Remember that back click I was telling you about when I was giving birth( read my birth story here).
That was not just a minor click. As soon as I gave birth I knew something serious happened to my back. I was the most serious injury that happened to me so far. I couldn’t sit at ALL!!! Which made the breastfeeding very difficult , I couldn’t get comfortable in anyway. I couldn’t sit down and have a meal. I couldn’t sit down to breastfeed. I couldn’t sit and watch TV. And on top of that cracked nipples, sore V , loss of identity, no wonder new mother fall into post natal depression!!! I sure did!!
Every time I tried sitting something made a clicking sound and it was so painful that it made me jump!
Once I started feeling that I could leave the house, chiro was the first place I went. We did an x-ray which revealed , previous to pregnancy my tailbone was very curved in, so when baby’s head pushed on it, the tailbone popped out of place, and was literally dislocated.
I was advised on ice, and good luck. one day it will get better. So, I had to live like this?! I started searching, someone recommended Cranio-Sacral Therapy. I was ready to try anything. I have completed 5 sessions, and it helped, it reduced the pain a little, it was extremely relaxing. But I was still in pain. Meanwhile I started postnatal Yoga training as well as physio.
After 8 months of suffering I decided to seek medical advice. The doctor recommended cortisone injection and I went for it! I had to, he said I could have the tailbone removed, there was no way on earth I would do that. cortisone it was! And it helped!! the injected area hurt for a week resulting in significant reduction of pain.
The doc recommended to do another injection to completely eliminate the pain. I agreed, but unfortunately it made no difference second time round.
Initial pelvic floor exercise really hurt, as they pull on the tail bone, however as they got stronger the pain subsided.
Lower Back and Hip releases were absolute crucial in reduction of pain, when the muscles are tight around lower back and hips, they pull on the tailbone creating pressure and resulting in more pain.
Breath work was another huge factor that helped me manage pain and anxiety at this very stressful time.
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I had to modify and avoid certain poses, like navasana (boat pose}, any pose that required sitting on both sitting bones was painful. using the bolster helped a lot.
To be honest I probably would completely loose my sanity if I didn’t posses some good stress relief skills. Yoga has saved me once again.
Today, 5 years on, my tailbone is still a little tender, I am reminded of it when sitting on hard or cold surfaces. Ans I tend to lean on one side of my bottom when sitting to avoid sitting on the tailbone (making sure to even out the sides!). I believe it’s never going to get better from here on but at least its manageable now and I can actually sit!
I can’t help but wonder how it’s going to be affected in my next birth.
Here’s a little sequence to reduce lower back pain and open the hip, which will help with tailbone injury pain.
By Rita McCabe
Lower Back Release to Help manage Tailbone pain
