Tailbone pain can be either acute or chronic. Acute tailbone pain is typically sudden and severe, while chronic tailbone pain lasts for longer than three months and either comes and goes or remains constant. As such, some signs that your tailbone pain is serious vary depending on the type of pain you are experiencing. When acute tailbone pain indicates a serious problem, it is usually sharp and intense pain. In contrast, when chronic tailbone pain suggests a serious problem, it is usually an ongoing and significant pain that lingers and disrupts your ability to do routine tasks on a daily basis.

With that in mind, some other signs that your tailbone pain is serious include the following:

– Difficulty with bowel movements and straining due to pain
– Enduring pain that consistently disrupts your ability to perform routine tasks
– Extreme localized pain and tenderness in the tailbone area
– Numbness or tingling in the back or legs
– Pain that lasts for several days or weeks
– Significant bruising in the tailbone area
– Tailbone pain that does not improve with treatment and continues for more than three months

Tailbone pain can be caused by a number of different things, including injuries, illnesses, conditions, or lifestyles and routines. As such, some common causes of tailbone pain are listed as follows:

– Degeneration to the nerves or joints around the coccyx
– Direct blow to the tailbone
– Falling backward on the tailbone onto a hard surface
– Fractured or injured tailbone during childbirth
– Hormonal changes during pregnancy
– Local infection
– Obesity or being underweight
– Nerve root compression
– Repetitive strain injuries
– Sitting for prolonged periods due to occupation or lifestyle
– Spinal cord issues, which can occur from spinal surgery or degenerative disc disease
– Straining due to constipation or hemorrhoids
– Tumors in the coccyx, either cancerous or noncancerous

In general, relief methods for tailbone pain can include particular stretches and exercises, cooling or heating packs, and massage therapy. With that being said, some tailbone pain requires more intensive pain relief methods. At Ramos Center, we utilize integrative and functional pain medicine for tailbone pain relief. As such, we avoid an over-reliance upon pain medication and prioritize minimally invasive treatment options that seek to address the root issue of the pain over surgical options.

With that in mind, some of our non-surgical treatment options for tailbone pain relief include the following:

– Coccygeal nerve block
– Epidural steroid injections
– Medical management for chronic tailbone pain
– Physical therapy
– Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
– Spinal cord stimulation (SCS)
– And others!

For more information about tailbone pain treatment or to schedule an appointment with one of our pain management doctors at Ramos Center, we invite you to do so through our website or by calling us. Ramos Center has clinics in Bradenton, Englewood, Sarasota, and Venice, Florida.

We serve patients from Bradenton FL, Sarasota FL, Palmetto FL, Laurel FL, Venice FL, St. Petersburg FL, Englewood FL, Memphis FL, Cortez FL, Port Charlotte FL and Dunedin FL.