Share:
Coccyx pain - causes and therapy
contents
- Fractures, bruises and dislocations
- Steißbeinluxation
- coccyx fracture
- symptoms
- The diagnosis
- treatment
- Affected report
Fractures, bruises and dislocations
Even fractures, bruises and dislocations or nerve damage come as a trigger in question. Controversial is whether coccyx pain can also have psychosomatic causes.
Pain on the buttocks can easily be strong. Many sufferers complain of severe pain over a longer period. Image: absolutimages - fotolia Irritation to the tendon and muscle attachments of the coccyx may cause pain as well as fusion of the sacrum with the first coccygeal vertebra.
The pain usually lasts a few days to a few weeks; sometimes they become as spontaneous as they disappear, but sometimes they last for years.
Not only hard, but also too soft documents can lead to such pain: couch potatoes, which spend their time in front of the TV, thus belong to the risk groups.
In addition, there are various triggers that are usually rare: a sprained, bruised, dislocated or broken coccyx, a pelvic injury, herniated disc, neuralgia of the nerves between coccyx and anus, tumors on the coccyx, operations on the abdomen and births.
Steißbeinluxation
Many sufferers suspect that her coccyx is dislocated. However, such a dislocation is rare. Patients suffer from severe pain, especially while sitting. But such a dislocation can be treated well.
The doctor puts his index finger into the rectum and grasps the dislocated bone. He fixes it and pushes his thumb against the tailbone. He solves the dislocation by gently pulling his index finger away from the sacrum and pushing the sacrum towards the feet.
If successful, then the pain subsides immediately. Conversely, if the pain persists, the coccyx has not been successfully guided to its natural position.
Pain may also exist if the cause of the pain was not a dislocation of the tailbone. Thus, the sacroiliac joint may hurt next to the sacrum and this pain can easily be confused with a dislocated tailbone.
coccyx fracture
If the tailbone breaks, the affected person will notice it immediately, because they feel extreme pain, and bruises are formed. X-ray images provide certainty. The coccyx fracture can be fixed in an operation.
First of all, however, the doctor hopes for self-healing. A simple fracture on the coccyx usually heals well. Pillows and high-dose painkillers help the sufferers against the immense pain.
A person concerned reports: "I sailed down the stairs almost exactly two years ago and landed on the back of my ass. In the process, an intervertebral disc literally burst and, in addition, I fractured my coccyx. "
Not always such a break can be made. She writes: "The fracture in the tailbone can not be corrected, it will always hurt, sometimes more, sometimes less. I just like it, because it would not be really easy to just surgically remove the piece of bone. I often sit on one leg and thus relieve the buttocks, with me it comes to me by the decrease the ischial tuberosia totally hurt. "
Another patient reports: "A few years ago I fell down a marble staircase by the swimming pool and broke my tailbone. That has to heal so, nothing is done and I have had the first few years often severe pain. I still feel it while sitting for a long time, and I'll always keep something of that. It is not treatable. "
symptoms
The pain on the coccyx pull, sting or burn - depending on the trigger. Although the coccyx is located in the center of pain, but also the anal area, the loins and the hip can be affected.
Most pain is severe when the person is sitting or getting up from sitting. If the pain is severe, the patients even have problems sitting down at all. Rarely, but all the more unpleasant, are pain during bowel movements or pain during sex.
Sex is not going to be impossible, but the male position in missionary work, one of the most frequent sexual intercourse positions, hurts, and sexual enjoyment suffers, and the pain at the end of the spine can be an intimate relationship.
The diagnosis
The doctor first asks where exactly the pain is, in what situations, and how long it lasts. Then he hooks up: If the victim recently injured in the affected area, he pursues an activity that is associated with too many seats?
Is it coccyx pain? To determine this, the physician presses lightly on the tip of the coccyx and the transition from rump and sacrum. In these places it would hurt.
If the cause is not clear, an ultrasound examination, computed tomography or magnetic resonance tomography is possible. If cancer is suspected, contrast agents will detail the site.
treatment
If there is no tumor or fracture, it is first and foremost to avoid behavior that promotes pain and treat the symptoms.
Pain due to too much sitting only diminishes when sitting gets less. Picture: ei907 - fotolia Doctors use painkillers and local anesthetics that are injected into the coccyx region. Physiotherapy and acupuncture (which shifts the pain) are also helpful, as well as warmth and relaxation. Acute pain can be alleviated by a therapeutic pillow. This has a rear open seat ring and can be purchased in the medical supply store.
Pain in the coccyx is often due to long-time falling falls, to which those affected do not remember - typical are injuries in ice hockey. If these falls do not really heal, but connective tissue forms around the wound, trigger points remain.
The affected usually do not notice anything at all. However, if the trigger points become irritated, for example, by a new fall, the old wound will flinch in extreme pain.
Such painful areas can be treated with sensorimotor body therapy. If the doctor initially presses on the appropriate location to investigate how far the trigger points extend, that is very painful for those affected, but unavoidable.
A nerve block focuses on the nerves that trigger the pain. If it is chronic pain, this cold or heat therapies.
If an anatomical deformity of the coccyx is the cause, it only helps to surgically remove the coccyx. Such an operation is only appropriate if all conservative therapies fail, and only months later is an improvement.
Affected report
Coccyx pain is not the same as coccyx pain. Those who suffer from a blocked tailbone, the methods to relieve the symptoms little help. A victim reports:
"There was no useful approach to therapy (despite the surgeon, orthopedist, osteopath and various physiotherapists), drive for years with a 'hole pillow' car, have a matching pillow on the office chair, etc. On the bad days is / was even on the sofa are uncomfortable to painful. "
He was better off when an osteopath discovered that the patient was suffering from a blocked tailbone: "Now I was in a chiropractic and osteopathy practice a few days ago (...). Actually, I only wanted to check my atlas vertebra (which was necessary), but also told me about the coccyx problem. So it was scanned there (painful, but only briefly ...) and a blocked tailbone found. Later, this blockage was resolved (painful again ...), and for the first time in ten years I have had the ingenious feeling of recovery. "
A fistula on the tailbone requires a long therapy. A woman reports:
"Over the last 3-4 years, I have felt a strange feeling of pressure on the coccyx, but I did not think anything of it. (...) In the summer of this year, however, a feeling of pressure in the area of the tailbone has become noticeable again, which has developed into an abscess after a few days. (...) The (surgeon) has split the abscess, put the diagnosis coccyx fistula and advised me to the surgery. "
The operation went without a hitch: "The operation took place in mid-September on an outpatient basis and under general anesthesia. The fistula tracts were stained and tissue was cut out over a large area. That was definitely the most enjoyable part of this whole story, because you simply oversleep it. The surgery took about 30 minutes, as according to the doctor, the fistula was larger than expected. I woke up completely uncomplicated and painless and was able to return home 3 hours after surgery. "
After the operation sufferers experience a painful time: "Unfortunately, the wound blew a little in the afternoon, but in the emergency room of the hospital, a new wet bandage was simply put on. The first 2-3 days were great, because I had almost no pain thanks to well-acting painkillers and could even sleep on my back (which is a blessing for me as I am absolutely not on my side and certainly not on my stomach can sleep). Unfortunately, the next few days have really started to hurt (...) I had very severe pain for the first 2 weeks. "(Dr. Utz Anhalt)