Post-pregnancy Question

Hi,

When my son was born, he broke the small part of my tailbone and I was sore for awhile and even now it can bother me if I'm sitting too long on a hard chair. The only thing my dr. did was to give me a "child's type intertube" to use when sitting. It helped because it kept my tailbone off the chairs and stuff. It was a pain carrying it around but it did help. Mine "wore off" after awhile with a few special exercises that he had given me later. Hope this helps.

I had a very similar problem which occurred during my 2nd pregnancy. I started seeing a chiropractor and it all went away. I continued to see a chiropractor to stay in good health, and had similar symptoms start in my 3rd pregnancy and she helped then too. If you are afraid of the thought of someone "cracking" your back, you can search to find a low force chiropractor. Mine doesn't do manual adjustments. Instead she does a lot of muscle work which ends up with the same results as a traditional chiropractor. Good luck.

I cracked my tail bone from giving birth with my first child, it took a long time to heal, I was carrying cushions about eventually it healed.

Maybe you could get a tail bone x-ray to see that is a possibility and if it comes out clear then you can tick that off your list.

I would certainly get more details from the Dr and get a second opinion before having a surgery done.

Good Luck. I just had my forth and each time I get to experience a new birthing experience, all of which I would have rather not have happened, I console myself with my kids will give me much joy through my life.

[Building on what the other ladies have said...]

And don't listen to people, including other doctors, who say chiropractors are "witch doctors". It's a very simple process of straightening the spine so things can work properly. Surgery should be a last ditch option. A good chiropractor will tell you if he CAN'T help you, so don't worry about that. They take x-rays and find out the history of your spine, etc. They don't just sail in there and start "cracking" things! The adjustment part can be uncomfortable, but afterwards, you will feel soooo much better.

The only thing they can't help you with is pain meds, but after you see one, you shouldn't need pain meds!

-S

OH I had major tail bone issues after birthing 2 of my children. I think I had an injury to my tailbone at one point in time as well. I was told there is nothing you can do for a tail bone. Just rest and stay off of it. To this day I cannot sit flat on my butt for very long at all and sometimes when I sit it feels like my tailbone is crooked.
Its no longer painful or bad enough to warrant any surgery, but it would be interesting to hear what kind of surgery your dr. is reccomending.
Honestly, I would give it more time and stay off of it and see if that helps. It can take months. ANd the next time you give birth let the dr/nurses know of your tailbone issues so they can be gentle. I remember sitting on the birthing bed for hours was pure torture for me.

I am not sure if your doctor diagnosed you with anything (possibly a broken tailbone or something from childbirth) but here's my story.

After my daughter was born, a week after I got home, I began having really bad pain in my tailbone region and it bruned and was so painful (I had to bear that pain through the entire weekend until I could see my OB/GYN that Monday). I thought they may have broken my tailbone while they were rummaging around inside me, jerking me, etc. during my c-section surgery (after sitting in labor for 20 hours).

I went to the doctor that monday and it turned out that I had a pilonidal cyst. I can only assume it had formed on my tailbone while I was sitting in my hospital bed for 20 hours of labor (in and out of sitting on ths amniotic fluid soaked pads) and then of course, recouperating after my surgery.

The pain was so bad I couldn't sit up to breastfeed my daughter. it was rough...let me tell you. Well, to make a long story short, the cyst was incised to relieve the pain temporarily but about three weeks later, I had to have surgery to remove the cyst...otherwise it would of filled up with pus again and I would go through it all over again...I think that was worse than labor!!!!

Hope this helps. It's another option to think about. Look up "pilonidal cyst" on yahoo and see if maybe that's what symptoms you are having. Good luck!

Hi A.

During my first pregnancy with my son who was also 9lb 4oz I had the exact same problem , I still have some discomfort now if I try to sit on the floor or a hard surface for too long , my son is now 5 and I have had 2 more babies since then & I must admit that the discomfort is worse during pregnancy. The best thing my Dr suggested to me was to fold a bath towel in half length ways , then roll each end up until you have a gap of about 2-3 inches , put the towel on a dining chair or on the floor and sit so that your butt cheeks are on each roll and your tailbone is central with the gap , I found this helped me ALOT , the pain is caused when the tailbone touches the surface of what you are sitting on. I did this for about 30 mins/day and when at work sat at a desk all day I took the towel with me and sat on it all day.

Hope this helps you.

K. H

My cousin had the same problem after both of her pregnancies. She did not have surgery and hers eventually shifted back into place.

A.,
As a birth doula, I do have moms with this issue. If you were pushing in a reclined position it's very possible that you had a fracture or slightly dislocated your tailbone. I send most of my clients to chiropractors post partum and this takes care of it. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like a referal to a great chiropractor.
L. M.
Birtbliss- HypnoBirthing childbirth education and birth doula services

It sounds like your coccyx/sacrum could be out of correct alignment; this is common with childbirth and when your ligaments are loose. I would recommend going to a physical therapist who specializes in women's pelvic pain. My sister had a similar problem (although her cause was due to a car accident several years before) and the PT worked great for her.

I severely bruised my tailbone during delivery, and had a hard time sitting for several months. Chiropractic adjustments and ice helped a lot, and fortunately, I didn't have to have the surgery.

Good Luck!
D

I also had a pilonidal cyst, which required surgery, but mine was years before I had my son, so it might not be related to child birth, but just a coincidence that the symptoms started afterwards.

Dear A.,
It is quite possible that you twisted your tailbone during delivery (or even when carrying your son while pregnant). It is quite common! Have you ever tried chiropractic? One (or more) chiropractic adjustments could put your tailbone right back in alignment (if that is what the source of pain was from) and allow you to possibly avoid surgery altogether!
I speak from personal experience. I have had chiropractic care (as needed) since 1993 and will always go that route first over surgery or meds. Plus, I have worked for several chiropractors here in the Richmond area.
You might well could avoid surgery (and all the negative side effects of it) by simply seeing a good chiropractor. The doctor's exam would tell if your need is chiropractically related. I would recommend Dr. Mike Wild (if you live in/near the west end or Dr. Michael Pollock (if you live in the southside or city).
Dr. Wild's office number is ###-###-#### and Dr. Pollock's is ###-###-####. Both take insurance.
As a last note, I have seen so many patients (when I used to work for these two doctors) come in for the first time, saying that they had had surgery and it still didn't fix the problem, but, later, when they started chiropractic care, it did (solve their problem). I highly recommend you go that route first!
I hope you get the relief you seek without meds or surgery! :)
Blessings!
J. F.

Mine too. I think they had me rocking back and forth right on my tailbone in labor. Driving hurt especially.

I used a cushion with a hole cut in it to relieve pressure on the tailbone when sitting. I had to carry it around with me, especially driving. After a month or so of this, it healed on its own. I would try that before surgery. I think I ordered mine online from a place called the "feelgood store"

Hello A.,
I fell back in March 2003 while carrying a sofa. Initially I did not have any discomfort. Fast forward two years and the pain was causing a TON of pain. It's now 5 years later and I went to Johns Hopkins to a specialist that performs coccyectomy's. There are NOT many physicians in the United States that performs this procedure. I have since been to see a Dr John Cardea in Richmond Virginia who is willing, able and trained x 30 years to perform the procedure.

The procedure does not have a good post surgery outcome. Although the procedure is simply, (They cut you at your rear end crack, remove the bone and then stitch you back up) the recovery period is long (4-6 weeks, returning to work on a part time schedule). I had many MRI's and CT scans all that showed the bone to be fused and broken at a 90 degree angle. When I went to Johns Hopkins the Dr performed a rectal exam only to find that the coccyx is mobile. (I had a feeling it was moving because there were many days where my pain was insane).

I would recommend you doing your homework thoroughly. Because this procedure is not done by many people in the U.S. you want to make sure you are seeing a well educated surgeon. I am not sure anyone would perform the surgery just because it's painful. They may want to check to see if it's angulated and mobile. I would recommend a CT scan. Also, check out the website http://www.coccyx.org to read the stories about surgery and to also find a M.D. that performs the procedure or someone that can assist with physical therapy or some other treatment. The procedure is not as common these days as it once was. And because of the common 50/50 outcome it's best to do your homework. Prior to going to Johns Hopkins I had see 8 different Orthopedic/Neurosurgeons. Although Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore was unable to help me, I made sure I researched further as surgery is my only option.
I have an 18 month old daughter and since I will be out from work for 4-6 weeks (Will have the surgery on a Monday and come home on a Friday, will have my M.D. here take care of me post op since I will need wound care) I'm just trying to find a good time to be out especially since I work part time and do not have any time saved for medical leave.
If you have any questions or wish to get some support/advice I am more than happy to speak with you. I've found myself to be a bit of an expert when dealing with this terrible painful issue.

Back in the day it was found that many women during childbirth either bruised the rear end area or some even broke their tailbone.

The Dr is going to remove my tailbone but leave my saccrum intact.

I HIGHLY recommend doing your research. I hope your journey to being pain free is a quick one. The biggest post op issue is infection since you have to be VERY careful with each bowel movement that you don't infect the area.

____@____.com
I hope I was somewhat helpful to you. Please write anytime. You definitely want to do your homework.
I also wanted to say that I was in a great deal of pain after I was in labor (ended up having a C/Section in the end) because of the different positions I was in on the table. It was rough and since I can not sit down on my butt I sit on a cheek, I can not lay flat, I lay on a side or stomach. Car rides (long ones over 2 hours) are extremely rough. And on Monday night I went to the Verizon center for a concert and it was a good thing there was a 30 minute intermission or else I would have been in trouble.
I've been under the care of a Pain Management doctor for medication management. I can not get through a day without pain medication. For so many years I just figured my back was hurting because I did something that day or something but now it's very clear as to what's going on. I did see one Ortho M.D. and he did an in office X-ray. That was the best picture of my tailbone being angulated. However a rectal exam was the actual proof needed showing the bone indeed isn't fused. I was honestly in shock to find that out not to mention the rectal exam was very uncomfortable but so beneficial.
H.