Tailbone pain, also called coccydynia, refers to the pain in and around the area of your small triangular bone present at the bottom of the spinal column above your cleft’s buttocks. Three to five vertebrae fused to make up the coccyx.
It is present beneath the area of the sacrum, a structure of the bone present at the spine base. There are several ligaments and tendon muscles that connect to it. Both ischial tuberosities and coccyx work to bear your weight when you try to sit down.
Two third of people may have a coccyx that starts curving instead of taking a position of pointing straight down. If it curved far, it is abnormal and causes pain. Tailbone starts from a dull ache and reaches a fierce stab. It can last for many weeks, even months or longer.
Causes
Three types of events are involved in causing tailbone pain. These events are given below.
- External Trauma: A dislocated, brushed or broken coccyx can cause tailbone pain.
- Internal trauma: A tough childbirth can cause tailbone pain for a longer time.
- Other: Certain other factors like abscess, infections, and tumors are involved in causing tailbone pain.
Surprisingly, the causes of tailbone pain are unknown in one-third of people who have the condition of coccydynia. A question arises in the middle whether this pain is permanent or doctors can recover it permanently in the patients? The good thing is no, pain is not lifelong.
In rare conditions, pain can persist for a lifetime. Tailbone pain is not uncommon. Many people are surviving with this pain and they recover after taking a successful treatment. Women have five times higher chances than males to develop coccydynia.
As compared to children, this problem prevails more in adolescents and adults. Obese people are vulnerable three times more to get this issue with ideal weight. If you lose weight quickly, you are vulnerable to the issue of tailbone pain.
There are some other causes that can lead to tailbone pain. These causes are given below.
Falling
Almost all of us fall backward at some stage in our lives. Maybe the feet of an individual slipped out and he fell. Bad falls lead to bruises and dislocation of the tailbone that can cause pain in the tailbone.
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
Sports like rowing and bicycling need you to lean back and then forth. These conditions stretch the area of your spine. Greater repeated motions lead to strains in the tissues that are present around the coccyx.
Obesity
Extra weight puts additional pressure on your coccyx. It causes your coccyx to lead at the backward side. In this case, your tailbone can hurt and get out of its position.
Underweight
If you are underweight and do not have enough fat in the area of the buttocks that work to prevent you from the coccyx, your muscles can rub against each other including tendons and ligaments. Rubbing starts inflammation of soft tissues.
Cancer
Tailbone pain can be a symptom of cancer but this case is very rare.
Treatment
Usually, the pain of the tailbone recovers on its own in a few weeks or months. You can use some tips to reduce the pain in the tailbone. Lean forward when you sit down, apply heat or ice to your affected area. You can also take over-the-counter medications to relieve pain.
Consult your doctor if home remedies and certain over-the-counter pain relievers are not working for you. Doctors suggest a rectal examination and recommend MRI after finding any issue like degenerative alterations of fracture.
Following are the possible treatments for tailbone pain.
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist provides you guidelines to have pelvic floor techniques for relaxation like deep breathing and relaxing your pelvic.
Manipulation
Massage helps you to reduce the symptoms of tailbone pain. Try to massage the affected area.
Medication
The doctor might give you a local anesthetic injection into the area of your tailbone to relieve pain for a few weeks. You can also get certain antidepressants medications to relieve the pain.
Surgery
In surgery, doctors try to remove the coccyx. Doctors recommend this treatment when other treatments fail to provide you relief and ease your symptoms. Follow the prescription and guidelines of the doctor after having surgery.
