Occurrence of Coccydynia in Healthcare Professionals of Karachi; Pain and Straight Leg Raise Test Perspective

Abstract

Coccydynia is a condition in which pain is experienced around the tailbone or coccyx region. The sitting position triggers the pain in the coccyx region especially when while patient comes from sitting to a standing position. The prevalence of coccydynia is unknown in the general population but it is more common in females than males. Objective: To determine the occurrence of coccydynia in healthcare professionals of Karachi. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals in Karachi from August 2023 to Feb 2024. The sample size of the study was 543 healthcare professionals. The sampling techniques which was used in this study were convenient. For the collection of data, a self-administered questionnaire was used while for the evaluation of data, two tests Visual Analog Score (VAS) and Straight Leg Raise( SLR) were used. The data were analyzed through the SPSS version 23.0 software in which we calculated the frequencies and percentages. Results: The study was done on 543 healthcare professionals between the ages of 20 to more than 59 years old who were recruited from different hospitals in Karachi. Pain intensity which was evaluated by the visual analog scale observed 223 (41.06 %) of participants found to lie in the moderate pain category while confirmation of coccydynia was done by the application of SLR and was found to be positive in 426 (78.85%) of healthcare professional's. Conclusions: The occurrence of coccydynia was found in the majority of the healthcare professionals of Karachi while the complaints of pain were found in the moderate category.