Tail Bone Pain

Hello S.,
It sounds so familiar to my life. I have AS-Ankylosing Spondylitis, form of arthritis. I had that sort of pain in younger years and then as the years passed more joints. It esp affects the spine and ribs. There is a special blood test for it done by a rheumatologist. If this is what you have you want to treat it early. I am 48 now and am disabled. Look up on the computer for symptoms. Hope it is not that but if it is better to find out while you are in early stages

This is common after giving birth (so many people do so in a semi-sitting position), even if it doesn't show up until months later. A good chiropractor should be able to fix it!

You need to go to a back doctor. You could go to a good chiropractic dr. and /or a spine and neuro dr. I had the samething with also low back pain, very bad pain!! I had to have a operation about 4yrs ago.Get help soon so things want get worse by waiting.

My husband had pain similar to what you're describing without having done anything to hurt his tailbone. Found out it was a pilonidal cyst. You may want to look into that. They said only certain antibiotics work to clear it up and they just had to prescribe one to see if it would work. Luckily for him it did but the doctor said if it comes back he would have to go to the doctor sooner so they could remove it. He was in so much pain he couldn't even sit. Hope you find out what it is soon and get to feeling better.

I see you have some really good responses, I wanted to add that I had a pilonital cyst, very similar to the posts about having it swell and having to go to the doctor and it opening up to drain, lovely! After that I haven't had any problems as long as I take baths regularly, I take a bath every night and keep that area very clean to ensure I don't have problems. Good luck, hope things work out!

If you have swelling, it could be a pinaidle syst (spelling is wrong). I've had the same tail bone pain off and on for about two years, but sometimes it swells really big. I have to go to the doctor and get it drained. They will have to surgicly remove the syst. I hope that's not it, but you need to go to the doctor. Good luck.

Did you receive an epidural in that area? I had my daughter almost 18 months ago and was given my epidural in my lower back instead of mid back like my first child. Since then, I too have noticed low back pain. It's off and on. The best thing that helps alleviate it is lying on back on flat surface (my tile floor) and doing slow alternate leg raises. Also, Biofreeze rubbed by hubby helps to. You can purchase Biofreeze online, in a chiropractor's office, or from a massage therapist. You can also get samples online. It works really well.

Hi S.. I'm sorry to hear you're in pain. That can be difficult to bear with little ones. I would like to recommend that you see Dr. Kermit E. Summerall, Jr. located in Huntsville. He uses a method called acupressure which is very gentle yet effective for spinal manipulation. He is also holistic minded--an older gentleman who is very kind and sincerely cares about his patients. His expertise is second to none. If you are interested, his phone is ###-###-####.
Good day!

I really think a good orthopedic physical therapist could help you a lot, and without medication. It's very possible you have some sacroiliac joint problems. This can cause your tailbone to hurt from walking. Doctors don't really know how to treat this, but if you can get your doctor to give you a referral/prescription to a PT, I think you will get some relief. SI joint problems are pretty common even months after chidbirth because the hormones loosen your joints in the pelvis and makes them prone to slipping a little out of place. Good luck!

I will start by saying that I'm sorry that you are in so much pain.I have never had tailbone pain myself,but know a few people who have.I also know that they got relief from getting adjusted by a chiropractor.A chiropractor is the best doctor to see when you are having bone pain,or any kind of back problems.Alot of people are a little scepticle about chiropractors and think its a joke, but I have known many people that go to them first instead of a regular doctor for many problems.Alot of health issues can be fixed by getting an adjustment by a good chiropractor.I hope this helps and you are pain free soon,God Blees D. F

ok, so I read all the responses first. I see that alot of people are recommending chiropractors or doctors. I had this horrible tailbone pain a few years back. I couldn't even roll over in bed, my husband would have to help me walk all hunched over because it was too painful to stand up straight. I was pregnant at the time, so I asked my doctor. He said once you are pregnant or have a kid your hips get bigger, kinda stretch out to say and stay that way forever. Everybody knows that but what else he told me was that when they stretch, your leg bones that meet in the back. forgive me I can't think of the name. actually move around kinda loosely for awhile. What he did for me was every visit i would lay down on a flat surface, a hard flat surface and get my body perfectly straight. if you have the problem i did then you can actually see that your legs are different lenghts. If you have your husband do this it is cheaper. very slowly have him pull on the leg that's shorter. it is tremendous what this does. the doctor said that you have to do it maybe once a week till it quits hurting. they slide back up in there with running, jogging etc. it's immediate pain relief. it doesn'tcompletely quit, but it's an amazing difference! I would try that before i pay for a doctor you have nothing to lose. good luck to you. i hope it quits.

hi, S., about your tailbone pain. i am an er nurse and highly suggest that you see a doctor, more for comfort purposes than anything else. are you sure that it is your tailbone, sometimes a small cyst can form in the area of your tailbone and be quite uncomfortable and require drainage and possible surgical removal. Or you have the possibility of small fractures of the tailbone which usually there isn't much to be done outside of comfort measures, otc pain meds (motrin, aleve, tylenol) or anything your dr suggests, good luck

S.,

I think you should have an X-ray/MRI and a bone density test done. You could be experiencing pain from a pinched nerve in the lumbar region, or you may have a facture. Any number of things could be going on, have it checked out. And fire that doctor if he won't listen to you. Praying for you, P..

I think you need to see a specialist. A neurologist would help with the nerve pain part of it. An orthopedist would help you determine if a vertebrae is out of place. A doctor of osteopathy with manipulation expertise might help you realign your spine if it needs it. I can see that your regular MD might say "wait and see," but it might be time to start thinking about specialists who will help eliminate possible causes. Good luck with this. I don't think pain should be ignored.

Definitely go to a chiropractor. Ours has been such a help over the years, not only for back and neck pain, but for many other injuries and illnesses. He will probably do x-rays first, so he will see of there is any other problems before he adjusts you.God bless.

S.,
I know what you are going through, however, there is nothing a doctor can do about tail-bone pain. I was in an accident and had a tail bone injury and had to use a pillow everyday for almost 2 years. Every doctor stated the same--nothing can be done. Soak in epsom salt and alcohol and sit on a pillow, sleep on your stomach. Sorry.

S., you might try a chiropractor. I have the same problem. Nothing else hurts but the tailbone. It can happen where after children your tailbone area can work its way "out" of place. Some dont think a chiropractor can help but they actually do.

i have had this happen before. i had actually broken my tailbone twice in the past, and i thought i had done it again, but when i went to the dr, it turned out that i had 2 cysts in my tailbone area, one eventually ruptured, the other one, the dr opened and drained. they both felt like a broken tailbone, and the dr even xrayed and said nothing had broken. gross, but a possibility.

Hi S.,

I would definitely hit the chiropractor and see if maybe something has just slipped out of place. If you don't have a regular chiropractor ask friends and family for a recommendation as the difference between a good one and a bad one is huge. I would also consider seeing your GP in case it's a Pilonidal cyst. They are fairly simple to diagnose, but need to be taken care of because of the possibility of it causing a systemic infection or an abscess. I knew a guy that let one go(he just thought his tailbone was out of place or something) and he got so incredibly sick. It abscessed and caused a really bad infection. He was in the hospital for a while. So I would say erring on the side of caution would be the way to go in this case...Hope it feels better soon!

when i was in college, during finals, my tailbone began to hurt. it continued and began to swell so i went to the doctor. apparently, i had scar tissue from cracking my tailbone when i was a child (do not remember the incident). and infection had settled in that tissue. after an antibiotic, it opened up (very weird drainage) and i have never had a problem since. definitely get it checked, it may be a simple problem that can be resolved and never bother you again. best wishes!

I do not have tail bone pain,but I did have a similar doctor experiance.In January of 05 I began to have numbess in the right side of my face while on a bike ride. I rode home and my family took me to the E.R. They found nothing. After several neuroligist, 2 CT scans,6 MRI's, and countless blood tests,there was nothing. They looked for everything MS,Lyme dissease, vitiman B deficiantcy, cancer, allergies, it was the scariest time in my life. Tests always came back negative and I was repeatedly told it was stress go home and relax.

By Febuary of 08 it was all the way down the right side of my body. I was sluring my speach and loosing control of my right leg from time to time. I went to yet another neurologist and was perscribeded a catch all drug that they give to everyone when they don't know what else to do.

I began to look for a job I could work from home and chose one that promoted green products. The company askes that you are a customer so you can really talk about the products. 3 months later I had no symptoms. I went to my doctor and told him what happened. He said It had to have been an "external toxin poisoning".

There is no test to look for this and it is not a widely accepted diagnosis. They only way to know if you are being negatively effected by household chemicals is to get them out of you house completly. If I hadn't stumbled onto my diagnosis there is no telling where I'd be.

So go to the doctor and do not give up! They are human beings just like us and do not have all the answers, so if one doesn't know try another, and keep researching new info is coming out all the time. If you find something to try and it is not harmful, try it even if it seems crazy.

I would have never guessed my make-up, cleaning products, etc... were making me so sick, but neither did my 9 doctors.

Good Luck,
L.

this may or may not help, when i was pregnant i had the same pain, went to a chiropractor and she said my last disk was cracked and leaking fluid, causing my tailbone to hurt. Just a suggestion....

Hi S.,
Have you Stretched? Sometimes when your back is all messed up (Hips too) stretching helps.
If the pain gets worse after activity and is eased by stretching (don't get me wrong-it's gonna HURT when you first do it especially if you haven't been exercising for a while-like most of us after childbirth you are caught up in your sweet baby-I STILL am and my sweet baby will be 3 tomorrow :-) it might be wise to see a chiropractor and just let him x-ray to make sure it's an alignment problem some chiropractors can refer you to an ortheopedist etc...
If the back pain doesn't go away after gentle exercies and a good stretch-I'd want a specalist. You might need to start at your GP for a referral, but if you try non-medication methods (stretching/chiropractory) and get no relief you need to see a Dr who can get you better!!
Your baby only has one Mamma :-).
I hope this helps in some way.
C.

I have also suffered from tailbone pain all of my adult life. Are you swayback? That seems to be part of my problem. My doc showed my first husband how to massage it to make me feel better. It really helped, so now I'm always begging my current hubby to do that when it hurts. That's really the only thing that helps. I know sometimes if I gain too much weight or if I lose too much weight it hurts more, I have to stay within a certain weight range. Exercise, like yoga and pilates also have seemed to help recently. Really I think you should see the doc just to be on the safe side.

I think I know exactly what your talking about. I had severe pain when I would sit or stand or walk. Sometimes I couldn't hardly move and would literally cry because it hurt so bad, and I'm not exaggerating. I got an appointment with an orthopedist and had a CAT scan done. After a lot of time and tests, the diagnosis? Coccydynia. Which translates to tail bone pain. There isn't anything they could do that would help. He said that there were cortisone injections they could do but they are very painful. 1/3 of all the people who have it get it due to pregnancy.
He basically said that for some reason my tailbone shifts more easily now and can turn in more during activity (sitting, walking/running, bending, ect.) causing pain. I would guess that is what you have. I was not a fan of the idea of having them do injections so I just dealt with it. It seems to come in cycles. It will be pretty bad for a two weeks or so then not bad at all for a few months. I found keeping up with exercising and doing abdominal work helps. Also if it hurts to sit, I would get a donut pillow. You usually see older people with them. I felt like an old lady for a month, but I took that thing everywhere. I would bring it to the car which helped when driving. Good luck!