Coccyx Bone Pain When Sitting | Causes | Symptoms | Treatments

 

Coccyx pain, commonly referred to as tailbone pain (and scientifically known as coccydynia) occurs at the base of your spine and is usually experienced after a fall. Before we dive into its causes, symptoms, and treatment, let’s first understand what exactly a coccyx is:

 

What is coccyx?

Commonly called the tailbone, the coccyx is the last bone at the bottom of your spine and is responsible for your balance when you are sitting down.

 

If you’ve ever wondered where exactly the tailbone got its name, you won’t after today!

 

A combination of four vertebrae (though it can range from three to five), it is called a tailbone because it represents a vestigial tail - one that human beings evolved past needing. This means that a human can live a full life even without a tailbone.

 

While the full removal of your coccyx bone is possible, it is only used as a last resort. So, if you’ve been feeling coccyx bone pain when sitting down, surgery is not quite the right answer (yet). Let’s now look into the symptoms, causes, and available treatments for coccyx pain.

Causes of coccyx pain:

These are some common causes of coccyx bone pain:

 

1) Falls:

Falls are the most common cause of tailbone pain. You’ve probably experienced it if you’ve ever landed on your butt after a slip or a fall. A particularly bad fall can bruise the coccyx or even fracture it, resulting in excruciating pain.

 

2) Sitting for extended time periods:

Sitting for large time periods, especially if you’re sitting on hard surfaces means that a lot of pressure is exerted on your tailbone, which is responsible for your balance as you’re sitting. As a result, experiencing coccyx bone pain when sitting is a common experience.

 

This is particularly common among people who do desk jobs. If this applies to you, you should consider standing and stretching around once in a while!

 

3) Overuse Syndrome:

Also known as Overtraining Syndrome and Repetitive Strain Injury, overuse syndrome results when too much stress is put on one part of the body. 

 

For the tailbone, activities like cycling and rowing, which demand a lot of backward and forward movement of the body, can strain the tissues surrounding the coccyx and cause pain.

 

4) Pregnancy and Childbirth:

To give your tailbone more flexibility for childbirth, your body secretes a hormone called Relaxin, which loosens the muscles around your pelvis and makes the coccyx more sensitive to pressure, which can result in pain.

 

In addition, accommodating the growing fetus can tilt your pelvis forward, which can exert pressure on the tailbone and cause pain.

 

As a result, coccyx bone pain when sitting is commonly reported during pregnancy.

 

5) Weight:

Weight plays a huge role in our health. For coccydynia in particular, weight is a huge factor, whether you’re overweight or underweight.

Being overweight:

The additional/extra weight can exert more pressure on your tailbone when sitting, sometimes making it lean backward, and always resulting in coccyx pain.

Being underweight:

Less weight means less fat and less cushioning, which results in the tailbone rubbing against your tendons, muscles, and tissues. This causes inflammation and increased coccyx pain.

 

6) Cancer:

While it is rare, certain types of cancers like chordoma, prostate cancer, and colon cancer can damage the coccyx, and cause tailbone pain.

 

Symptoms of coccyx pain:

Coccyx bone pain when sitting is the most prevalent symptom for bone pain because the primary function of the coccyx is helping us balance when we sit. That doesn’t mean that it’s the only symptom though. These are other common symptoms of coccydynia:

• Sharp or dull pain in the lower back, localizing in the tailbone.
• Sleeping problems resulting in sleep disorders.
• Discomfort when standing up and sitting down.
• Pain during sexual intercourse and during bowel movement.

Treatment of coccyx pain:

As mentioned above, surgery is the last resort for tailbone pain. Some other treatment measures that are tried before are as follows:

 

Fixing your posture: This is the easiest way to reduce coccyx pain. Ensuring your back is straight when sitting, leaning forward and not slouching are simple things you have to keep in mind which have a big impact in reducing pain.

 

Heat and cold therapy: A method you can try at home, heat and cold therapy includes using heating pads and/or ice packs on the affected area. Taking hot baths can also help a lot in reducing pain.

 

Using a coccyx cushion: A coccyx cushion is shaped like a donut and helps take pressure off of your tailbone. As a result, coccyx pain is reduced.

 

Physical Therapy: Physical therapy can stretch your muscles and enhance your posture, reducing tailbone pain when sitting.

 

Coccygeal nerve block: This is a minimally invasive procedure where the nerve block is injected into your body to numb the coccyx pain you are feeling.

 

Surgical Treatments: Surgical treatments, the last resort for treating coccyx pain, are available in two ways. The first surgery is called Partial coccygectomy where only a part of your coccyx is removed and the second one is called Total coccygectomy, where the entire coccyx is removed surgically.

 

While tailbone pain when sitting is most likely just a result of coccydynia, there could be an underlying medical condition causing discomfort. So, consulting a doctor is a good idea if the pain does not recede after a couple of weeks.

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