References
Quotes from Medical Text & Experts on the Coccyx
- Spinal Cord Relation to Coccyx - "The (spinal cord's) filum terminale externum is closely united with the dural sheath descending to an attachment of the dorsum of the first coggygeal segment." Gray's Anatomy. Williams and Warwick, 36th Ed. 1980.
- Coccygeal Disc Significant - "No previous study has assessed the coccygeal discs as a source of pain in approximately 70% of cases." Maigne JY, Guedj S, Straus C. Idiopathic Coccygodynia. Spine 1994; 19: 930-34.
- Orthopaedic Text emphasizes Coccygeal motion - "Because of its muscular attachments the coccyx is in constant motion...acting as a shock absorber..." Turek SL. Orthopaedic Principles and their Applications. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott. 1984, pp. 1659.
- Author of Text states..."Dr. Kemper has yielded excellent results in many patients and has brought this important (coccyx) problem into focus for many of us practicing manual and injection techniques of the spine." Tom Dorman, M.D. Dorman T, Ravin T. Diagnosis and Injection Techniques in Orthopedic Medicine. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1991.
A loosely held, widespread and lingering opinion that the coccyx is "Vestigial" and serves little or no purpose, is now is being replaced with new guidelines for Coccygeal function. A clear and measurable Coccygeal range of motion, far greater than previously known, has been observed in thousands of clinical cases.
The Kemper Tailbone Injury Foundation (KTIF) and its associates have observed, measured and treated thousands of coccyges in men and women of all ages. These observations have been the subject of two studies that clearly point to evidence suggesting that injury to the Coccyx, resulting in displacement or angulation, if left untreated, can lead to pathological neuromechanical processes. Until recently, loss of Coccygeal motion has not been associated with abnormal orthopedic or neurologic signs or symptoms. Pain at the coccyx or "Coccydynia" has been, by far, the most common diagnosis given to those affected by Coccygeal trauma and resultant Coccygeal Hypomobility or loss of Coccygeal range of motion.
And while most authorities agree on ranges of motion for all joints in humans, the coccyx has largely escaped scrutiny until Maigne et al. and Wooley Kemper et al. began measuring coccygeal range of motion in the 1980s.
Except in the occasional case of severe ligament tearing or detachment of the coccyx requiring surgical removal,KTIF remains dedicated to the more prevalent symptoms associated with loss of coccygeal motion and its classic group of signs and symptoms termed the SacroCoccygeal Syndrome and its proposed neuromechanical affects called the SacroCoccygeal Reflex.
The syndrome and reflex are readily recognizable by their clear clinical profile, yet are often diagnosed or attributed to the area (chronic pelvic pain), nerves (sciatic), muscles (piriformis, coccygeus or lumbar) or joints (sacroiliac, lumbosacral or hip socket) they affect.
Careful consideration of the Coccyx and its named Syndrome and Reflex is hereby respectfully offered to the health care profession at large. KTIF stands ready to assist in any way it can to encourage evaluation of the coccyx by spine physicians and surgeons. KTIF predicts that once Coccygeal motion is routinely assessed, its classic clinical profile is observed and its corrective treatment performed, a new value of normal motion will be assigned to the SacroCoccygeal Joint Complex.