Abstract
The inefficacy of the treatment of coccygodynia is attested by the numerous forms of therapy which have been recommended. Results from rest, physical therapy and sedatives have not been satisfactory. Injections of various solutions into the soft tissues about the coccyx as recommended by Yeomans1and Kleckner2have been more encouraging. Too often coccygectomy has resulted only in chagrin for the surgeon and disappointment for the patient. Careful search of the literature appearing since 1859 fails to reveal a concept of coccygodynia which can harmonize the many forms of therapy which have been advised. In a classic thesis published in 1859, Sir J. Y. Simpson3called attention to the fact that, when the coccyx or the coccygeal joints had been injured or when the surrounding tissues were the seat of inflammation, any contraction of the muscles attached to the coccyx would excite the characteristic pain of coccygodynia.