So what about that coccyx dysfunction? A lot of women have problems with coccyx after childbirth.
Sometimes it likes to break backward, which is really not much of a problem when it
goes backward. This joint right here, this sacrococcygial joint is a synovial joint and
it's supposed to have movement. There are three or four tiny little bones that are part of the coccyx
and when you sit down, the coccyx is supposed to flex forward. This joint is supposed to be mobile,
but very commonly it gets osteoarthritic and does not want to flex forward when you sit. The biggest
problem that I see in my practice, sometimes toddlers when they're young they will fall on
a step and they will start to hook this coccyx and it will get stuck there in what's called a "hooked
coccyx." Very commonly you'll see a hooked coccyx co-present with a left side shift. In other words,
left side bent coccyx and hook too. That's what I see more and I have no idea why it
goes to the left more than to the right. That's what I see in my practice more. You gotta get
that out of there somehow, so there's several good techniques for doing it. Of course the
sacrotuberous ligament, sacrospinus ligaments have to be released and I'll show you how to do
that. Then we have to get in here and do some muscles that people do not appreciate much and
that's sacrococcygial, the lateral sacrococcygial muscle the medial sacrococcygial muscle and of
course you got another lateral on the outside. Then you got the pubococcygeal muscles that
come here and form the pelvic floor. They come up here and all attach to form a container for
the pelvic floor. All that stuff is important. When they're having pelvic floor dysfunction this
stuff is all got to be fixed. So here's some very basic technique for dealing with coccyx
dysfunction and/or pelvic floor dysfunction. I'm going to leave this coccyx sitting up here,
if that's ok with you Michelle. What I'm going to do is I'm going to come in here first of
all and come across where the sacrotuberous ligaments are going to be. Right in here. So
I'm going to come off the coccyx and come across and just feel for tension in the sacrotuberous,
sacrospinus ligaments. You guys have done this technique, we've been teaching this for a long
time, everybody teaches sacrotubers work so I'm not going to spend much time on that. I
just want you to know that you need to come under that first, come under it and lift all
that tissue up. You're trying to lift that whole thing up. Of course, you've evaluate
for the coccyx and you have to come down on the -- first of all, make sure you got a hooked coccyx,
if you cannot feel the tip of the coccyx, you've got coccyx dysfunction. Michelle's got a little
bit of a hooked coccyx here, we're going to try to get this out of here. So, one of the things I want
to do is I want to check to see if it's side bent to one side or another. So I'll come on this side,
with the fingertips on her left side and try to see if I can tell if it's a sidebend. And in fact
she is a left sidebend coccyx. Got more room here on the right. When I come over here she's got more
room, but when I get over here not as much room on this side. Ok? So, I'm going to be wanting to deal
with this side. There's a lot of ways to do it. Actually, Jerry Hesh has a technique I'm going to
steal from him, that's very good. But, right now, I'm going to teach you the ones that work best for
me. And that is I'm going to come under, as much as I can. Start working on the sacrococcygeal
ligaments first. So I'm going to come in right like this and under as much as I can. I am always
trying to work under coz I'm wanting to release the tissue that's binding it down forward. So
I'm coming in, and always make sure that you're cool. You tell your person on the table exactly
what you are doing, you ask their permission, and always do it through underwear or clothing
or a sheet or something on. Working on the err of modesty. Ok, so now I'm going to ask you to pelvic
tilt so I can feel where I am in there. Make sure that I am on the sacrococcygeal ligaments
and a little bit of that pubococcygeal - big ol' complex there. And then I'm going to glide my
finger over and try to push that coccyx into right side bending. And putting it in position here.
Ok, now I feel like I'm able to get under the tip of her coccyx. I couldn't get under there before,
so this is good. I am going to take a compressive forcer right now and put my hand right here
so I can push that sacrum up, so that I can get under that coccyx. And now you just tell me if
this is ok, that can be very tender down there. Remember, the filum terminale ends,
that's the end of the spinal cord. The spinal cord doesn't actually end at S2, it comes down through
tiny strands at filum terminale that runs all the way down the tip of the coccyx. When it's hooked,
the theory is that it can cause tractioning of the dural membrane and can cause all sorts of weird
dysfunction that can end in migraine, headaches and all sorts of other weird psycho-emotional type
problems. Ok, so I'm starting to get a release in there, so as soon as I get a release I slowly
come out and release that tissue. And I rock around here. Take some of that -- that can be
a little painful so you just kind of desensitize some of the mechanoreceptors by doing this. Give
this thing a try, check it on all of your women that are having premenstrual syndrome
problems that won't go away, if they're having migraines. Don't just stop there at the head,
check that dural membrane connection all the way down through the filum terminale and through the
coccyx. OK? ... ... Michelle, let's get up and see how you feel after that coccyx de-hook,
if that's the word. Erik: You ok, girl? Michelle: Yea. Erik: You ever have trouble with that coccyx
before? Michelle: I have actually a long time ago I did a split on the pool, one leg inside the pool
and the other outside and fell. And that's exactly where I got all the impact, so as soon as you did
that my whole body just, I could feel it go right through me. Erik: Left, yea, that nervous system
changes, it definitely changes the nervous system. Appreciate you. Michelle: Thank you so much.