Alexithymia, Pain Intensity, Quality of Life, and Psychological Symptoms in Chronic Coccydynia Patients Scheduled for Ganglion Impar Block

Chronic coccydynia is characterized by pain localized to the coccygeal region that typically worsens with sitting, leading to notable impairments in functional performance and health-related quality of life. In clinical practice, fluoroscopy-guided Ganglion Impar Block (GIB) is commonly performed as an interventional treatment in patients unresponsive to conservative medical therapies. Alexithymia, defined as a multidimensional personality construct involving difficulty identifying and describing feelings alongside an externally oriented thinking style, has been shown to be prevalent in chronic pain conditions and associated with pain intensity, mood symptoms, and functional disability. The primary objective of this prospective analytical cross-sectional study is to examine the relationship between alexithymia levels (evaluated via the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale \[TAS-20\]) and pain intensity, health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, and childhood trauma in patients with chronic coccydynia who are scheduled to undergo Ganglion Impar Block based on routine clinical indications.