Q: I am a 55 years old man who had fallen on the staircase eight years back and my spine (coccyx) got hurt. I was unable to move the muscles as it really hurt. I was given injection at the tip of the spine and after two days the pain went off but was warned that the pain might come back. Now, I am suffering from pain on my pelvic bone (right) for the past a month. Now, the pain is moving towards my thigh. I underwent an X-ray but everything is normal. I have a past history of bone tuberculosis 30 years back. What could be the cause of pain in my pelvic bone?

A:If I understand correctly you are asymptomatic 8 years after your injury and the injection. If that is true, your current symptom of pain on the right side is unlikely to be linked with your coccyx injury. Your pain is radiating to the thigh this combination is more likely to be that of radicular pain (commonly called sciatica). You mentioned X-rays are normal but you have not mentioned that which X-rays are normal. Is it the pelvis X-ray or is it the spine X-ray? The symptoms that you have described merely suggest a radiating pain, which could be caused by spondylosis, disc prolapse or other causes of radiating pain. This can be diagnosed only after careful clinical examination. If you had reactivation of tuberculosis you will have other constitutional symptoms like fever, malaise, weight loss, lack of appetite so, I do not think there is any relation to the past history of tuberculosis and your current symptom. Please get yourself examined by a good clinician. You could get back to me with the findings then.