How Can You Get Tailbone Pain Relief at Home?
This content was medically reviewed by Baher S. Yanni, MD, on September 13th, 2021.
While it may be a tiny part of your spine, you’ll undoubtedly know if there’s something wrong with your tailbone. The coccyx is the small triangular bone at the bottom of your spinal column just above your buttocks. Tailbone pain can make even the simplest, everyday activities unbearable. However, using at-home remedies may offer you some relief if you’re experiencing tailbone pain.
What Is Tailbone Pain?
Coccydynia is a medical term used to describe pain in the tailbone area. This condition can be caused by trauma, such as a fall or injury during contact sports, prolonged sitting, degenerative issues, childbirth or a bone spur. Tailbone pain usually feels dull or achy, but it can become sharp when sitting, rising from a seated position or standing for a long time.
Tips for Relieving Tailbone Pain
Most tailbone pain goes away on its own within a few weeks or months. In the meantime, here are some tailbone pain home remedies to help alleviate your symptoms.
Hot or Cold Packs
One of the most common remedies for tailbone pain is hot or cold therapy. Applying heat or cold to the tailbone area reduces inflammation and promotes the healing process. You can use a hot water bottle or ice pack as often as four times a day. Apply the pack for about 15 minutes. Hot baths and heating pads can also help you achieve similar results.
Tailbone Pain Exercises
Your tailbone pain can also be relieved and even benefited by performing some specialized exercises. These stretches are designed to increase spinal mobility and stretch the muscles in the buttocks and hips. The result can be reduced pain while sitting and decreased pressure to your lower back:
- Knee hug: Lie on your back and bend one knee toward your chest. Hold it gently into your chest for 30 seconds, then repeat with the other leg.
- Thread the needle: Lie on your back and bend your knees with your feet flat on the floor. Gently rest your left ankle across your right knee. Loop your hands around your right thigh and pull it toward your chest for 30 seconds. Repeat with the other leg.
- Kneeling stretch: Kneel on the floor. Bring your right leg in front, placing the foot flat on the floor in front of you. With your chest upright, place your hands on your hips. Lean slightly forward and hold this stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Coccydynia Pillow
A coccydynia pillow is a specialized cushion with a notch cut out where your tailbone sits. Because the pillow is doughnut or U-shaped, it relieves pressure from your tailbone while it heals, allowing you to sit while lessening pain and preventing further damage.
Treatments for Chronic Tailbone Pain
If these at-home treatments fail to bring you the relief you need, then it may be time to speak with a spine expert. There are a variety of pain management techniques and treatment options that can be used to reduce your tailbone pain, such as:
- Anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs): Can help reduce inflammation around the tailbone that may be the source of your pain.
- Physical therapy: Exercises and relaxation techniques learned from physical therapy can help get the coccyx into better alignment and relieve the pain.
- Corticosteroid or local anesthetic injections: Injections into the nerves that communicate with the tailbone can help reduce pain signals coming from them for a few weeks or months.
- Ganglion impar block: This injection delivers a steroid medication along with an anesthetic to reduce swelling, inflammation and painful tailbone symptoms.
- Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation: Stimulating these structures along the spinal column can reduce pain in the tailbone region.
- Regenerative therapy: Regenerative medicine treatments, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection or exosome therapy, can stimulate new cellular growth and expedite the healing process.
- Surgery: In severe cases where conservative care is not working, your doctor may recommend surgery. This could include coccygectomy, where some or all of the tailbone is removed.
Find Relief From Your Severe Tailbone Pain at Spine INA
If you’re experiencing tailbone pain that has not resolved, even after weeks of at-home care, then it’s time to contact the specialists at Spine INA. Our caring and knowledgeable team can develop an individualized care plan based on your unique needs so that you can return to your daily life. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.
