Experiencing Tailbone Pain? We Can Help

Coccydynia Pain

While coccydynia, also known as tailbone pain, only affects around 1% of people, it is very common among women. Coccydynia can sometimes resolve itself for some people, severe cases should be addressed by a specialist.

Understanding Tailbone Pain

What is Coccydynia Pain?

Coccydynia (also called Coccygodynia) is inflammation of the tailbone or coccyx. Coccydynia is associated with pain and tenderness at the tip of the tailbone between the buttocks. The pain is often worsened by sitting.

Related Conditions for Coccydynia Pain

While coccydynia can be the result of an injury or mobility issues, muscle spasms within the pelvic floor can also result in coccyx pain.

Coccydynia Pain Is Not Normal

Potential Causes of Tailbone Pain

Coccydynia is typically caused by underlying anatomical issues involving the movement, and in some cases, the non-movement of the coccyx.

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    Hypermobility or too much movement of the coccyx puts added stress on the joint between the sacrum and coccyx and on the coccyx itself. Too much mobility can also pull the pelvic floor muscles that attach to the coccyx, resulting in tailbone and pelvic pain.

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    Limited mobility of the coccyx causes the tailbone to just outward when sitting and can put increased pressure on the bones and the sacrococcygeal joint. Limited coccyx movement may also result in pelvic floor muscle tension, adding to the discomfort.

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    In rare cases, part of the sacrococcygeal joint may become dislocated at the front or back of the tailbone, causing coccyx pain.

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    Childbirth causes immense pressure around the pelvic area causing pain in the coccyx

Treatment Options for Coccydynia Pain

Once a proper diagnosis has been given, we offer a proprietary office-based procedure to treat the underlying causes of coccyx pain. This treatment consists of a series of pelvic nerve and muscle treatments to directly target the spastic pelvic floor muscles, inflammation in the pelvis, and nerve pain. Depending on the symptoms or condition causing your pain, other modalities may be needed in addition to our treatment. Since the cause of coccydynia can be multifactorial, the most effective treatment option is a multimodal approach that targets many different contributing factors.

Frequently Asked Questions: Tailbone Pain

Experiencing coccydynia pain can be difficult, but our team of pelvic pain specialists will listen to you, validate your experiences and symptoms, and partner with you on your rehabilitation journey.

Preventative steps include protecting your coccyx during “high-risk” activities such as protective tailbone padding for snowboarding, properly fitting bike seats, and saddles, and proper cushion for sitting to relieve pressure around the coccyx.

Coccydynia usually goes away on its own within a few weeks or months. However, for some patients, the pain can become chronic and should be addressed.

If traditional conservative methods of treatment are not helping, such as leaning forward while sitting down, using a doughnut-shaped pillow or wedge (V-shaped) cushion to sit on, or applying heat or ice to the affected area, do not minimize your pain, we encourage you to meet with one of our pelvic pain specialists.

First, our providers will ask questions about your medical history and listen to your symptoms to get a full picture of what is going on with you.

Next, an external exam of your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum.

Next, your pelvic nerves are evaluated externally with a soft cotton tip.

Next, with your consent, gel is placed on a gloved finger and an internal exam is performed to allow us to evaluate the nerves and muscles within the pelvis.
There is no speculum required as we are evaluating the pelvic floor muscles and nerves, not the organs.

Sometimes patients will need Imaging to help us understand if there is an associated cause of the pelvic nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction found on the exam.

Oftentimes, treatment can be started the same day as there is no downtime. Our patients have been suffering with pelvic pain symptoms for 6+ months. We like to get them on the road to feeling better as soon as we can as the longer the symptoms are present the harder it is for us to resolve them.

We Provide Treatment For Tailbone Pain

Our pelvic pain specialists are experts in recognizing the symptoms of and diagnosing pelvic pain conditions. With The PRM Protocol, we go further than addressing the symptoms on the surface – we treat the underlying causes of pelvic pain.