Tailbone (coccyx) pain
Overview
Tailbone pain is pain in the bone at the base of the spine (coccyx), near the top of your bottom. There are things you can do to ease the pain, but get medical help if it does not get better after a few weeks.
Symptoms
The main symptom of tailbone (coccyx) pain is pain and tenderness at the base of your spine, near the top of your bottom. It may feel dull and achy most of the time, with occasional sharp pains. The pain may be worse: while you're sitting downwhen you sit down or stand upwhen you bend forwardwhen you're having a poo You may also find it difficult to sleep and carry out daily activities.
Causes
Common causes of tailbone (coccyx) pain include: pregnancy and childbirthan injury or accident, such as a fall onto your coccyxrepeated or prolonged strain on the coccyx – for example, after sitting for a long time while driving or cyclingpoor posturebeing overweight or underweightjoint hypermobility(increased flexibility) or decreased flexibility of the joint that attaches the coccyx to the bottom of the spine Sometimes the cause of tailbone pain is unknown.
Treatment
Further treatments are available if simple things like pelvic floor exercises and ibuprofen have not helped your tailbone (coccyx) pain. The 2 treatments that may be recommended first are: physiotherapy – the muscles around the coccyx can be manipulated to help ease the paincorticosteroid and local anaesthetic injections – into the joint that attaches the coccyx to the bottom of your spine If physiotherapy and injections do not help reduce the pain, surgery to remove part or all of your coccyx may be recommended. If you have tailbone (coccyx) pain, you might be able to refer yourself directly to services for help with your condition without seeing a GP. These may include musculoskeletal and physiotherapy services. To find out if there are any services in your area: ask the receptionist staff at your GP surgerycheck your GP surgery's websitecontact your local integrated care board (ICB) –find your local ICBsearch online for NHS treatment for tailbone (coccyx) pain near you