I've done or am doing, seat pad, physio and Doctor's with no improvement for about 6 months.
Keen to hear from others out there dealing with the same nagging problem.
Lifestyle changes ive made to try prevent from occuring in the future:
-Walk around the block before work,
-Walk around the block lunch break,
-Long walk/run after work.
-Weight loss
-Dont hesitate to get up and walk around as often as you want (keep the blood pumping!)
I dont sit on a chair at computer after work hours. I do on the weekends to program stuff, but monday-friday i dont sit at my computer after work, and il sit on couch rather than chair if i can on weekends. My issues really arose when i was working on a coding project after work hours (majority waking hours was in the chair working), gained like 20 pounds over a year, reduced my exercise frequency, my primary care doc mentioned these all could contribute.
I also wear very lose shorts during the day to orevent my waistband from screwing up my posture, but maybe once we get stuffed back into the office we wont be able to do that anymore.
But glad to hear you havnt had issues since 30 years!
All of the things you mentioned have helped me as well. I also have a couple of hemorrhoid cushions that I sit on to reduce pressure.
I’ve found that when I start to feel pain in my tailbone immediately taking some anti inflammatory medicine and getting antibiotics ASAP before the inflammation cuts off blood flow has stopped them in their tracks!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DUYIOFU/ref=redir_mobile_deskto...
To sit on it (and not find yourself on the floor), the lower spine must constantly make microadjustments to keep you seated, preventing sustained direct force along any one vector.
For years I used this raw version:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0875NM64Z/ref=redir_mobile_deskto...
but you may find it a bit too demanding at first.
i believe in addressing causes, not symptoms, and lack of activity in general causes a lot of our pain in our bodies.
1. Reduce optional sitting.
Sitting for extended periods of time compromises our musculoskeletal system and in particular our spinal health.
When we sit, the muscles in our lower body basically turn off leaving only our core to support our spine which is not sustainable. We eventually collapse into poor posture with our shoulders rounding forward and hips rounding backward putting the body into a c-shape. This position adds a ton of extra pressure on our vertebrae which can lead to various amounts of pain.
Plus, the more we sit the less we move; and we need to move to keep muscles engaged and blood circulating.
2. When you do sit, choose the right chair, and sit properly.
The ideal chair is one with a wide square seat made of wood or metal. It may sound uncomfortable, but that's the point; the goal is to encourage movement, a chair shouldn't encourage you to sit all day but to simply give you a place to temporarily rest.
The square shape allows you to sit along the edge without sliding off which makes it easier to maintain a neutral upright position. And the hard surface allows for great mechanical feedback; you get uncomfortable which reminds you to move.
Before you even sit, engage your core to stabilize your spine, then sit without collapsing your rib cage.
All of this will help keep your pelvis rounded forward taking the direct pressure off of your coccyx.
3. Shift positions often.
This one's simple. Our bodies will stagnate and atrophy when still for too long, especially when sitting. Shift positions to get your blood flowing to those areas. Even better, get up and actually move around a bit every 30 minutes or so.
4. Try some mobility exercises.
Despite our best efforts muscles are going to get stiff and our joints are going to become restricted if we don't maintain them regularly.
Daily mobility work is a key preventive and restorative practice to stay ahead of these problems.
I'm actually just starting to look into this myself so I don't have an easy go-to list of exercises, but here's a giant resource I just came across that looks promising: https://www.heromovement.net/blog/mobility-exercises/.
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I highly recommend the book Deskbound by Kelly Starrett (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01E1HDJ64). It is my main resource so far for all this information and I have found it incredibly helpful in learning how to become a healthy hacker. And here's the presentation he gave that inspired the book: https://youtu.be/kfg_e6YG37U.
Edit: fixed incorrectly pasted link.