The basic story is that this summer I noticed tailbone pain while sitting but chalked it up to a long day of sitting at jury duty. Come fall, when the pain seemed to be getting worse, I went to an orthopedic surgeon who took x-rays, told me my hips were out of alignment and that I had a slight scoliosis, and gave me a prescription for physical therapy. She recommended a specific therapist and told me I'd be cured after one or two visits. Well, of course the therapist she recommended was not "in network" and therefore not covered by our insurance, so I found another therapist. She put me back in alignment, but I did not in any way have a miraculous recovery. My therapist started to suspect that the problem stemmed from a tightening in the pelvic floor. An exam confirmed that this was, in fact, the case. At the risk of getting too graphic, basically the muscles in my pelvic floor are tightened for some reason, mostly on the left side, and this causes my coccyx (tailbone) to pull to the left, resulting in pain from sitting.
At this point, I switched therapists so that I could see a woman who specialized in women's health. She was helping me slowly. The process for any kind of coccyx pain is a long one, apparently. I wasn't sure how much my new therapist was helping, though, until I had to stop going to her for a few weeks. (Another insurance thing, of course.) I've been therapy-less for a few weeks, and I've been getting worse and worse. I cannot sit for long at all, and my hamstrings get so tight every time I sit at the desk chair for some reason. I workout and stretch, but nothing helps. Also, my lower spine always hurts in the morning. Essentially, I'm a mess.
I did find a new therapist who is in network and specializes in women's health, and I will see her Thursday. Today, I had to go back to my orthopedic surgeon because my new therapist wanted a current prescription for therapy from the expert. The O.S. gave me one and also did some acupuncture on me today, which was interesting to say the least.
I am hoping this new therapist will help me because this has been a very frustrating process for me. I'm a fairly fit person, so it's very annoying to be in pain all the time. The silver lining is that my last few weeks of pain inspired me to rejoin the gym and also sign up for a triathlon this summer. I'm doing the same one I did a few years ago, which is a sprint distance with a little longer run (perfect for me since that's my strong leg of the race anyway). My hope is that getting back into good shape will help with my recovery, especially being in the pool. And I just feel better being sore for a good reason (like I was running or biking) other than just being in pain for no reason at all. It feels good to be earning my showers these days. I've run, swum, or biked 6 out of the last 8 days, and I just feel happier to be moving again.
If therapy/training doesn't work, my last resort is to get pregnant. My old therapist is pretty sure my pain will go away when I get pregnant again because the hormones will relax the muscles "down under". Will claims that tailbone pain is not a reason to get pregnant, but he's also not the one in pain!
I have so much more to write about (i.e. Ethan's sudden talking burst, my new obsession with local food/gardening, etc.), but it will have to wait for now. I need to stand up and give my bum a rest. Until next time, here are some recent pictures of Ethan, pre and post haircut.
Blueberries, anyone?
Nap time often makes for some pretty funny hairdos.
Biker baby.
I love that he's pointing just like Babe Ruth.
We put sand in the sandbox for the first time. There's a lot on our grass now, so we moved it to the patio so we can at least use the spilled sand to fill in the cracks.
Ethan gets his third haircut. He's keeping busy with the spray bottle (a lifesaver!) while Will snips after using the clippers. 
Handsome boy. 
