Other methods to reduce coccyx pain


One way of coping with pain is what they call distraction, or focusing your mind on a particular activity. This has been recognised for a long time as a way of reducing pain. The activity can be something as simple as an interesting programme on the TV or a good book, or it may be a hobby or going for a walk. As long as the mind is fully occupied, and the pain is not overwhelming, pain fades into the background.

So don't feel guilty about indulging yourself more in what you enjoy. It's good for you, reducing the pain and helping you cope. Of course, you need to make sure that you're not going to make the pain worse afterwards, such as by sitting too long absorbed in a good movie. It is important to make yourself comfortable first, and maybe to use a timer to remind you to change position or stop.

On the other hand, pain may be worse when you can't distract yourself with something interesting. All those boring or unpleasant tasks that you have to force yourself to do under normal circumstances become twice as difficult if you're in chronic pain. You not only have the boredom of the task getting you down, but the boredom allows your pain to become the centre of your attention. Setting yourself small, manageable targets can help here.


Different people have used microwave heating pads, hot water bottles or electrical heating pads. Jo writes: Get yourself a good heating pad. SOOO much comfort from the heat.

Sue writes: "Get a portable plastic bidet (the type that fits over an ordinary toilet seat). When the pain is bad, for example after a long car journey, I fill the bidet with warm water, put it on the loo and sit on it for about 5 minutes. I find it provides instant (although obviously temporary) relief from the pain, better than a heated pad, which is difficult to position correctly."


Mark writes: Ice packs stop my pain.

Katherine writes: I find icing really helps, but it's not easy to get an icepack to the relevant parts, without freezing some very sensitive bits! So, I've made an eentsy icepack that just fits in the right place. Here's how:

First, get an exam glove, the kind they use in the doctor's office. If you ask, they'll usually give you a pair. Fill the glove's four fingers (but not the thumb) with water, just enough to fill the fingers about 3/4 full. Put the glove in the freezer, with the fingers hanging off the shelf, and put something on top of the rest of the glove to hold it in place. Freeze.

Now you've got a glove with four frozen fingers. Cut them off where they join the glove, and wrap the cut ends of each tightly with a rubber band to seal them. You now have four eentsy ice packs that fit pretty comfortably in the crack of your rear. They melt pretty quickly (after all, they're just ice), so it's good to have a few so you can use one while another is freezing back up again.

Grace writes: In the car I lay a few of the flat gel-filled ice-packs down where my bottom will be on top of the cushion, and I can drive comfortably (no pain really) for a half an hour. I finish shopping, come out and get 3 more and do the same thing on the ride home.



Clinical evidence: None that I know of.



Clinical evidence: None that I know of.


See the Homeopathy page

Updated 2015-08-30

