Have you ever broken your tailbone?

[Kermit]

How long did it take it to heal completely? Or did it ever heal completely? I know that some people find that it hurts for forever. If you broke yours delivering a baby, did you have another baby, and did it break again?

I broke mine 7 months ago during Nick's birth. It got to where it was almost completely better, but now I have flair ups where it just starts hurting again. I'm having one now. It makes it hard to sit in "proper" positions (i.e., straight on my bottom in a chair, not leaning to one side) and really hard to go from sitting to standing. That's the worst.

I really don't mean to whine. I know that some people have incredible tailbone pain for the rest of their lives, and some even have to have it surgically removed. My pain isn't that bad, and if I never improve from where I am right now, it will still be bearable. I'm just wondering if this is normal.

 

[Pop Daddy]

no, but sometimes I get a pimple on my butt

 

[Tiggeroo]

many people have broken tailbones and don't know it. Both my son and husband have them and have no idea where it happened although both of them have fallen more then a couple of times in sports and things. Some people experience pain and some don't. My son does but he goes to the chiropractor once a month or so and it makes him feel better.

 

[Jillpie]

I know the pain you are speaking of. When I was about 13 yrs. old (and I will never forget this), I had a group of friends over to our cottage on the Cape. So we're all sitting around, and I get up to go to the fridge. As I came back, this wise guy "friend" pulled the chair out from under me. I never felt SO much pain in all my life. But because of my age, I was too embarassed to admit where I was in pain! That ENTIRE Summer, I was in pain, every time I sat down or stood up. But it did subside after a couple of months. I never had it officially diagnosed as that, but I am sure of it, it was the tailbone. I sure hope you can get some relief. Have you seen your doctor about it? Does antiinflammatories help at all? I sure wish you luck with this. I truly understand.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You might be due for some Physical therapy treatments.

I didn't break anything--but I had severe Sacrum pain....waited a while before going to get it treated. Went to 2 sessions already and we are still figuring things out.

Sometimes when you injure something...surrounding tissue will have some damage, muscle will have some atrophy...so as you heal, you might have some regression b/c the surrounding areas just aren't at the strength and flexibility they used to be.

Also--b/c of the pain--I developed a HUGE knot in my tushy.....it will take a while to work it out...you could be holding a lot of tension there and it could be adding to your pain.

One last things--since this injury happened at birth...your body probably didn't go or try to go back to its prepregancy form due to the injury. So part of your pain might also be due to weak abs and week back muscles that haven't regained their proper strenght post delivery.

I'd get a referral to Phsyical Therapy ASAP.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I know the pain you are speaking of. When I was about 13 yrs. old (and I will never forget this), I had a group of friends over to our cottage on the Cape. So we're all sitting around, and I get up to go to the fridge. As I came back, this wise guy "friend" pulled the chair out from under me. I never felt SO much pain in all my life. But because of my age, I was too embarassed to admit where I was in pain! That ENTIRE Summer, I was in pain, every time I sat down or stood up. But it did subside after a couple of months. I never had it officially diagnosed as that, but I am sure of it, it was the tailbone. I sure hope you can get some relief. Have you seen your doctor about it? Does antiinflammatories help at all? I sure wish you luck with this. I truly understand.

I had coccyx trouble during my first pregnanchy....it hurt to sit down or stand up....but not while sitting or standing. They said the only cure was delivery . I HATED that pain!!!!

 

[minkydog]

I injured my tailbone in a fall as a child. Then it fractured during the delivery of my 2nd child (big as a Butterball turkey). It easily took a year to get over the pain. The only thing that helped was heat,rest, and ibuprophen.

 

[Kermit]

One last things--since this injury happened at birth...your body probably didn't go or try to go back to its prepregancy form due to the injury. So part of your pain might also be due to weak abs and week back muscles that haven't regained their proper strenght post delivery.

That's a good point that I hadn't considered. I'm having problems getting my tummy to go back in this time, and I haven't been able to figure out why since I went back to my pre-pregancy figure much faster last time.

I know I need to see my doctor about and see who he recommends I see, but the pain isn't that bad most of the time, so it never seems to be worth the hassle. I need to just get it done.

 

[Viking]

My DW just bruised her tailbone in a fall, but needed to stay at home for six weeks before she was able to work again.
What helped her a lot during acute pain was an inflatable tube to sit on. Simply buy one of those watertoys according to to the size of your 'behind' and sit on it. It looks funny, but it helps keeping the pressure off your tailbone and will also speed up healing.

 

[disneyworld!]

when I was in 11 grade..I was a figure skater, I did a russian split, when I was goofing around and forgot to put down my legs!(ok...I know) and the way I landed......well OUCH!! pain..I to broke my coccyx!!! I am now 43 and it still bothers me!! but then again so dosn't my whole back!

 

[KittieKat]

Im not sure if ive broken it, though i have had MANY falls on it. Though lately i have been having a lot of pain in that area. Because I have no butt at all, my coccyx protudes and it hurts, alot. Ow.

 

[Virgo10]

Yes but I didn't know it until I had the first MRI on my lower back. For the life of me, I can't remember an incident that had enough pain to signal a break in anything.

Another MRI discovery was finding out that I had a hairline fracture to one of my shoulder blades. Who knew? I must have a pretty high pain tolerence.

Roberta

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's a good point that I hadn't considered. I'm having problems getting my tummy to go back in this time, and I haven't been able to figure out why since I went back to my pre-pregancy figure much faster last time.

I know I need to see my doctor about and see who he recommends I see, but the pain isn't that bad most of the time, so it never seems to be worth the hassle. I need to just get it done.

My sacrum trouble happened in December--I ignored it...took coaches advice and rested....did the Disney Marathon--26.1 miles....absolutely no back trouble whatsoever.

When I got back into training sevearl weeks after the marathon--my troubles were returning, but not as bad as before. The fact that they were there is enough.

Patient "It hurts when I do this"
Doctor "Well don't do that"

Is not a mantra I want to live by. Our bodies are not meant to live in pain.
I had neck trouble as a result of injury. It has plagued me for about 11 years now. But b/c I went to PT and b/c I had gone to massage therapy and to chiropractic...I know when pains occur, how to get rid of them. In a nutshell, keep my upper body reasonalby strong and get massage occasionally and adjustments when the need arises. My pain was in my neck--but when that was week, it involved the shoulders and upper back.

Same idea with the tailbone---you can restore it back to pre-injury condition....but you can get that core support structure to its maximum capacity and that will help minimize recurrences of pain.

There are obvious times where "we shouldn't do that"---but when even a minor pain disrupts your daily life..it deserves some PT. Even if your doctor is skeptical. I am in PT now b/c of a pain threshhold of 1/2-1...it doesn't really hurt me, but I know that it has the capacity to hurt more if I don't work with what I have...after 1 day of PT...I was back to running....and we are working on form and exercises to strengthen my core and all those things that keep our back strong.

Most insurance will cover PT--and even though your pains now may be minor....since you have had them for months--that would be enough of justification for insurance. My PT has to be preapproved--so I can go for 4 weeks up to 3x per week if necessary and know that each visit will be covered.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes but I didn't know it until I had the first MRI on my lower back. For the life of me, I can't remember an incident that had enough pain to signal a break in anything.

Another MRI discovery was finding out that I had a hairline fracture to one of my shoulder blades. Who knew? I must have a pretty high pain tolerence.

Roberta

My mother had back trouble for years---an MRI revealed 2 vertebrae in her back had fused together---she had broken her back and the fracture was not caught by x-ray....resulting in years of pain.

She was insistent I get an MRI for my neck since my problems were chronic--one doctor finally listened and thankfully it was negative--though it did reveal a slight issue, but nothing terrible. At least now I have a baseline so if it gets worse, we'll know.

 

[BuckNaked]

Mine broke during the birth of my DD. It bothered me some when I was pregnant with DS, but it didn't break again when he was born a little over 2 years later.

DD is 11 now, and I still have some pain when I have to sit for very long periods of time.

 

[phorsenuf]

I broke mine with a fall one time. It was the worst pain I ever felt in my life and I've had four kids with NO drugs! LOL It is a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. How someone can break theirs and not feel it is beyond me. Are you sure you have nerve endings?????? LOL
I broke it about 4 years ago and I still have problems off and on. I can't really pinpoint anything that brings the pain on, it just kinda shows up.
Just another one of those annoying things I have to deal with.

 

[eeyore0062]

Yes, I feel down the steps with my DD when she was about 2. I was carrying her, and my foot slipped. I plopped down about 5 steps on my butt to the bottom. It must have healed OK. Of course about 8 years later I herniated my L5-S1 discs.... wonder if the 2 were linked?

 

[jennyl772003]

OH MY GOSH!

Is this common?! After I gave birth to my son, my tail bone hurt. It hurt to sit, to stand up, you name it.

Since I was such a young mother, and my son was having some health issues. I never got it checked out. It hurt for YEARS!

I just thought I was weird...

 

[Kermit]

OH MY GOSH!

Is this common?! After I gave birth to my son, my tail bone hurt. It hurt to sit, to stand up, you name it.

Since I was such a young mother, and my son was having some health issues. I never got it checked out. It hurt for YEARS!

I just thought I was weird...

It isn't uncommon to have your tailbone break during a birth. It doesn't happen all the time, but it certainly isn't unheard of. Most women (including me) aren't aware of it when it actually breaks. In fact, in retrospect, it was a relief to me. Before it broke, I thought maybe he was going to be in there forever. Now reflecting back on my birth, I know when it broke, and I know I suddenly got a rush of relief as I realized he was going to come out.

No one ever x-rayed mine or anything. The doctor was aware of how hard it was for me to push (baby was posterior), and she took my word for it when I told her the next day.

I will say that I'm still glad to this day I didn't have a c-section instead. In fact, I became a natural childbirth instructor after Nick's birth. Yes, it was painful, but I'm not aware of any risks associated with breaking your tailbone, so it was worth it to me.

 

[caitycaity]

i've actually broken my tailbone several times (3 iirc - from horseback riding). i broke it when i was younger - i think the last time was when i was 15. i still have pain in that area (11 years later) depending on what i'm sitting on and how i'm sitting on it. my doctor said that this was to be expected.