Diagnosing sitting discomfort
Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:58 am
Hi there, I have been dealing with varying levels of sitting discomfort for about a year now and I wanted to get other people's thoughts on my situation. I am an active 22 year old male and my main form of exercise was rock climbing.
About a year ago, I had a long session of sitting writing an essay (around 8 hours) with very to no little breaks that led to discomfort sitting on non-cushioned surfaces. I bought a memory foam coccyx cutout cushion which alleviated my symptoms, but hard surfaces were uncomfortable but bearable. Moving forward a couple of months, I start to have pain in the groin musculature on the right side, pain in the hips that make it difficult to walk, and the discomfort sitting increased substantially. I initially went to a physician that checked for a hernia and did x-rays but found nothing. I went to a general PT who recommended that I do hip strengthening exercises (clamshells, single-leg bridges, planks, etc...). The result of this ended the hip pain but the pain in the groin and the discomfort sitting remained the same. The PT didn't know why I was having the pain and discomfort and hoped that it would go away the more I did the exercises. Fast-forward about November when the sitting discomfort escalated quite a bit and the pain in the right groin was now in the left groin area. I tried going to a chiro initially who did ultrasound and TENs treatment in the glute area as well as some adjustments, but didn't seem to improve my conditions (went for about 2 weeks, 4 times overall). I was informed by a different PT I was seeing for a shoulder issue that my sitting pain could be due to the pudendal nerve that sent me on this path. Now I have been seeing a pelvic PT at the Pelvic Pain rehab in LA who told me that I had a tight pelvic floor and that could be the cause of my sitting discomfort. In the past three sessions, it consisted of myofascial release of the abdomen, thighs, glutes, and internal work as well. I haven't seen any substantial improvement at this point.
Symptoms:
- Discomfort (slight burning sensation) when sitting on hard surfaces
- (potentially related) Slight diarrhea (poop comes out in small chunks)
- (potentially related) TMJ in the right jaw around the same time the groin pain and sitting discomfort increased
Lifestyle changes:
- Standing desk at work
- Roho cushion for car (commute is about 1~2 hours daily)
Thoughts on causes:
- Stress (underwent emotionally turbulent times when the symptoms increased)
- Sedentary lifestyle (long periods of time sitting down) (lots of studying and gaming as well as road trips and plane rides)
Current treatment:
- Pelvic PT once a week along with pelvic floor relaxation stretches (childs pose, happy baby, pelvic floor drop, cat camel, figure 4 piriformis stretch, and standing lunge) as well as rolling all parts of my thigh (glute, hamstring, adductors, quads)
- Lifestyle adjustments (avoiding sitting as much as possible) (cushions)
So with all of this in mind, I am having trouble diagnosing what is causing my sitting discomfort. I don't experience any pain in the genitals which seems to be a main symptom of people diagnosed with PN/PNE. If anyone has any thoughts or comments please feel free to share! Thanks!
Michael
About a year ago, I had a long session of sitting writing an essay (around 8 hours) with very to no little breaks that led to discomfort sitting on non-cushioned surfaces. I bought a memory foam coccyx cutout cushion which alleviated my symptoms, but hard surfaces were uncomfortable but bearable. Moving forward a couple of months, I start to have pain in the groin musculature on the right side, pain in the hips that make it difficult to walk, and the discomfort sitting increased substantially. I initially went to a physician that checked for a hernia and did x-rays but found nothing. I went to a general PT who recommended that I do hip strengthening exercises (clamshells, single-leg bridges, planks, etc...). The result of this ended the hip pain but the pain in the groin and the discomfort sitting remained the same. The PT didn't know why I was having the pain and discomfort and hoped that it would go away the more I did the exercises. Fast-forward about November when the sitting discomfort escalated quite a bit and the pain in the right groin was now in the left groin area. I tried going to a chiro initially who did ultrasound and TENs treatment in the glute area as well as some adjustments, but didn't seem to improve my conditions (went for about 2 weeks, 4 times overall). I was informed by a different PT I was seeing for a shoulder issue that my sitting pain could be due to the pudendal nerve that sent me on this path. Now I have been seeing a pelvic PT at the Pelvic Pain rehab in LA who told me that I had a tight pelvic floor and that could be the cause of my sitting discomfort. In the past three sessions, it consisted of myofascial release of the abdomen, thighs, glutes, and internal work as well. I haven't seen any substantial improvement at this point.
Symptoms:
- Discomfort (slight burning sensation) when sitting on hard surfaces
- (potentially related) Slight diarrhea (poop comes out in small chunks)
- (potentially related) TMJ in the right jaw around the same time the groin pain and sitting discomfort increased
Lifestyle changes:
- Standing desk at work
- Roho cushion for car (commute is about 1~2 hours daily)
Thoughts on causes:
- Stress (underwent emotionally turbulent times when the symptoms increased)
- Sedentary lifestyle (long periods of time sitting down) (lots of studying and gaming as well as road trips and plane rides)
Current treatment:
- Pelvic PT once a week along with pelvic floor relaxation stretches (childs pose, happy baby, pelvic floor drop, cat camel, figure 4 piriformis stretch, and standing lunge) as well as rolling all parts of my thigh (glute, hamstring, adductors, quads)
- Lifestyle adjustments (avoiding sitting as much as possible) (cushions)
So with all of this in mind, I am having trouble diagnosing what is causing my sitting discomfort. I don't experience any pain in the genitals which seems to be a main symptom of people diagnosed with PN/PNE. If anyone has any thoughts or comments please feel free to share! Thanks!
Michael