Finding Relief from Tailbone Pain
Are you someone who is literally experiencing “pain in your butt” or pain around your tailbone region? You are not alone, and in fact far too many people with tailbone pain will stay in pain for a long time before getting the treatment that really helps them. The goal of this post is to tell you more about what tailbone pain (aka “coccydynia”) is, why it happens, and some strategies to help you find relief.
So where is the tailbone (aka the “coccyx”) located?
The coccyx (tailbone) refers to the 3-5 fused bones at the very end of the spine. This little bone attaches to your sacrum (the larger triangle shaped bone at the end of your spine). To find your own coccyx, place your palm on your sacrum and slide your hand down the sacrum between each bottom check, and you will feel a small bony structure, or the tip of the coccyx. There are many ligaments and muscles that attach to the coccyx including the pelvic floor muscles and the glute max. The coccyx does have some movement, and will move when we stand up, sit down, or birth a baby!
What are the symptoms of tailbone pain?
Commonly, people with tailbone pain will have tenderness, sharpness, or aching with:
sitting for too long or sitting on a hard surface
long periods of standing
going from a sitting to standing position.
The pelvic floor muscles attach to the tailbone/coccyx, so it’s no wonder that sometimes people with tailbone pain will also have pain or issues with constipation or having a bowel movement, pain with sexual intercourse, or changes in urinary frequency/urgency.
Why does it happen?
Tailbone pain can happen for a variety of reasons, and we typically classify it as traumatic or non-traumatic. Traumatic tailbone pain can be due to a fall or during childbirth. Non-traumatic pain may be due to prolonged sitting on hard surfaces, poor motion or too much motion of the tailbone, or overactive pelvic floor muscles.
How do we treat Tailbone Pain?
After doing a thorough assessment of your movements (how your spine moves, how you squat, how you stand on one leg, etc.), feeling/palpating the muscle of your glutes and around your tailbone, and a possible internal pelvic floor exam (only performed with your consent, never a requirement!), we determine what the best plan of care would be for you. Typically physical therapy treatment combines a manual, hands-on therapy approach with exercises and stretches to help with relief. We work to release tension of the muscles around your tailbone, improve motion of the tailbone and spine, and give you strategies for home.
If you have tailbone pain right now, here are some ideas to try right away. If you continue to have pain, working with a pelvic floor PT can help you find long-term relief and prevention of pain down the road.
Sitting and standing posture
When sitting, notice if you sit with a “tucked under” or slouched spine position. This can put a lot of pressure into your tailbone, triggering tenderness and pain. Instead try sitting with a slight curvature in your low back.
Butt Gripping
When standing or sitting, let go of any tension or clenching of your glute muscles. Some of us glute clench without even noticing, so just start to be more aware of this during your day. Glute clenching can put a lot of tension around the tailbone.
Yoga postures (cat/cow, deep squat, supine figure 4)
Try out these yoga posture 1x per day, breathing slowly and deeply to help relax the pelvic floor and muscles around the tailbone.
