Your Tailbone Often Hurts? This is The Cause & How to Treat it.
If you often feel pain in the coccyx, it must be very uncomfortable and disturbing. What are the characteristics, causes and how to treat it? Check out the explanation that we have summarized below.
Symptoms of pain in the coccyx:
Numbness & tingling
Swelling & pain
Bladder & bowel problems
Weak leg strength
Causes of pain in the coccyx:
Fall. The cause of coccyx pain is a fall, such as falling from a chair or even from a ladder. Apart from being painful, the worst thing that will happen if you fall on the coccyx is that it dislocates, bruises, and breaks the coccyx.
Sitting on hard and narrow surfaces is a common cause of tailbone pain. For example, while driving or sitting in an office chair. Being in this sitting position for too long can increase coccyx pain.
Injuries, coccyx pain can be caused by trauma as well as repetitive strain injuries or called repetitive strain injuries (RSI).
Weight, if you are overweight it will put extra pressure on the coccyx. This of course will cause the coccyx to lean back, where the coccyx will hurt if it gets out of position. If you are underweight, it means you don't have enough fat in your buttocks. Thus, allowing the coccyx to rub against the surrounding tissue which will certainly cause pain.
Pregnancy & Postpartum, This is because when the weight of the growing fetus puts pressure on the pelvic space and stretches the ligaments and muscles around the coccyx, causing pain. The pain may be felt for months after giving birth.
Prostate & Colorectal Cancer. People with prostate and colorectal cancer or cancer of the colon or rectum will usually feel pain in the spine.
Hemorrhoids, swollen conditions in the blood vessels of the anus and large intestine.
In this case, the hemorrhoids inflame the tissue that cushions the anus and makes the muscles pull on the coccyx, causing pain.
Pilonidal cysts, are hair follicles and abnormal tissue debris on the skin, and develop near the coccyx. So, when this cyst gets infected, it will cause pain and swelling in the spine.
Chordoma, is a rare cancerous tumor that develops in the coccyx and base of the skull.
Spinal tumors, common features of people with spinal tumors such as: difficulty walking, back pain, pain when moving, numbness in the arms and legs, lack of sensitivity to cold and hot temperatures and loss of bladder and bowel function.
If you feel you have experienced the causes and characteristics above, immediately consult a doctor so you can get the right treatment. In general, doctors will recommend the following ways to deal with pain in the coccyx:
Physiotherapy, with the aim that the patient can perform relaxation techniques on the pelvic floor.
Massage, on the muscles attached to the coccyx.
Taking drugs & injections, giving certain antidepressants or antiepileptic drugs can be useful to relieve coccyx pain and local anesthetic injections into the coccyx can help relieve coccyx pain for several weeks.
Surgery, this option is only recommended if previous treatments and medications have failed.
You can reduce the risk of pain in the coccyx with the following tips:
Avoid falling
Avoiding activities such as sitting for long periods of time or cycling. Take breaks such as stretching or just walking for a while.
Lie on your side when you fall asleep
Tailbone aches and pains usually go away on their own, within a few weeks or months. Immediately see a doctor or health care provider, if the coccyx pain gets worse and doesn't get better in a few weeks.
Thank you for reading our article, I hope it is useful for you. If you are experiencing the same problem and need homecare physiotherapy services, you can contact our call center via telephone number 021-27899963 or WhatsApp 08111929119.
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