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Original poster

Broken/Fractured/bruised tailbone(coccyx)

53 replies

Shehz21 · 13/09/2020 20:00

Not sure whether it is broken, fractured or bruised after having fallen from our garden swing on the coccyx but it's day 5 and hurting more than the first few days. In such times, I didn't want to go to A&E and having read that there's nothing that can be done for even a broken coccyx, not even an xray, I did not want to waste NHS time and resources. I have tried to gather as much info as possible on it but the pain is intolerable today. I had to take codeine tablets to help manage the symptoms..
Can anyone who has personal experience with tailbone pain help me see the light at the end of the tunnel? Cannot sit or walk properly at all. Just lying down but how long will this go on?
Just hoping for some positive stories or words I guess. Thank youSmile

OP posts:
Veterinari · 13/09/2020 20:40

[quote Shehz21]**@Veterinari* That's what I thought.. such a weird place to get so much pain from and this is actually worse than childbirth for me, the same as @whatwouldnigellado*

@froggers1 Omg froggers how was the healing process? I really hope that mine isn't anywhere as bad...Sad[/quote]
Yeah it's a horrible pain.
I've broken a few bones and it's one of the worst. Tbh I couldn't sit comfortably for any length of time for several months afterwards and it would be sore if I sat in a hard seat for a year or so after, but all manageable. The first few weeks are the worst. Ibuprofen and co-codamol help but don't take the co-codamol for more than a few days - it is addictive.

SayrraT · 13/09/2020 20:40

I fell off my horse in March last year. It is the most painful thing I've ever done. I had to kneel at work for months (until December at least). I couldn't ride until Sept 2019.

It still hurts a lot at times now.

I'm sorry, I don't know what I can suggest except that the pain will hopefully fade (eventually) but I'm not entirely sure if it will ever go away.

For me the most painful thing was (and still is) getting up after sitting.

HunterAngel · 13/09/2020 20:41

I injured mine a few years ago. After a year of absolute agony and being unable to sit properly I went to the gp who referred me to a specialist clinic. I had an appointment with a physiotherapist then a doctor who diagnosed me with a mobile coccyx. I had anti inflammatory and steroid injections to the tailbone under sedation. That was the first day I got out of the car like a normal person in over two years! Nearly a year later and I’m still pain free (unless I spend ages riding a bike over bumpy ground or sit on a particularly hard chair). Definitely get it checked OP, there might be something that can ease your pain

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cheapskatemum · 13/09/2020 20:41

@Shehz21 I hope yours heals more quickly too. The only good thing I can say is, it was nice when it stopped!

User33019385 · 13/09/2020 20:45

Fell down the stairs last summer and also pretty sure I fractured it. Incredible pain for a few days, especially when standing up or carrying something heavy. Had a baby at the time (BFing every 2 hours) so I couldn't face the hassle of going to hospital, waiting around etc and after googling realised they can't do much anyway. Took ibuprofen and paracetamol until the pain tapered off after 2-3 weeks. Been totally fine since!

DuckonaBike · 13/09/2020 20:48

I injured mine (displaced it I think) giving birth. Seeing an osteopath helped a bit, and then I saw a physio who helped as well. I had to sit on an inflatable swimming ring for weeks until I got a proper cushion with a sort of bite out of it via the physio. That made the biggest difference - I had to take it everywhere with me.

On the plus side I had a third degree tear too and I barely noticed that...

Libmama · 13/09/2020 20:49

I damaged mine although still not sure how! I didn’t fall or anything that I can think of. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced, I’d do childbirth again and again over that! I was back at work after about 9 days but in reality it took about 2-3 weeks to heal

Alwaysinpain · 13/09/2020 20:53

I have arthritis in my Coccyx! The pain is awful, especially when standing up from sitting. Voltarol helps tremendously (the 2% one - the 1% one is useless)

NomadNoMore · 13/09/2020 20:55

I fractured mine falling downstairs and it took years for the pain to go completely. Be careful with codeine and cocodomal. Constipation and a fractured coccyx are an awful combination!

pinky987 · 13/09/2020 21:01

I agree to get it checked. I fell down the stairs September last year and even now can get pain i wish I had been to get it checked even if there was nothing they could do.

CherryCocktails · 13/09/2020 21:07

I damaged mine the first time I gave birth. It was so painful and made getting up and sitting back down extremely painful. Not what you want with a newborn! It took a long time to get better and even now over a decade later I get pain in certain sitting positions for too long.

I used to have this cushion which I think is meant to be for piles but it had a hole in it meaning your tailbone had minimal pressure on it when you sat down.

JuneFromBethesda · 13/09/2020 21:20

Definitely try an osteopath. I bruised mine falling down the stairs, it was so painful. I think it took three sessions and she fixed it. Yours may be a worse injury but it’s worth a try, I was amazed by the result.

RandomMess · 13/09/2020 21:33

Mine took a couple of years to heal too 😳

froggers1 · 13/09/2020 21:46

It was a long recovery but my first point of call would be an osteopath

billy1966 · 13/09/2020 23:00

Bounced down stairs 30 years ago after drink.
The following morning was in agony.
I remember it radiating heat.
I iced it a lot.
It was blood sore for a while.
Can remember the heat and the pain clearly.

God love youFlowers

SynchroSwimmer · 13/09/2020 23:08

Broken 35 years ago skiing
Pain for a full year
Felt like sitting on a china dinner plate
Still painful now after 60 mins sitting on any transport
Wish I hadn’t bothered seeing the doctor (I worked there) - it was just humiliating to expose myself when there was nothing visible and no treatment possible.
If ever it is removed surgically, I understand the recommendation is to send it for biopsy - they occasionally can turn malignant.

Flamingolingo · 13/09/2020 23:09

Like others, mine was badly damaged during childbirth (rotational forceps). It was very painful for most of the first year, sitting on anything hard was horrible, transition from sitting to standing excruciating. Child is now 6 and I still get issues with it occasionally. It’s a very long road to recovery. Sitting on a donut pillow helps.

ComeOnGordon · 13/09/2020 23:10

Physio really helped mine after I damaged it during childbirth. I suffered for way too long before I got help for it but thankfully it’s never came back and that baby is nearly 16

JukeBoxHero · 13/09/2020 23:33

Oh love you have my sympathy.

I broke mine coming off a kids slide on holiday. Landed on my back and MIL swears to this day she heard the crack. I was young and stupid, got up and dusted myself off but quickly realised it was an A&E job.
The journey back from south Wales in a bloody vauxhall corsa was agonising and very drug induced.

I couldn't sit or stand comfortably for about ten months. There was no comfortable position. I lost weight, I didn't sleep and I was thoroughly miserable.
The memory of if left me with a fear of falling on my back I carry to this day. I refuse to ice skate and walking on an icy day terrifies me.

Best advice I can give you is take anything the doctors give you, ice and heat alternated helps a bit and sometimes I got a little relief from a rubber ring.

[Flowers]

Nestme · 13/09/2020 23:41

I broke me me when I slipped fell down the stairs holding my 10 day old son. he was fine but is was in agony for a few weeks. Hugs and sympathy!

UnicornPug · 14/09/2020 00:01

I damaged mine in childbirth. That baby is now 14.5 and I still don’t sit on the floor. It still twinges on hard surfaces like benches too.
Regular painkillers and a V pillow, carefully positioned, were the only thing that helped in the early days. You have my every sympathy!

maryberryslayers · 14/09/2020 06:45

I broke mine during childbirth. 2 years later and I've had 3 steroid injections under GA and it's still sore. I'm pregnant with my second (c-section this time!) and will be having it removed in the next couple of years once this baby is weaned.
The steroid injections do work though, I had many pain free months so it's worth getting checked out.

whatsagoodusername · 14/09/2020 07:35

I dislocated mine during childbirth. GP was useless. Googling found a chiropractor who specialised in coccyx injuries and he was brilliant. He x-rayed my entire spine down to the coccyx, diagnosed the problem (worst he had seen) and began treating it.

Treatment was bloody painful, but it worked. I went from being unable to sit down and could barely walk to hardly noticing now unless I get a bad chair. I went to him for about two years and would really really recommend him if you're near London.

(Also, I went back to the GP awhile later and he asked how my coccyx was. Told him I had gone to the chiropractor - "oh, that would help! I didn't tell you because it's not on the NHS". Thanks, GP)

whatsagoodusername · 14/09/2020 07:36

I had a second baby during treatment as well, which was one of the reasons I went so long. Didn't have any coccyx problems the second time.

picklemewalnuts · 14/09/2020 07:51

I hurt mine in childbirth too. Hurt for ages, but just quietly settled. The wrong chair would set it off again. I can't actually remember the last time it hurt, but then he's 24 now!

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