Tail bone pain: What can I do?

Posted by suerc @suerc, Sep 13, 2022

Any one have terrible pain in the tail bone. I shattered my l4 in a boating accident 4 yrs ago. I have had terrible tailbone pain. Have done PT. Pool therapy now they want to try caudal injections. Please anyone tell me more.

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pamperme | @pamperme | Jul 29, 2025

In reply to @gilkesl "Have you considered making an appointment with your surgeon?" + (show)

At this time I believe the pain is from the brain making this nerve hypersensitive. I get different pains all over from sitting, walking or trying to hold I and even when anxious/stressed. While I was originally not thinking that taking topamax that a person mentioned got rid of her pain, it is an anti seizure medication and may have reset her brain back to normal. There are others and I know tensing my sphincter muscles for any period of time causes me pain which should not be. Sometimes after sitting when I get up and take a step it gives me a very sharp pain making me stop I then have to take another step and after a few steps it stops increasing and decreases and goes away so nothing was seriously hurting or it would not go away. I can give many examples why it is the brain intensifying the pains due to minor muscle tension or minor issues

shannon0000 | @shannon0000 | 8 hours ago

In reply to @mrm098020 "Chronic Pain in Coccyx Region Thought I'd share my experiences with chronic pain of the coccyx..." + (show)

@mrm098020

Chronic Pain in Coccyx Region
Thought I'd share my experiences with chronic pain of the coccyx because no doctor I've been to has seen chronic pain develop this way.

How I developed the pain:
Around age 22 I developed a sensitivity in my tailbone region after using a metal fold out chair for a 3-4 years as my main desk chair. 5 or so years later when getting my motorcycle license I sat on a saddle type seat for 12 hours over 2 days and the constant pressure made my sensitivity explode into full on debilitating pain. From then on I could not escape the pain except when lying prone in a very specific position.

Medical Treatment:
No broken bones or any kind of structural damage was done. X-ray and MRI show nothing wrong. I was able to get it under enough control by taking Gabapentin and Venlafaxine at the around maximum dosages and using a u-cushion while sitting. I still feel it if I sat or lay on my back. I went the route of trying caudal epidurals which ended up only giving temporary relief for around 2 weeks. After that did not help I had a neural stimulator (nevro senza) implanted which gives me addition comfort and gives me the ability to relax further and longer while sitting. The pain I feel now is somewhat dull. Almost like someone is just pushing on my tailbone with ramping intensity. It builds and reduces based on constant pressure. I am now 30 and I am still looking for more ways to remove pain and reduce side effects from the anti-depressants that I take. The side effects that I struggle with is large reduction in sexual sensitivity and labido. My doctor does not know what else I can really do other than mix around medications that I use to get the best result with the least side effects. I am now trying acupuncture but I am not really seeing huge results. My next step is going to be to take an addition medication with the hope of counter balancing the side effects of the others. Yoga does not help and I've been told PT is not an option for the coccyx because it is not a region that can really move. I have dabbled in marijuana but I didn't notice much help and I generally do not like the feeling of being high.

My life now:
When it comes down to it I am very fortunate to be able to be able to function and more or less live my life the way I used to. Even in a bed I cannot lie on my back for long (20 min) without pain developing. My only big limiting factor is how long I can sit for before I need to lie on my stomach/stand/walk and give my coccyx time to rest. Long distance commuting is very difficult on me.

Tips and advice for others:
Medications like Gabapentin and Venlafaxine do most of the work in reducing my pain.
The neuro stimulator is great because there aren't any noticeable side effects but its pain reduction is not as effective as medication in my case. They are expensive but if you can afford it I would suggest giving the trial run a try.
I have a topical pain killer (ketamine based) that I can use to control the pain even further if it gets to be too much but it does not do much more than temporary relief.

My questions:
- I have never seen a neurologist because I have been told that they focus mainly on genetic conditions and not pain related symptoms. Other than this chronic pain I do have quite a few other issues (knee pain, wrist and elbow tendonitis that comes and goes, gastro/heartburn, plantar fasciitis ) but no test has shown that I have some greater condition. Should I still see a neurologist?
- Does anyone have a similar story in how they developed their chronic pain?
- How have others with coccyx pain handled theirs?
- Has anyone been successful at combatting sexual side effects and how?
- Any other avenues that I can try that I have not yet?

I'm happy to answer questions and delve further into my experiences.

Thanks!

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@mrm098020
From I was 18 I started to suffer from bk pain, times when I was walking across the road using traffic lights my left leg couldn't move. Like my ball join at my inner thigh was stuck. Never understood what it was. I was sport active very competitive. When my condition got worse threw the years my doctors tried me on all different medications after I got MRIs done only then they give me medication. I've also dislocated my right shoulder 17 times within 1 year. Cocodomals is the only thing I received for that but it was the only thing that helped with that pain. I was Put on waiting list for surgery , for key hole Sergey for my shoulder, 4 years I had appoinment but also later after my back came worse were I wasn't able to pick my daughter up in my arms. Had to give up my business seek other work if I didn't I would've been in wheel chair by age of 40. My daily living mobility was reduced to croinc pain every day then My mental health got effected that's when my doctors took me seriously and followed up my waiting list. While waiting tho my doctors made me feel it was all in my head . Also 4 years later I got My CT scan showed bulieds dics in L1 and L5. Then they started to see I was alot of pain for years. I was 1st on 5mg Butec patch done nothing but sent my head away. Put me on 300mg of tramdol a day Norpoxin 500 mg a day and also amitriptyline never helped moved me to nortriptyline all these meds in short time which affected my awareness even then none of above helped the pain. I demanded to be removed of tramadol and the triplines as they r addictive medicine. Didn't what to b hook for something that doesn't help with the issue. So the up me to 8 tablets a day of 30/500 cocodomals I ate them like smarties never helped. I ask to be took of them as I didn't want to be amouned to them as they only help with my dislocations. I was sent for MRI found a curve in my lower spine. My doctors then put me on 15mg of Butec patchs 1 patch weekly. They helped a bit better than the others. But I still couldn't walk bend or lift my baby girl. Over a year was on that. My doctors refused to up to 20mg cause of my age they said what will we give u when Ur 50. My comment bk was I don't care when I'm 50 my kids will b older and independent. My kids need me now I was age 30 at the time. They still refused and referred me to the pain clinic. Best thing ever . They put me on 20mg patch took time to get used to 6 months B4 I did . 3 into the 7 days I alwsys smacked out like I took 10 es at once. But I didn't care I was able to move clean bend life my daughter. I got ABIT of my life bk my mental health got better, my kids were happier seeing mum interacting with them again.1st ever thing I came addicted to but I didn't care. 1st time in 5/6 years we were happier. Do b aware coming of them is the worst. The withdrawals r mental only way I can explain if trainspotting moive fel cold turkeyin on heroin. U just wanted to put the patch bk on but I had to come off when I fell pregnant at 40. Doctors took me off it right away cause harm it might do to baby. 7byears on that they just wiped it off me no winging me off. Was told by midwife that was more dangerous to me and the baby. Not everyone is the same might have same medal condition but mediation does work for everyone the same way and don't let them tell u different. Few family issues threw the years I've used cocaine to cope with my problems seeker help from my doctors. There reaction is reduced my medication to 2 cocodomals a day for my shoulder and my back. Was in car crash 2 weeks ago they refused me to have. More than 2 a day stillm . Fell of the sofa last week landed. On my tail bone. Can't sleep can't sit can't climb my stairs I have to use jombo pregnancy pillow to sit on sleep on. I've been doing home comforts like hot water bottles etc. but Just there I got stuck climbing my stairs my left leg wouldn't move. Has anyone else experience it. I've not went to hospital and not seeker help form doctors they r us list 3 weeks B4 they will see me