Coccygodynia eMedicine Orthopedics

Description: The term coccygodynia (ie, coccydynia) has been defined as pain in and around the region of the coccyx. It was described as early as the 1600s, but the term actually was first used by Simpson in 1859. The term coccyx actually comes from the Greek term kokkoux for cuckoo, as it resembles the shape of a cuckoo's beak. This condition is quite rare and accounts for less than 1% of all back pain conditions reported to physicians. It is 5 times more common in women, supposedly because the coccyx is more exposed and prominent in women than in men. Various authors have described the typical patient with coccydynia as a female with a thin body who has either sustained direct trauma to the coccyx or injured the coccyx during childbirth.
Synonyms and related keywords: coccydynia sprain of the posterior fibers of the sacrococcygeal joint capsule, contusion to the tip of the coccyx and surrounding soft tissue, fracture of the coccyx, coccyalgia, coccydynia levator syndrome, coccyx pain, back pain, coccygeal pain Author: Michael J Lyons, DO 2006 Updated: Oct 16, 2009