Injection and manipulation giving relief

Yvette, UK

Posted 2021-06-13

I struggled with coccydynia for just over 1.5 years by the time I found this website and tracked down a doctor close to me, from the list here. I'd been to the GP and had just been told there was nothing they could do and it may, or may not, just go away on its own. It didn't go away on its own.

Due to the pain, I'd had to change the way I sat and slept. And where I sat and slept. I tried several types of cushions that were supposed to help and only one helped a bit. The rest did nothing. I had to always sit very slightly forward and was unable to sit on our sofa at all. I ended up sitting on a hard, wooden step stool, next to the sofa, instead, for well over a year.

I love travelling but it was not fun as I'd get a lot of pain from sitting still for too long. I ride my mountain bike from time to time and that, as well as spinning, were both impacted. I also had to stop wearing thongs and g-strings, as they made the pain significantly worse, especially at night. There were also several moves I just couldn't do, in my Pilates classes.

I'd wake up in pain every night and we ended up buying an expensive water bed, which did really make a huge difference, just so I could sleep through the night. I highly recommend water beds for this issue by the way. I believe a memory foam mattress would probably do the same thing.

After my initial assessment, with Mr Bhagawati (see Doctors and specialists in the UK, Bedfordshire), I had to wait several months for my procedure, as things were slowed down due to Covid-19. He recommended an injection of cortisone and local anesthetic, along with manipulation of the coccyx.

I was very nervous that both the injection, and manipulation, would be painful, as just touching my coccyx hurt, but I was told I'd feel very sleepy, due to the sedation, so it should be fine. I was actually totally out for a few minutes, due to the sedation. Either that or I just remember nothing of the procedure. So because of that, and the local anesthetic, there was no pain at all. It was a bit tender, to the touch, a few hours afterwards, but nothing 2 paracetamols couldn't sort out.

The whole thing took less than a day. By the next day I was totally fine, pain-wise, and my coccyx already felt far better. It's not 100% yet but the procedure has been life changing. I can spin and bike without pain. I sleep even better. I can sit on the sofa! It's such a simple fix with such a huge benefit. And I've been told it'll still improve for some time to come.

The procedure was so worth it for me.