Coccydynia or pain and tenderness over the coccygeal region (tail bone).

The common symptom include pain while sitting and standing up from a chair, pain at the end of the spine often refereed to as ‘tail bone’ pain between the buttocks, worse whilst weight bearing, most often in the sitting position due to pressure.

It is often caused  due to sudden impact over the coccyx area from falls or traumatic injuries (falling during ice skating as an example) but often is caused due to pressure during child birth in women resulting in pain and inflammatory changes of the surrounding ligaments and muscles. 

SanakrGanesh and Kowsalya (2019) concluded that Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy in effective in managing patients with acute coccydynia.

This study shows a better pain relief and increase in comfort after the treatment with Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy. Thus we recommend the use of Pulsed Short wave Diathermy in patients with coccydynia to reduce pain and improve the quality of life.

Shin-feng lintel et al. (2015) demonstrated that shortwave therapy is more effective at reducing discomfort and disability caused by coccydynia compared with physical modalities.

Recommendation: 

• Single Head =
  • Pulsed
  • Stay below 5w
  • Frequency = daily down to 1x per week
  • 20 mins
  • For 3-6 weeks (aim for 6+ sessions)