Hi, my name is Pauline and I have coccydynia, which basically means 'pain on the tailbone'. This gives you pain when sitting and therefore can be quite a problem when attempting everyday things we all take for granted, such as driving, using the computer, reading, going out for a meal, attending a meeting etc etc.

I had a nasty fall as a teenager right on my coccyx when on holiday. It was sore for a couple of days but then seemed alright so when I got home I didn't seek any medical advice. For quite a number of years life was normal but then around the year 2000 I had a couple of other more minor traumas to the area and from then on suffered pain when sitting for any length of time or on certain seats. This caused me discomfort but again I didn't seek any medical attention. Unfortunately about two years ago the problem escalated to become chronic and sitting was really becoming unbearable. I sent away for a coccyx cushion which gave me huge relief but after using it constantly for about three months I became sore even when using the cushion and again the problem started to become unbearable. I spent a lot of time standing, kneeling or sitting twisted with my legs under me but this would give me a sore lower back.

Eventually in September 2007 I attended my GP with my problem. Firstly I was sent for an x-ray. The x-ray focused only on the coccyx itself. I was told that my coccyx showed normal and my GP stated that the problem would probably just go away by itself!! I requested some further help and was sent to a physiotherapist. The physio was very helpful and saw me for 6 weeks performing a technique called mobilisation. After the 6 weeks I had some small improvement but sitting was still a huge problem and very painful. The physio could not do anything more for me and asked me if I had considered having my coccyx removed (this was not something I wanted as I had read that some people had the operation and received no improvement).

I asked the physio what her advice would be about attending a chiropractor, she said that she would not recommend it as it could do more harm than good! At that time I knew almost nothing about chiropractic care and was therefore very much afraid to try this avenue.

In January 2008 I returned to my GP as life had become so difficult with the continuing problem. My GP referred me to a Pain Clinic. At the Pain Clinic I was told that the normal treatment would be a cortisone injection. He said that for some people it works for 3 months others perhaps 1 year. I was given the option to have the injection there and then and was told that it would take 2 or 3 days to work. I did not seem to have any alternative so I agreed. The injection itself was extremely painful and unfortunately for me did not work but rather made me much worse for about 3 weeks and sitting down at all for that time was out of the question, even to eat. I had to travel lying down in the back seat of the car. It was a nightmare. Eventually my pain levels settled to what they were before the injection. Even if the injection had worked to give pain relief it was not fixing the problem but rather masking it temporarily. The Pain Clinic then sent me to another physio for another 6 week course. Again the physio was very helpful and gave me a variety of exercises for the area and again this gave me some small improvement but normal life was still not possible.

At the back of my mind I still considered going to see a Chiropractor but because of what the first physio told me I hesitated and it took me a year to pluck up the courage to go. Really I felt that I was at a brick wall and didn't have too much to lose as I had nothing left to try but surgery. So in fear and trepidation I rang Lisburn Chiropractic Clinic and made an appointment. That was at the very end of October 2008. At this stage I had had pain when sitting for about 8 years and for the last 2 of those years my situation was chronic.

My first appointment was a Consultation, examination, x-ray and spinal scan. Dr Nick was very nice and asked me to tell him everything about my problem, which I did and he made a lot of notes as I spoke. He then examined, not just my coccyx, but the whole spine. After the examination Dr Nick told me that my coccyx was anterior (bent forwards) and lateral to the right (also bent to the right side). This was a huge relief to me as for the first time I knew what the problem was. Even just knowing was a benefit as it was quite frustrating to have a lot of pain and be told that "we don't know why you are in pain there, it just happens to some people!" Dr Nick also took 2 x-rays of the coccyx and lower back area which confirmed his diagnosis. He took time to show me the problem on the x-ray and also showed me another x-ray of a normally aligned coccyx, which showed that mine was badly out of alignment. It was so good for me to see this and to finally get to the root of the problem. Dr Nick also told me a lot of other information, which I never knew, about the rest of my spine.

Chiropractic correction is done by a series of manual chiropractic adjustments using a variety of techniques. Dr Nick advised me right at the start that the problem I had with my coccyx was difficult to treat and also particularly so as this had been a long-term problem. Any misalignment needs to be corrected as soon as possible as the surrounding tissues and ligaments build scar tissue and also muscles start to compensate for the misalignment. The longer this goes untreated the more permanent it becomes. Mine had been a long-term problem and we really wouldn't know how much improvement could be achieved until we tried. Dr Nick assured me he would do everything he could to help and would be hopeful of some improvement. I appreciated his honesty and felt very upbeat about the treatment as I had gained trust already in Dr Nick.

I started attending chiropractic adjustments twice a week for 6 weeks. During this time Dr Nick also gave me some exercises to do (stretching and strengthening exercises). I noticed about 30% improvement during the first course of treatment. Dr Nick did a re-scan and assessment of my situation. The re-scan showed that there was some improvement in my coccyx area and also in my general spinal health. He wanted to get more improvement for me and asked me to attend twice a week for another two weeks and then once a week for six weeks. He said his next goal was to try to get a 70% improvement. During the next course of treatment at the beginning of February 2009 I started to get good improvement. Dr Nick was able to advise me that my coccyx had moved from the lateral right bend to a more straighter position. The improvement continued since then and by the end of March I could say that I had at least 70% improvement. As I write this at the end of April 2009 I feel that the improvement level would be now at about at least 85% and I now attend once a fortnight.

It has made such a difference to me to have this level of improvement. I now feel more like a normal person. I don't worry so much about going places now that sitting has become possible again.

My advice to anyone with a coccyx problem is DO NOT DELAY in seeking chiropractic help, but DO go to a good chiropractor. I can definitely recommend Dr Nicholas Maurice at the Lisburn Chiropractic Clinic. He is very professional, dedicated and determined to help. My only regret is that I did not go a long time ago. Chiropractic adjustments do seem a little strange at first but I can tell you that they are very safe, fairly painless and quick.

An update to my situation in August 2009 is that I now feel around 90-95% improvement from when I first went to Dr Nick, I now attend once every three weeks and am soon to move to once a month. I never believed this amount of improvement was possible and am delighted.

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