How to Sit with TAILBONE PAIN

By: Patrick Foye, M.D., Director of the Coccyx Pain Service at New Jersey Medical School, Newark, N.J. (www.TailboneDoctor.com)

TAILBONE PAIN (coccyx pain) usually is worse when SITTING. This is because when we SIT we put more of our body weight on the tailbone (as compared with standing, which put far less pressure on the tailbone). This can be true for a wide variety of causes of tailbone pain, including tailbone pain due to conditions such as: coccyx fractures (fractured tailbone, "broken tailbone", chipped tailbone, "cracked tailbone"), coccyx dislocations (dislocated tailbone), coccyx sprains (sprained tailbone), coccyx injuries from pregnancy (tailbone injuries while pregnant or from childbirth, labor and delivery), tailbone injuries from sports and other causes (bruised tailbone from trauma) and tailbone pain, aching, soreness or tailbone discomfort that began without any trauma or injury at all. This article will focus on how patients often cope with this pain by changing the way that they sit.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
   Web Search for Tailbone Doctor

   The best first step is to find out what is causing the tailbone pain, ideally by seeing a physician with experience in evaluating and treating a variety of causes of tailbone pain. But in the meantime, the following simple steps can help make sitting more tolerable.

2. Notice whether the pain is worse with sitting on soft surfaces (like a couch) or hard surfaces (like a bench). When possible, avoid sitting on the types of surfaces that worsen your pain.

3. Many patients find it helpful to sit leaning slightly forwards (bending forward at the hips/waist). This helps because it takes your body weight off of the coccyx (tailbone). When sitting leaning forwards, most of your body weight is on the back of your thighs and the lower part of each separate buttock, instead of the pressure being over the tailbone (which is in between the buttocks).

4. Many patients find that the pain is less if they lean to one side or the other. By leaning to the right (or to the left), less body weight (and thus less pressure) is placed on the tailbone. Many patients will alternate between leaning to the right versus leaning to the left.

5. Some patients will sit with one foot/ankle placed beneath the opposite buttock. For example, a patient may position their right foot up on the chair underneath their left buttock. (Or, the left foot underneath the right buttock.) Doing this lifts the tailbone up off of the chair, so that there is less pressure on the tailbone.

6. Avoid sitting for a long duration of time. Especially avoid sitting for a long time in one single position. Instead, change positions frequently.

7. From among the different options above, find the sitting position that is most comfortable for you. Or, alternate between positions.

8. Consider using a tailbone cushion (coccyx cushion). For more details about tailbone cushions, please see the eHow article “How To Pick a Coccyx Cushion (Tailbone Cushion) for Coccyx Pain (Tailbone Pain)”, available online at http://www.ehow.com/how_2243781_cushion-coccyx-pain-tailbone-pain.html

9. Many patients find that their tailbone pain is worse when they first stand up after sitting. It may be helpful to get up slowly when standing up after sitting.

10. When possible, avoid sitting while the seat is bumping or shaking. For example, many patients with tailbone pain avoid sitting on buses or on subway cars since the bumpy ride can worsen the tailbone pain.

11. Be careful because the altered ways of sitting (sitting leaning forwards, sitting leaning to one side, sitting on your foot, etc.) can cause pain in OTHER body regions. For example, people who sit in an abnormal posture due to tailbone pain may eventually end up also having pain at the lower back, at the back of the thighs, the outer parts of the hips, or at the lower part of either buttock.

Tips & Warnings

• For more information on Tailbone pain, please see Dr. Foye’s other TailboneDoctor articles on eHow, or go to www.TailboneDoctor.com and www.Tailbone.info
• WARNING: Coccyx pain can sometimes be due to very serious underlying medical conditions: seek in-person evaluation by a medical professional.
• WARNING: This information is intended to be educational and is NOT to be considered as medical advice. This information is NOT a substitute for direct medical care from a physician who evaluates you in person.
• WARNING: Many physicians and other health providers have little or no experience in evaluating or treating tailbone pain or coccyx injuries. Seek medical attention from a specialist with experience in treating tailbone pain.

Resources

• www.TailboneDoctor.com
• www.Tailbone.info
• eMedicine chapter on tailbone pain (coccyx pain)
• Dr. Foye's Tailbone – Coccyx articles on eHow
• Dr. Foye's profile on eHow, TailboneDoctor
• Online images of the tailbone - coccyx
• Radio show on tailbone pain (coccyx pain)
• TAILBONE PAIN
• www.TailbonePain.net

[TailboneDoctor]

on 10/29/2009 Dear brwmkw, sorry to hear about your pain. While I can not give treatment advice in this forum, I suggest that you see a local musculoskeletal doctor for starters, and see what results you get from there. Also, if you go to my website www.TailboneDoctor.com and enter your email in the yellow box it will sign you up for a newsletter that will give more info. than I can fit here.

[brwmkw]

on 10/1/2009 My pain just came about suddenly.. No injury or nothing just started hurting with each day getting worse. It's to the point now I can hardly sit. Just as the article stated I sat on one side leaning kinda forward, sat on one leg, etc. But now nothing is working, and it's starting to be pretty painful to stand and walk. It's driving my crazy, and I can't find a doctor that's been of any help... All I hear is "you had to have injured it Mrs. ..., this just doesn't happen." But then I got on the net and found out about coccydynia. What I am experiencing sound just like it.. Please someone help me!!!!! What type of doctor do I need to go to for help? I so need some relief of this excruciating pain.

[brwmkw]

on 10/1/2009 My pain just came about suddenly.. No injury or nothing just started hurting with each day getting worse. It's to the point now I can hardly sit. Just as the article stated I sat on one side leaning kinda forward, sat on one leg, etc. But now nothing is working, and it's starting to be pretty painful to stand and walk. It's driving my crazy, and I can't find a doctor that's been of any help... All I hear is "you had to have injured it Mrs. ..., this just doesn't happen." But then I got on the net and found out about coccydynia. What I am experiencing sound just like it.. Please someone help me!!!!! What type of doctor do I need to go to for help? I so need some relief of this excruciating pain.

[TailboneDoctor]

on 7/29/2009 Dear Kryker, I am sorry to hear about the pain that you have been having. I can not give personalized medical advice via the eHow website. But I can suggest that you ask your treating doctor whether the pain is coming from the tailbone or not, since you mention caudal injection and SI (sacroiliac) joint injections, but not coccyx injections (which would be the site typically injected if this is tailbone pain). All the best.

[kryker]

on 7/26/2009 Dr. Foye, I have been enduring pain when I sit for 2 years. I have not had an injury. I did have Herrington Rods over 25 years ago for scoliosis. It started after travelling for my job for 6 straight months and working long hours sitting. I have done all the things in your article to relieve the pain as I sit; lean forward, sit on one side and put my leg up under me for relief. I have been to my PCP and been given NSAID's, pain medication, Aleve, chiropractor visits, SI joint injections (caudal and into each joint) with no relief. I have had X-rays and an MRI that show nothing to lead suspicion of the cause. I am still travelling and absolutely dread my plane trips. I am at a loss of where to go next. Any suggestions of where I need to go from here? Thank you!