Let's see why the tailbone in a person hurts. Before a person began to move in an upright position during evolution, the final links of his spine were part of the tail. Today, this part of the spine is called the coccyx, and it only reminds itself of itself in cases when its bones and ligaments are damaged by trauma or a certain disease, which is accompanied by pain during movements, as well as in a sitting position.
This symptom will intensify, and the disease will develop and worsen if you do not start searching for the causes of such unpleasant sensations in time.
Why does the tailbone hurt when you sit?
The most common cause of this symptom is all sorts of injuries that have occurred due to injuries, falls or bruises of the coccygeal zone. In this case, fractures, dislocations, displacements of bones, pinching of the coccygeal nerves can also cause acute pain. After a person receives a similar injury, he can constantly feel unwell, which is worse when walking or in a sitting position. Such pain is concentrated in a particular rudimentary process or next to it.
There are times when the pain was unexpressed, and after a few years resumed with renewed vigor. Sometimes a person cannot understand why the coccyx hurts when sitting, since there was no injury to the coccygeal zone. The cause of such symptoms can be numerous diseases within the body associated with the vital organs. Dull and aching pain is often experienced by men suffering from inflammation of the prostate gland, as well as women who may have inflammation of the fallopian tubes or ovaries.
The reasons why the tailbone hurts can also be osteochondrosis, problems with stools, hemorrhoids, postoperative scars in the rectum, prolapse of the perineum and much more. Similar manifestations cause inflammation of the nerve roots of the spinal column. Pain in the coccygeal region is called anorectal pain.
Osteochondrosis as a cause of tailbone pain
With such pathologies of the spine, a thinning of the intervertebral discs occurs and inflammation of the nerve roots begins. With long sitting or walking too fast, the pain, as a rule, intensifies and causes a lot of inconvenience. The treatment of such problems boils down to freeing the intervertebral space from squeezing the processes of the vertebrae, which will ease the pain. This goal can be achieved through massages and manual therapy, as well as physiotherapy. Why is the tailbone sore?
Injuries
Poorly cured and chronic injuries can also make themselves felt in the form of pain in the coccyx, especially in the sitting position and during movements. The periosteum, injured as a result of a fall or bruise, often becomes inflamed, but as soon as the pain subsides, the person thinks that he has recovered. However, such injuries do not pass without a trace. They require a quality examination and treatment, as they can develop in the form of chronic disorders, as well as be the causes of other, no less serious diseases.
Why tailbone hurts is sometimes very difficult to find out.
Reflected pain
Similar sensations arise in cases when there is a pinching of the nerve roots of the lumbar and sacral spine. In people with a similar problem, severe pain radiating to the coccyx is observed.
The causes of these pains can be underlying diseases, such as:
- hemorrhoids;
- tumors and various cysts of the spine;
- postoperative rectal scars;
- hip joint inflammation;
- protrusions (displacement of the vertebral discs and narrowing of the space between them), as well as intervertebral hernias.
Such diagnoses are usually made to those who engage in heavy physical labor and weight lifting, as well as athletes.
At first, pain only bothers a person in a sitting position, and then it begins to disturb when standing up and walking. Why does the tailbone hurt in women?
Secondary causes of tailbone pain
Diseases that can cause pain in the lower spine and tailbone also include proctitis, inflammation of the bladder, adnexitis, and other diseases of the urinary tract. Characteristic pain can occur after a difficult birth, with delayed bowel movements, and can also be triggered by some living conditions, such as sitting on soft chairs, tight clothes, etc.
People who spend a lot of time behind the wheel often complain of pain in the tailbone when sitting. This is due to the fact that with a person in a sitting position for a long time, the spine experiences enormous loads and pressure. This can provoke the above protrusions, hernias and cysts of the vertebral discs.
Why, when you sit for a long time, does the tailbone hurt?
Another cause of pain in the tailbone in a sitting position may be salt deposits in the joints that experience oxygen starvation due to difficulty in blood flow to them.
However, there are situations when pain in the tailbone develops because a person is in too much time in motion. For example, people involved in equestrian sports and cycling often complain of such symptoms. They have microtraumas of the coccygeal zone, which give a similar pain effect.
Passive people may also face similar problems. For example, when a person has been working on a sedentary job for many years, his body begins to experience stress on the spine associated with stagnation of blood in the legs and pelvis, which, in turn, leads to concomitant diseases - hemorrhoids and varicose veins. These diseases can also cause pain in the coccyx in a sitting position.
Why does the tailbone hurt in women when sitting during pregnancy?
Pain during pregnancy
During the period of carrying the baby in the body of women, restructuring occurs, which involves preparing the body for heavy loads and childbirth. In addition, women are deficient in certain minerals necessary for bone tissue, which include phosphorus and calcium. This deficiency can lead to fragility and thinning of bone tissue and cause pain both in the tailbone and in other areas. The growing fetus presses on the small pelvis, on the bones of the hips, there is also a stretching of the ligaments of the hips, which can cause characteristic pain. In addition, the nerve roots located in the spine experience pressure and stress, and this will cause pain in the tailbone, most often in a sitting position.
We examined why the tailbone hurts when sitting. How to get rid of discomfort?
Several ways to relieve seated tailbone pain
The first rule for people suffering from this problem is to exclude sitting on too hard and too soft surfaces.
For pains in the coccyx, hot baths with sea salt can effectively help, as well as warming up painful areas of the body with a heating pad. The problem area can be slightly greased with iodine, some traditional medicine in the form of tinctures for grinding also help. For example, valerian tincture, fir oil, vodka diluted with radish juice, honey compresses and much more help.
Why the tailbone began to hurt, it is better to check with the doctor.
Medications for relieving coccyx pain
The following medications will help temporarily relieve pain, which can be purchased at any pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription:
- Naproxen.
- Relief Advance.
- "Olestesin."
- Neo-Anuzol.
- Voltaren.
- Chondroxide.
- Emla.
Diagnosis and treatment
The doctor who diagnoses diseases associated with pain in the tailbone is a general practitioner. He will prescribe all the necessary diagnostic measures, and, if necessary, may refer him to other specialists, for example, to a proctologist, surgeon, neuropathologist, psychotherapist or osteopath. In this case, in order to find out the true cause of pain in the coccygeal zone, especially expressed in a sitting position, the following examinations are necessary:
- palpation of the coccyx;
- X-ray of the lumbosacral;
- sigmoidoscopy;
- sphincterometry;
- Ultrasound
- a blood test, as well as urine for inflammatory processes in the body;
- tests for tumor markers in cases where the doctor suspects the presence of tumor formations;
- tomography.
In the absence of therapeutic measures, the pain intensifies, and the disease itself progresses intensively. If conservative methods of treatment do not help, doctors can resort to surgical methods to solve this problem.
Nevertheless, activities such as rest, anesthesia, novocaine blockade, massage, acupuncture, and exercise therapy help.