The coccyx bone is more commonly known as your tailbone. It is small and located at the end of your spine. My coccyx bone was bruised nearly fifteen years ago. My former best friend kicked me in the tailbone while we were having an argument. Here is what to expect if you ever get a bruised coccyx bone.
I didn’t notice the pain at first because I was so angry at my friend. That quickly changed the next morning. I noticed a sharp pain in my in my behind when I woke up the next morning. Once I stood up, the pain subsided, so I thought nothing of it. You probably won’t notice the pain from a bruised coccyx until the next day as well. A bruised bone is similar to bruised tissue. The initial shock is painful, but the area doesn’t become tender until the bruise actually forms.
Sitting down with a bruised coccyx bone won’t be as painful as you expect. Getting up, however, will be excruciating. Sharp pains will assault your tailbone and your lower spine. This is because your tailbone shifts when you stand up. A lot of pressure is exerted on your coccyx bone to support your weight while standing. This is the same as pressing a bruise on your skin.
I couldn’t sit down in class for two weeks. Like I said, the sitting down part isn’t so bad, but I remained standing in order to avoid the agony of getting back up. You will have to sit down eventually. The best way I have found to get up with the least amount of pain is to lean your entire upper body back as far as you can by scooting your behind off of the chair in front of you. You will basically hover and use your legs and arms to support your weight. This takes most of the pressure off of your bruised coccyx bone and makes standing a little more bearable.
If you sit down for longer than fifteen minutes your tailbone will let you know it. It will ache intensely and you will have to get up to alleviate the pressure. Getting up is more painful than sitting down for too long, but the longer you remain seated, the more the pain will build in your bruised coccyx bone. Try to avoid sitting down for more than fifteen minutes if possible. Laying down on a soft surface with lots of cushioning will alleviate the pain.
The only time that sitting will not hurt is when you use the toilet. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could sit on the toilet for as long as I wanted and not have any discomfort. Invest in an inflatable donut shaped cushion. These look like small inner tubes with a hole for your behind to rest in. The cushioned ring takes a lot of pressure off of your bruised coccyx bone and makes sitting down for longer periods of time much less painful.
There is no way to heal a bruised coccyx bone, but the symptoms get better with time. Your injured tailbone will always give you problems for the rest of your life, but the first two to three months after bruising your coccyx will be the worst. Once you get past that, you will learn ways to avoid straining your bruised coccyx bone.
Avoid sitting on hard surfaces at all costs. It has been over a decade since I bruised my coccyx bone and sitting in a wooden church pew for more than a half hour makes my tailbone shriek in pain. I can get up much easier then when I first injured my coccyx, but it is still very painful.
Heavy lifting should be done with your legs instead of your back. Hunching and bending to lift heavy objects without bending your knees will put a lot of strain on your back. While helping a friend of mine move about two years ago, I had to stay in bed the next day because I abused my bruised coccyx bone from lifting furniture the wrong way.
If you have fallen or been struck in the tailbone and think that you may have a bruised coccyx bone, then you need to go to a doctor as soon as possible. Only x-rays will reveal if your tailbone is bruised or fractured. The only thing that your doctor can do is prescribe you pain medication and advise you to take it easy for awhile.
A bruised coccyx bone is extremely painful and should be taken seriously. The best way to avoid a lot of the pain that comes with an tailbone injury is to avoid sitting down as much as possible and to take advantage of the pain medication that your doctor will prescribe. To avoid a bruised coccyx altogether, never piss your best friend off to the point that they start kicking your @$$. Lesson learned!
