Treatment options for broken and bruised tailbones are also similar. This article discusses what can cause a broken tailbone and how to identify one, along with treatment options and recovery tips. In young people, a broken tailbone is most often due to a backward fall or a high energy accident. In some groups, including older adults, nutritional deficiencies can make broken bones more common. Though rare, childbirth can also lead to fractures of the coccyx. This bone is particularly vulnerable to injury during difficult labor, or labor that requires the use of instruments, due to its location in the body.
Tailbone bruises are more common than fractures. Females are more likely than males to experience tailbone injuries. Obesity is also a risk factor for tailbone problems. A physical exam and a rectal exam will give the doctor more information about the site of the pain, as well as what may be causing or contributing to it. Problems with the piriformis muscles and nearby joints, for example — such as the sacroiliac and lumbosacral facet joints — can contribute to pain in and around the tailbone.
Testing for a broken tailbone will include cancer screening and medical imaging. X-rays can help a doctor locate and assess the damage to the tailbone. If the X-ray does not provide a clear image, or if there are other concerns about what is causing the pain, an MRI scan can provide more information.
Partly due to the structure of the coccyx and other conditions that might exist at the same time as the injury — such as obesity , gas, or constipation — it is not always easy to diagnose a broken tailbone. A broken or bruised coccyx will usually heal on its own. Physical therapy, exercises, and a special cushion can all help ease the pain and speed recovery.
See your doctor if pain is severe, or if you have trouble with bowel movements or urination. Surgery is needed in fewer than 10 percent of cases.
Tailbone pain is centered at the very bottom of your spine, right above your buttocks. A sore tailbone can make sitting and walking painful, but these yoga-inspired stretches will get you moving comfortably in no time.
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Medically reviewed by William Morrison, M. Overview The tailbone, or coccyx , is a group of small bones forming the lower end of your spine. Car accidents are a common cause of injury to the coccyx. Broken tailbone symptoms. Broken tailbone causes. Broken tailbone treatment. Broken tailbone recovery time. Broken tailbone in child. You may also develop coccydynia if you are very slim. If this is the case, you may not have enough buttock fat to prevent your coccyx from rubbing against the tissues surrounding it.
You can use the body mass index BMI calculator to find out whether you are a healthy weight for your height. As we grow older the small discs of cartilage a tough, flexible tissue that help hold the coccyx in place can wear down. The bones that make up the coccyx can also become more tightly fused together. This can place more stress on the coccyx, leading to pain.
Rarely, an infection can occur in the base of the spine or soft tissue and cause coccydynia, such as a pilonidal abscess a painful collection of pus that usually develops in the cleft of the buttocks. A rare cause of coccydynia is cancer.
This can be bone cancer or cancer that starts somewhere else in the body and then spreads into the bone metastatic cancer. Page last reviewed: 11 July Next review due: 11 July Tailbone Coccyx Fracture Your tailbone coccyx is the bone at the very end of your spine. Risk factors Women are more likely to injure their tailbones than men. When to go to the Emergency Room ER Tailbone injuries are likely to cause pain, swelling, and bruising.
X-rays may be taken to check the extent of the injury. You may be given medicine to ease discomfort. Treatment There is no way to hold a fractured tailbone in place.
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