Coccyx Pain – The Story of My Tailbone Injury and the Start of My Recovery

I have suffered from coccyx pain since the birth of my son, Joshua.  That was two and a half years ago.  After he was born everything was sore down there.  So, when it was tender sitting down on my tailbone I didn’t think anything of it.  I just assumed it was heal up like the rest of me.  When six months passed and I still couldn’t sit like a normal person I decided to start going to a professional to see if they could help me.

But, what kind of professional could help me?

Chiropractor

I went to a chiropractor numerous times.  Almost all of my ails have been fixed by seeing a chiropractor, so this seemed like a logical conclusion.  After seeing two different chiropractors many times and having nothing change I realized this wasn’t the answer.  I did have one chiropractor tell me that I needed to strengthen my core.  He believed that having 11 children was finally taking its toll on my body.  I agreed as this seemed logical.  I started doing different kinds of core exercises but didn’t experience any changes.  He was right but there was a lot more to it than that.  The answer wasn’t that simple, unfortunately.

Cranial Sacrotherapist

I went to one woman whom I met through a local networking group I work with.  She was very nice and worked out of her home.  I don’t know much about cranial sacrotherapy but since I use alternative medicine all the time it seemed like a logical option for me.

She ‘worked’ on my back for about an hour (I think).  She said she was working the muscle fibers and the energy that flows through it.  If I remember correctly she was helping the energy move through my muscle effectively as sometimes things don’t flow right.  I could be remembering this all wrong as I didn’t fully understand what she was telling me.

By the time she was finished the bill was $40, which wasn’t too bad considering the time she spent with me.  She did tell me that she gave me a discount as a member of her networking group.  That’s good for me because I didn’t feel any better.

Actually, my tailbone and hips felt a little sore.  Strange because it didn’t feel like she did anything to me.  She must have done something though as there was a change, just not the change I wanted.  🙁

Hab It Exercise Video

This video has helped me a lot; I think the most of all the exercises I’ve tried for internal stuff.  After doing her video the first time my ‘insides’ actually felt sore!  I’ve never been able to really feel this part of me before (at least not much) and I actually felt sore.  I recommend this for any woman that has any kind of pelvis floor weakness.  It comes with a short exercise band that she’s shows you how to use as well.

The videos are pretty short, 15-20 minutes long at the most and you do three videos a week.  They aren’t exercises for the entire body, just your pelvic floor.  These have helped me pull my ‘parts’ back up into place in my body.

I think this video helped my tailbone a little bit but not enough.  I definitely have/had multiple problems I was dealing with.  This was just one facet of my injury.

MuTu System

This is an exercise system I am an affiliate for.  I chose to be an affiliate for them because of my experience with them.  I paid for their program myself and wasn’t given a free membership for a review.

Her exercise program is very complete.  She starts with very basic pelvic floor exercises for a few weeks.  After she gets some basic strength back to your pelvic floor and core she moves you to more well-rounded exercises, for your whole body.  Her program is 12 weeks long with instructional videos and exercise pdf’s for each week.

She addresses weight loss as well, particularly after having a baby.  Her program is addressed primarily to new moms wanting to get their body back.  That would be the majority of us!!

Not only does she address your pelvic floor but she addresses your nutrition as well.  She believes that you can’t heal if you don’t give your body the necessary nutrition to work with.  She believes strongly in whole foods, as do I.  Your body doesn’t necessarily know what to do with vitamins and supplements as they aren’t always natural.  But, your body does know what to do with food.

She also teaches you how to teach your body new habits that will strengthen your pelvic floor and your core.  Flat shoes, for example.  She shows you how wearing heels affects your core and the strength and length of the muscles associated with your pelvic floor when wearing your heels.  There are so many day to day things we can do to help our bodies heal themselves.  Small changes like these are where she starts.

The only thing I didn’t like about the MuTu program is she gives you the exercises she wants you to do throughout the week on a pdf.  She teaches the exercises to you in a video but it isn’t the type of video you can use to do your exercises with; just learn them from.  I’m the type that is more inclined to do the exercises if I have a video to do them with.  This made it very difficult for me to keep going with the MuTu program.  If you are the same as me then I would recommend her program if you have more self discipline than I (wouldn’t be hard, really).

Massage Therapist

This has been the answer to my prayers.  I started seeing a local massage therapist (Brooke) with the hopes that she could help.

Every time my husband would touch my lower back it was painful.  This told me my muscles were very tight and needed help but he couldn’t give them the needed attention to get them to loosen up.  One of my local chiropractors has a group of massage therapists that work through his office.  I went to one and found it very relaxing.  Unfortunately, it didn’t ‘hurt’ enough.

I knew I needed it to hurt to get the muscles worked through.  So, a few weeks later, I scheduled another massage but chose the therapist whose reviews sounded like she was the more aggressive one.  Boy was she!!  After my first massage with her, the following morning my butt felt bruised!  I didn’t see any bruises but I had to sit down VERY CAREFULLY.  Two weeks later, I was back.  The ‘bruising’ wasn’t as much after my second massage with her.  I was still was very sore but I could tell there was an improvement.  I’ve had 7 or so massages with her and I’m starting to sit without my famous butt pillows (affectionate term, I know).

I’ve also starting exercising my core more.  It seems that once the muscles in my tailbone started relaxing more I have been able to exercise them into place, if that makes sense.  The tightness of the muscles were so extensive that my core and pelvic floor didn’t feel like they were moving into the correct place.  Does that make sense?  It probably doesn’t, but trust me.  Things are starting to tone up better now that the muscles are looser.

I’ve been using www.fitnessblender.com.  Their videos are free unless you purchase one of their programs.  I purchased and am currently doing their Booty program.  Boy does this make you sore, but in a good way!  This particular program exercises your butt, thighs, and core; exactly what I need to tone up.  This will directly influence how fast my tailbone will finish healing up.

In Conclusion

I am still seeing Brooke every 3-4 weeks but with every hour session I feel improvement.  Going to a massage therapist was hard for me to do and was one of the last therapies I tried because it didn’t feel like medical help.  It felt like an ‘extra’.  Women get massages to relax, a type of luxury.  Or so I thought.  Now I truly see the value and highly appreciate what Brooke and massage therapy has done for me.  The pain was so intense before she started.  I couldn’t stand up without intense pain shooting up my back every time I got out of my chair.  Now I can stand and usually don’t get any shooting pains.

I’m still healing but am so grateful that I have finally found the answer.  I know there are others out there just like me.  I know this because I have been all over Google trying to find a solution to my own pain, to no avail.  I found a lot of women looking for help but none with help.  Hopefully, someone with coccyx pain will stumble upon this post and I will be able to help them.  Hopefully, because I know how it feels to be in pain for this long and want to just give up and almost despair.  You don’t have to give up though.  There are answers out there and maybe your answer will be like the one I found for me.

Do you suffer from coccyx (tailbone) pain, particularly from childbirth?  Share below if you have and if you have found anything that has helped you.  Thanks!