(Scroll down for Dr. Foye’s VIDEO on this topic. Here is the typed transcript from the video.)
Okay, let’s talk for a minute or two about coccyx pain or tailbone pain on airplanes.
I’m Dr. Patrick Foye. I’m an M.D. (or medical doctor) and Director of the Coccyx Pain Center here in the United States, online at www.TailboneDoctor.com.
Many, many, many patients of mine when they come to see me, they tell me that one of the things that is most painful for them is flying on airplanes with tailbone pain.
And it’s a significant problem because on an airplane you don’t have a lot of wiggle room.
You don’t have the ability to lean to the right or lean to the left or lean forward which are positions that often will unload some of the weight bearing on the coccyx.
You have to sit for an extended period of time.
You can’t just get up whenever you want to because the captain says the flight the seat belts have to stay on at times.
In fact I have a lot of patients who are airline pilots or flight attendants from planes and it’s a significant challenge for those people.
So what can you do when it comes to flying with tailbone pain one thing you can do is remember of course to bring your cushion.
Put it on your packing list.
Make sure you bring it along with you.
Many cushions… these are the wedge cushions they’re shaped a bit like a wedge here. and they have kind of a wedge shaped cut out here and the tailbone hovers over that empty spot on the wedge.
Many of them have a handle you can carry it along with you.
you can slide the handle over the edge of your suitcase handle… pull out telescoping all of that and remember to bring your cushion.
also remember not to forget your cushion when you’re exiting the plane.
I have many, many patients who fly in to see me and they tell me that when they are getting off the plane with all of grabbing their bags and their papers and all of this kind of thing that they left their cushions.
So do whatever it takes.
These tend to be dark in color just like the seats of the plane.
So you may want to tie a red ribbon on it.
Or set your timer on your watch or your phone to set a reminder at landing time to remind you to grab your cushion when you’re done.
And even I would say in terms of using the cushion even if your tailbone pain is doing relatively better (if let’s say you were someone who received treatment for tailbone pain and maybe you haven’t had any symptoms for a few months or six months or even a year)… if you’re taking a really long flight you may still want to bring your cushion along. Because that may make the difference between whether you have an exacerbation if there’s a lot of turbulence or if the flight goes longer than expected or if the chair is particularly uncomfortable.
So those are a few a few thoughts on airline flights and tailbone pain.
If you want more information certainly on amazon you can grab a copy of my book “Tailbone Pain Relief Now!’.
Or if you’re interested in coming to see me in person you can find all the information on that on my website which is www.TailboneDoctor.com.
So, anyway, all the best. Happy flying. Bye.
Here is the video: https://youtu.be/qY13eSfrA30
Screen shot from the video:
COME FOR RELIEF: For more information on coccyx pain, or to be evaluated in-person by Dr. Foye’s Coccyx Pain Center in the United States, go to: www.TailboneDoctor.com
– Patrick Foye, M.D., Director of the Tailbone Pain Center, New Jersey, United States.
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