulders have gotten painful from sleeping on my side all the time, I'm kind of frustrated and getting more and more ready for surgery. Dr. Maigne has found me to be a good candidate for surgery, but professor Doursounian would rather wait and see. It seemed to bother him a bit that I didn't yet have a statement saying that my expenses would be paid for, even though I said I'd cough up the money myself if I had to.