[Aetiopathogenetic, clinical and statistical aspects of coccygodynia]

The Protean clinical and aetiopathogenetic features of coccygodynia are discussed. The causes and pathogenetic mechanisms of this disease, together with its dependence on or concomitance with other forms, are not fully understood, with the result that treatment cannot be precisely prescribed. In most cases, indeed, treatment is more often entrusted to the mental attitude and specialist activity of the person whose task it is to handle the particular pathological situation than based on a sound knowledge of the real nature of events of this kind. The study of a meaningfully large case series shows that greater precision is required in reaching a diagnosis in each particular case; it also points to the very limited indications for radical surgery.