Pain in My *ss: Tailbone (Coccyx) Pain
Tailbone or coccyx pain is a common problem caused by trauma (such as a fall on your bum), pelvic or low back surgery, during pregnancy, with childbirth, certain activities or sports, chronic straining to pee or poop, congenital (since birth) or degenerative changes around the sacrococcygeal joint (where our low back meets our tailbone).
Our tailbone isn’t fused with our spine believe it or not! It’s attached by a piece of cartilage, allowing the tailbone to flex and extend about 10-20 degrees. The tailbone moves quite a bit during vaginal birth and can also be subluxed or move substantially with a bad fall on your bum. Our pelvic floor muscles attach to our tailbone, along with the fibres of our gluteus maximus muscles and the sacrospinus ligament and sacrotuberous ligament (this ligament also stabilizes our SI joints!)
Symptoms
Symptoms include: pain with sitting, touching tailbone, transitional movements (e.g. sit to stand, or rolling over in bed), sexual penetration, exercises (e.g. sit ups, squats, lateral lunges, etc) and bowel movements.
Treatment for Tailbone Pain
Treatment for tailbone pain may include: pelvic floor muscle strengthening, addressing constipation, deep breathing and relaxation, body mapping, exercise, and internal and external myofascial techniques. A physiotherapist may also suggest changes in seating and cushions, as well as provide chronic pain education.
A Tailbone Stretch Series that I Love
12 breaths in Circular Cat Cow stretch
12 breaths in Alternating Single Knee to Chest
12 breaths in Pigeon per leg
6 breath in Puppy Pose
Disclaimer: Prior to participating in any physical activity or workouts, we recommend that you consult with your physician or other health care professionals to determine if these physical activities or workouts are right for you. The author is not liable for any damages due to any omissions, errors or mistakes in this communication or your use of the same. If you use the information in this communication to participate in a physical activity, you do so at your own risk.
