Tailbone hurts? immediately reduce with these 6 ways

Have you ever felt pain in your tailbone? The pain is usually quite sharp and will interfere with activities. Even bowel movements, sex, and periods will be more painful when you have trouble with your tailbone. When the tailbone hurts, you can relieve it in the following ways.

Soothe a sore tailbone with this home remedy

The tailbone is precisely located at the bottom of the spine (coccyx). Pain in this one part of the body is usually caused by trauma to the tailbone during a fall, sitting for too long on a hard or narrow surface, normal labor, and changes in the joints due to age.

When the coccyx hurts, here are some ways that can help relieve it:

1. Hot compress or hot bath

The warm temperature can help relieve muscle tension that is causing your tailbone pain. Usually, a sore tailbone is accompanied by tense muscles. As a result, the pain you feel is getting worse.

As for the heat sources that can be given, such as bottles filled with hot water, heating pads, patches, to soak in warm water. You can also try a sitz bath (soaking the buttocks area in warm water) for pain relief. Choose a heat source that feels the most comfortable for you.

2. Cold compress

Source: Health Ambition

An ice pack can help relieve pain in your tailbone from injury or trauma. This cold sensation is very effective at helping reduce inflammation at the onset of the injury. If this inflammation has been relieved in the beginning, usually the pain in the following days will be less stabbing.

You can compress the tailbone with ice cubes. The trick, wrap the ice cubes in a towel then place it on the part that hurts. Apart from that, you can also use plastic ice pack (cold pack) which are sold freely in the market.

3. Use extra pillows

Pillow support can help reduce pressure when sitting when your tailbone hurts. However, not an ordinary pillow is used. Pillows in the shape of a U or V are generally sufficient to help relieve pain.

You can use this extra pillow while driving, at work, in class, or at home. Whenever you are sitting and need some support in your buttocks, use a comfortable extra pillow.

3. Take NSAIDs

NSAIDs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to help treat musculoskeletal disorders. These drugs in particular work quite potently to relieve pain, fever, and inflammation. For that, you can also take NSAIDs to help reduce inflammation around the tailbone.

The drugs ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and COX-2 inhibitors can be good choices for reducing pain.

4. Changing diet

If your tailbone pain is caused or made worse by constipation, all you need to do is change your diet. From now on, you must eat more fiber and drink water. That way, your digestive problems can be resolved little by little.

5. Eliminate unhealthy habits

Changing your daily habits can help relieve pain. So, which habits need to be changed? Of course various habits that put excessive pressure on the tailbone, for example sitting too long.

If you've been sitting at the computer for a long time, get up and move around from now on. You can also start using extra pillows while sitting to lighten the weight of your tailbone a little while resting on your upper body. In addition, you can also adjust your posture while sitting so you don't get too sick.

6. Stretch

Source: Gower Street Practice

Research published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies found that stretching helps relieve pain when sitting. In addition, stretching helps increase the amount of pressure that can be held on the lower back so that it doesn't hurt easily.

The movements performed should be focused on the spine, piriformis muscles (muscles in the buttocks that extend to the upper thighs), and iliopsoas (muscles in the hip area). Stretching the ligaments attached to the tailbone helps reduce muscle tension in that area.

If you have tried all of the methods above but the pain does not decrease or it gets worse, you should immediately see a doctor.