With the onset of winter, the risk of falling and hitting significantly increases, and the consequences of such injuries can remind a person of themselves for the rest of their lives. In addition to the limbs, the tailbone is the most vulnerable place to fall. It is with injuries in this area that people turn to emergency rooms and it is bruises that can significantly complicate life in the future. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how to treat a tailbone injury. The faster the patient gets rid of the pain, the less back problems awaits him in the future.
Anatomy
The coccyx is called the lower spine. At this point, the vertebrae fused in the shape of an inverted triangle, that is, the upper vertebrae are larger than the lower ones. The coccyx in appearance resembles the tail of mammals and, in fact, is a rudimentary part of the tail.
Despite this, he has certain functions: he is directly involved in the work of the genitourinary system, since some muscles and ligaments necessary for sending needs are attached to him. Also around it are the muscles that innervate the pelvic floor.
A tailbone injury can worsen a person’s health so much that the question of how to treat a severe tailbone injury becomes a major one for the entire time until the pain goes away.
Tailbone injury
After a tailbone injury, hematomas and hemorrhages can occur in this place, which both disrupt the blood flow at the site of the injury and compress the surrounding tissue. Scars that occur at the site of the bruise directly affect the functions of the ligaments attached to the coccyx. In some cases, myositis develops, that is, inflammatory processes in the muscles that can also hurt the patient. If a person does not know how to treat a tailbone injury, then the problem can turn into a chronic one: the site of the injury will hurt constantly. To eliminate chronic pain (coccyalgia) in the lower part of the spine is very difficult, it requires a lot of time and effort.
Injury
A bruise can be obtained by falling unsuccessfully on a slippery surface, so such injuries are far from rare in winter. The only way to avoid them is to exercise accuracy in movements, especially in ice. When walking on how many surfaces, it is better to slow down, and while sledding or skiing, it is better to avoid uneven tracks and jumps, as hitting the ground when falling even from a small height can cause injury. It is much easier to try to protect yourself when falling than to treat a tailbone injury for several weeks.
Fracture
Fracture of the coccyx is a rather serious injury that can bed a person for several weeks. A strict bed rest is usually recommended for at least 7 days, after which the patient is allowed to get up. The coccyx during a fracture must be fixed with a splint, and during treatment you will have to follow a diet. After the healing of the fracture, a person needs to attend physical therapy for several weeks or months to restore muscle function.
In some cases, conservative treatment may not help. In case the fracture does not grow together, the coccyx is removed surgically.
Symptoms
Before deciding how to treat a bruised tailbone and sacrum, it is necessary to exclude a fracture, to clarify the severity of the injury. It is extremely difficult to do this without a doctor. The specialist diagnoses not only by taking an anamnesis and listening to patient complaints. To exclude fractures and determine the degree of injury, an x-ray is prescribed.
It should be remembered that in women, the tailbone suffers more, as it is a more vulnerable place: in addition to the bones in the female body breaking and injuring faster, their displacement during a strong blow can provoke consequences, which will be very difficult to get rid of. If a woman hurt a tailbone, only a doctor will tell you how to treat, independent procedures can only aggravate the problem. In the case of a female, the tailbone can also be injured during childbirth.
Symptoms of tailbone injury are mainly characterized by pain at the site of injury. But there are also other signs:
- A trace of a bruise remains in the coccyx area: a hematoma, redness, or a bump.
- In addition to pain in the place itself, pain appears during bowel movements and sexual intercourse.
- In some cases, the pain may pass to the legs. This indicates a significant bruise.
- The inconvenience of being in a sitting position.
How long it hurts if untreated
The pain in the tailbone is perceived by most people as something insignificant, and the patient tries as much as possible to simply survive the bruise. Even in the case of severe pain, a person often finds no other way out than to treat a tailbone bruise with folk remedies that do not always help.
Bruised pain remains for at least three weeks if a person does not receive treatment. However, if the hematoma squeezes the tissues surrounding the coccyx, chronic pain may occur in this place, which can persist for several months even if assistance is received. What is the treatment for a tailbone injury that has become chronic? Stronger, and therefore heavy drugs.
First Aid for Injury
So, the man survived a blow to the lower back. This can happen not only when falling on a slippery surface, but also during training or as a result of a conflict. How to treat a tailbone injury immediately after an injury has occurred:
- If the pain is excessively strong after falling or hitting, then a cold compress or ice should be applied to the bruised area. This will help reduce pain, reduce the area of inflammation and greatly facilitate the subsequent treatment of the bruised area.
- To exclude a fracture of the coccyx, sacrum or spine, you need to contact the emergency room and take an x-ray.
- Unload the place of the injury as much as possible: do not lie down on your back, purchase an orthopedic pillow.
- Hot baths, loads on the injured area, high heels are strictly prohibited.
If a woman hurt a tailbone, how to treat? As well as a man, but the female sex should turn to a traumatologist more quickly, since any displacement can lead to serious consequences for the female body. Especially severely untreated bruises make themselves felt during pregnancy and childbirth, when the load on the back and, in particular, its lower part grow several times.
Drug therapy
After a bruise, the tailbone is treated with both medication and compresses, supportive care, or the usual discharge of the tailbone for a week.
Medicines used in this case, as a rule, work on pain relief. It can be topical preparations or tablets for oral administration. The main pharmacological group is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
For rubbing, ointments with diclofenac, nimesulide or ketoprofen are used. For internal use, tablets with the same active ingredients are prescribed. Trade names of the drugs: "Nimesil", "Ketonal", "Diclofen", "Ortofen" and others.
It should be remembered that NSAIDs are a rather dangerous pharmacological group, especially with prolonged use. A person who does not have contraindications can take such drugs no longer than 5-7 days, after which further administration begins to negatively affect the gastrointestinal tract and liver.
Also, with severe inflammation, corticosteroid drugs are used. Most often they are prescribed either in the form of ointments, or as injections. Injections are given only in case of prolonged or severe pain, since the group of glucocorticoids also has a large number of contraindications for prolonged use.
The most commonly used drug for the relief of pain and inflammation in injured areas is Diprospan. It is available in ampoule form in the form of a suspension, which is injected directly into the site of inflammation. As a rule, the course of treatment is no more than 5 injections, one per day. If the inflammatory process has not passed in 5 days, the course of the drug is not continued. It is necessary to take a break of at least 2-3 weeks before Diprospan can be used again in treatment.
Compresses
For some people, a compress is the most obvious method of treating a tailbone bruise after a fall. But the use of any kind of warm compresses with a bruise is strictly contraindicated. Even if in this way the patient wants to reduce swelling and relieve pain, in the long run the influence of heat will only increase pain and inflammation.
Then how to treat a tailbone injury at home? Apply only cooling compresses that help both relieve pain and reduce swelling. Cold compresses can be somewhat unpleasant during use, but they really help improve the condition after an injury.
Massage and exercise therapy
Massage and physiotherapy exercises are methods that are used after the main symptoms have been removed. Even a home massage treats a tailbone injury in the case of a recent injury, as well as for older injuries.
But it should be understood that unprofessional exposure should be as light as possible and not affect directly damaged areas. A more intensive massage should always be carried out in a specialized institution and only by people with the qualifications of a massage therapist.
It is necessary to conduct physical therapy classes and massage sessions at least a few weeks after the disappearance of pain. During this period, bruised tissues will restore their functions, muscles and ligaments will regain mobility and the injured area will completely heal.
But in the case of severe bruises, as well as fractures, the recovery period can extend to several months. In case of fractures, the program of physiotherapy exercises should be tailored specifically for this diagnosis, since general recommendations in this case will not work and can be harmful.
Physiotherapy
This method also belongs to the means of maintenance therapy and is used after the main problems (pain, swelling, inflammation) have already been solved. Physiotherapeutic methods include UHF, electrophoresis, infrared therapy, acupuncture.
Physiotherapeutic methods are also used during the recovery period after the healing of the injury. But the peculiarity of these methods is that to obtain any noticeable effect they should be carried out for a long time and regularly.
All physiotherapeutic procedures are completely contraindicated in the presence of any inflammatory process not only in the area of the bruise, but also in the tissues surrounding it. The effect of physiotherapy on the inflamed parts of the body can trigger increased pain, an increase in the area of inflammation, and in some cases suppuration or necrosis of tissues.
Bruising effects
The main consequences of the injury are associated with the under-treatment of the injury, which in the future may make itself felt with an increase in physical exertion. For a woman, a long tail injury of the tailbone can result in injuries during childbirth, increased pain and other problems that occur suddenly, as if for no reason.
But most often, if the patient started therapy on time and complied with medical recommendations, complete recovery and pain relief occurs. In rare cases, they become chronic and require longer treatment. In such cases, the doctor diagnoses “post-traumatic coccyalgia” and prescribes additional physiotherapeutic procedures, massage and injections of painkillers. Chronic pain can be cured in a few months of therapy.
Prevention
But the most rational decision will be to take measures to reduce the risk of falls and shock, especially in winter. You should replace your shoes with more stable ones, avoid slippery surfaces. For people involved in sports, the recommendation will be to minimize the risk of injury to the coccyx: use shock protection, learn the correct technique for falls.
Despite the fact that a bruise is not a fatal or even dangerous violation of health, it can significantly damage the body’s performance, reduce the comfort of life and disrupt a person’s plans for the next few weeks. Therefore, when it becomes possible to reduce the risk of such an injury, it is necessary to use it.