Tail Pain's

[Kitsu Tails]

Okay....here's the deal...

Im Kind of at a loss right now. I have had these pain's a good year...two...three...(I forget) before pregnancy. They were annoying yes, but I never really concerned myself with it. The pain would flair up, then go away a few minuets later after I sit and breathe. Sometimes it would take a bit longer, but nothing insane.... so I was lazy and never had anyone take a look. *Facepalm*

Now I'm pregnant....second Trimester it went away, I figured with the shifting and moving of the pelvis, whatever was out of alignment...shifted back into alignment. Yay! Problem is...it is back :( and this time (last night) it lasted all night, even through sleep.

What is this pain?


http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/1253587190884c35a485fd64ba6458d43d30bec.jpghttp://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/a111549a4aa8fab1cd11442223757eeb638f3d6.jpg

In the picture above I have circled the general location. The pain is right off to the side from the Tail bone. It is like a knot that binds up and prevents me from walking, sometimes to the point of collapsing to the floor all together it really hurts, and i have yet to find a stretch that helps re-leave the pain beside the idea of hanging from the monkey bars upside down (which i don't have the option to do)

Now i have spoken with my doctor about this...but I don't think she quite understood what I meant. But put in a referral for me to see a physical therapist. (Still waiting to hear back) She thinks its lower back pains. I honestly do not think so.

Now im bringing it up here to see if any of you might have an Idea of what I should do....or who i could contact on the matter.

My concern is that this acts up during labor....which would be bad... Or that it puts me in a wheel chair when i get older :(

So at this point ill take any suggestions if you have it.

[Kitsu Tails]

Sometimes I will feel the back of my thighs tingle...but I think that's just a connection thing, a domino's effect from one spot hurting the rest feels some kind of effect.

As for the type of pain, I really can't say, its neither from what you listed, Its like....Two bone's grinding up against each other and preventing mobility....except that it's muscle...possibly? If I were to pick from the list, id say burning....Stabbing....

I have wondered if it's not the tail bone being out of place...thus making everything else around that area complain... but again, I really can't say.

Charlie Horse? Hmmm i don't know enough to say. I do not feel any kinds of lumps or anything...so I don't think its that...but Im no doctor, just an herbalist.

As you know, we know alot when it comes to fitness and such. So i have a very wide range of back exercise's (but again this isn't back) Before pregnancy I was pretty consistent with my Yoga, kinda really hard to do right now though what with belly and all >_< And it still would act up.

Hands and knees don't work, just keeps the pain constant. I find the only relief (if you can call it relief) is by laying flat on my back and propping my legs up on my fitness ball or chair. I then ball my fist and put it under me at the pain location, kind of rub and massage. When I do this I can feel my tail bone pop, or strain like it wants to pop but can't (like your back popping into place) Which is why I was wondering if it was tail bone related.

Another thing to note is that it only seems to act up when Im walking (Today we went on our first nightly stroll since winter started came home and pain....)

I know this isn't the definitive answer. It is only suggestions of what may be causing the problem.That is the reason why I posted here. I don't expect anyone to have the exact answer....But right now I'm desperate, I will take any and all advice if it will help me narrow down a solution. What you have provided here will help when I am able to schedule a meeting with a physical therapist, or meet my doctor on Monday (Doctor only does deliveries though...sadly...:( )

Thank you for taking the time to respond, I really do appreciate it. :)

[Kitsu Tails]

Also I put another image up with an "X" to show the location it's hurting right now. Like, right under the pelvic bone location... it's not as bad as it was this morning..but still lingering about just waiting for me to start walking again >_< (been doing short walks, stretches, and rocking every so often to keep it moving and loosening up)

[Kitsu Tails]

*Reads Article* Interesting....I will mention it to the doctor/therapist(s)...sounds like a plausible cause.

As I mentioned, I have had this long before pregnancy...but never so long lasting between pain as it was/is today. I think the length of time/pain is most likely due to pregnancy, but the actual problem is not.

[Moonshadow]

I agree with Abi. It sounds like it might be SI joint dysfunction in addition to possible sciatica due to your pelvis being rotated out of alignment. Hopefully it's a mild case since the pain and symptoms aren't radiating too far. You probably had the condition before hand, but the pregnancy has aggravated it. I actually have the exact same pain in the exact same location, so I know I'll probably have issues when I get pregnant as well. Here are a couple links that might help:

http://www.womenshealthcaretopics.com/preg_sciatica.htm
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/health_wellness/complications/article/pregnancy-related-sciatica
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,4411,00.html
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/symptoms-and-solutions/sciatica.aspx

I think the best thing for you to do is see if some heat might alleviate the pain and see a physical therapist for proper stretches and manual therapy to realign your pelvis. I would also recommend looking into getting an SI belt (http://www.activeortho.com/recommended_by_pros_sacral_joint_pain_belt_brace_r elief.html) to offer extra support. It might be a good idea to consult with your physical therapist on the best kind or brand, though.

Sorry I can't offer more help, but you really need specific stretches and hands on therapy that are hard to provide long distance. If it's really bad, I can try talking you through some simple exercises online to see if they work until you can schedule an appointment with a local physical therapist.

--Moonshadow

[Kitsu Tails]

Thank you moon and Abi ^_^

I have just sent out an e-mail to my prenatal doctor. We shall see if she gets it and has anything to say on the matter. Might be able to speed things up...hopefully >_<

Luckily the pain of today has vanished...now it's just a race to figure something out before it happens again *sigh*

[AstaSophi]

Okay - I'm not as qualified as either Moon or Abi - so listen to me least - but I had the same thing - and what made me smile is that I used to lay in my fist to help with the pain...

But here's what it was in my case: I always lay on the same side when I sleep. I also had a tendency to sit and even stand, leaning in on my "right" side. It isn't curved spine - for me it's hereditary from Old Dad - but what happened as I aged was that I was causing a pinch on that side in the back.

I learned, rather recently, to lay or sit and "straighten" myself up - and also breath-through to relax that side. There's a name for it - and I can never get it right so I won't try...

It was in an area that at first seemed to be a kidney or something - but was actually my muscles tightening in that area - and for women because we have hips - it's worst than for a man to have this. (Although - Old Dad in his upper 70's is now suffering from severe stiffness on that side/back).

I also used to get a sort of numbness on that (in my case) right leg and down to the knee when it was really acting-up.

But I have to yet smile at using the fist in the back... It used to feel so good at the end of the day.

If you are of a mind - and not sure with baby-on-board - but if you can sit with your legs out straight in front, see if move your body straight if it helps. You will feel it immediately - especially in the numbness of the leg.

Good luck!

[Inari]

Yep, it sounds like what I had when I was pregnant (and before that too). I often get pseudo-sciatica, a muscular pinch of the sciatic nerve rather than a bony one, though it was aggravated by bony problems. I went to the chiropractor during my pregnancies and adjustments of the hips helped a lot with this problem. Usually a chiro will adjust with you lying on your belly, but there are other ways of doing it too. If you see a chiro (or an osteopath could do this too) make sure they are familiar with working on pregnant patients.

Additionally, though a fist will work, you could try using a tennis ball and leaning against a wall with the tennis ball pushing into your buttocks. Roll the ball around until you find spots that 'hurt good' and gently lean into the ball. That should help to relieve some of the muscular tension, and applying heat afterwards would help even more.

[RyuJin]

i know this pain, i've had it myself...a paralyizing pain that drops you to your knees no matter how hard you try to stay up...a tingling down the back of your thigh to around the knee....it's sciattica....i have it myself...there is nothing that can be done really other then rest when it gets bad and stretching and exercise when it doesn't hurt...it's a neurological problem....it used to get so bad on me that if i moved in the wrong way i collapsed to the ground(quite embarrasing on a construction site for someone of my strength to be brought down so easily and painfully)....i was prescribed flexoral(a muscle relaxer) to lessen the pain, but all it did was make me sleepy... being pregnant definately complicates and compounds the issue....

[Kitsu Tails]

Asta - yea, the fist seems to be the best way, always helps me. I think its a natural response to the pain

Inari - I used to have a tennis ball for that very reason...figured if a fist works, a soft ball of sorts would to...It did...kinda, but it was just slightly to big...dunno where that thing went....

[Kitsu Tails]

Looks like Moon & Abby hit the nail on the head with this one. Doc agrees SI joint dysfunction & sciatica are the most likely cause for my pains. She ordered me up an SI belt but gave no promises that it will work >_<

Thanks guys for alerting me to these names. Now lets just hope my fortitude holds out till after April *Sigh*

[Brandel Valico]

If a tennis ball is to *big* perhaps a racquetball would work better until you get your belt. They are slightly smaller.

[Kitsu Tails]

Yea Mindas was suggesting the same thing. When we get to a store I'll pick one up and see what we can see. :) Makes me feel lazy but I find laying down to help alot also >_<

[RyuJin]

that's because laying down takes the strain off the muscles....as to feeling lazy about it...just remember that you're only doing so to relieve the pain and not to get out of work(though sometimes thats a bonus)...

[Moonshadow]

Hopefully the SI belt will help. A lot of my pregnant co-workers use the belt for their own SI issues. Are you going to get physical therapy too? If not, give me a call and I'll try to talk you through some stretches that might help.

--Moonshadow