Bruised Tailbone vs Broken Tailbone – What The Difference

Have you ever injured your tailbone? A bruised tailbone is something you don’t want. You’re going to feel a sharp pain when it flares up, emanating from the bone itself. The tailbone is also known as the coccyx. It’s believed to be what’s left of a human tail. It’s very sensitive to injuries. You should be careful where you sit; choose a soft surface and avoid sitting on hard pavements if you can help it. It’s very easy to be careless and complacent when you feel nothing and have a healthy coccyx. But once you have a damaged one, you’re going to realize how difficult it is to sit and stand up without feeling any pain and discomfort once it starts acting up. And the pain is relentless. A bruised tailbone doesn’t really heal. The pain just diminishes as time goes by.

What is Bruised and Broken Tailbone?

The tailbone or coccyx begins where the vertebral column ends. It’s made up of fused 3 to 5 vertebrae in triangular form. They’re separate in some instances and movements are possible but not always. more about Bruised Tailbone

A Coccyx fracture can be a very painful experience. It’s said that once a tailbone is broken, it can’t be mended. Your only hope is for the pain to go away. And it will. However, other sources firmly advocate that a Broken Tailbone -Coccyx Fracture can be managed and ultimately cured.

Tailbone injuries are not your common occurrences. Because of their location, tailbones are seldom injured. But accidents can happen and you just have to do your very best to deal with them. The pain may or may not respond to home treatment, but there’s always a doctor that you can go to for if you need one. But even they can be baffled by the situation and sometimes their ability to treat the condition may not be as effective as they’d want it to be. You can’t fault them because a coccyx fracture is one of the most difficult illnesses to treat.

Causes of a bruised tailbone

What leads to a bruised tailbone? Bruised tailbones are usually the effect of accidents. It’s compromised and what follows will be a life of constant pain depending on the seriousness of the injury. It’s not a common occurrence but with more contact sports are being played there’ll come a time that it’s going to happen often. Another reason is that more women are also venturing into the similar sports. And women are more prone to tailbone injury than men. This will mean more people are exposed to it and more injuries won’t be far behind.

• For women, childbirth is one major cause. As the baby passes through the birth canal there’s a big tendency that the baby’s head will hit and injure the coccyx due to its close proximity. Some of these women actually experience the cracking of the tailbone as the baby passes through and comes in contact with it.
• While falling in a sitting position with the tailbone first. This is also one of the more common reasons for a bruised tailbone. The tailbone comes in direct contact with a hard surface and is either broken or dislocated in the process.
• Accidents during sports, especially those involved with too much body contact. Wrestling, boxing, soccer, and ice hockey are only some of those highly rugged sports where body contact cannot be avoided.
• There are also sports whose nature can be detrimental to the coccyx if proper poise is not maintained. Cycling is one of them. The coccyx may be injured if the seat isn’t properly adjusted. Another one is rowing. There’s lots of back movement during rowing and an incorrect sitting position may also bruise the coccyx.
• A direct blow from hard blunt objects mat also bruises the coccyx. Car accidents or brawls may also lead to coccyx being injured.
• Some causes are also unexplainable. They just happen without any warning, especially in patients who’ve had suspect past surgeries, improper chiropractic handling of their back therapies, or physical therapy mishandling of spinal column injuries. Of course, they’re not really sure about what really happened in the past, but they couldn’t pinpoint any other reasons in the absence of accidents and other circumstances.

Broken Tailbone Causes

Coccyx Fracture may be limited to accidents and childbirth. Accidents are the most common source of tailbone fractures in men. There’s nothing else that can be attributed to it except for what happens in women, and only during childbirth. Falling backward with the tailbone hitting the ground or pavement first is the usual cause. Old people may succumb to the condition more than the young men in term of falling down.

There are a lot of risk factors involved in Broken Tailbone -Coccyx Fracture. Osteoporosis is one. This is a condition wherein the body produces very little bones or no bones at all. This is common in women. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin, 68% of women have osteoporosis. Women start with less bone density than men and lose more as they age.

So it follows that women are more prone to coccyx fracture than men. As they aged more, women fall victim more easily to a broken tailbone due to the more weakened bone structure.  Another risk factor is bad nutrition, especially those lacking vitamin D and calcium. Both should be present so that calcium will be better absorbed by the body.

Symptoms and Treatment of Broken & Bruised Tailbone

The most common sign of a bruised tailbone is the pain. An X-ray, CAT scan, and MRI may show more details.

Pain is always equated with Broken Tailbone -Coccyx Fracture.  You feel it, especially if the lower part of your torso is involved in the activity, such as when standing up or sitting down. Even bowel movement can sometimes be painfully agonizing. The affected part shows some signs of bruises and inflammation can be present, same with tenderness in the affected area.

The most common home treatment for bruised tailbone is getting you a doughnut shape padded cushion seat. Or you can also provide yourself with a lift chair. You don’t have to exert too much effort when standing up. Cold or hot compress is also best preferred together with a light massage and rest.

Diagnosis of Broken Tailbone may or may not include X rays, but MRI or CAT scans may be needed to rule out other causes of pain. It’s important that it’s really a Broken Tailbone -Coccyx Fracture for treatment purposes. A rectal exam may also help ascertain the real situation.

Treatment of Broken Tailbone -Coccyx Fracture will require a lot of rest on the part of the patient. Eating fruits and vegetables will help strengthen the muscles and supply the necessary vitamins and minerals to sustain the treatment. Foods that soften stools or stool softener tablets will help ease the pain during bowel movement. Doughnut-shaped cushion seats are also advisable.

When the pain doesn’t go away, it’s advisable to see your doctor for a more comprehensive check-up and treatment.

• Read: Tailbone Pain When Sitting Down and Getting Up – Why and How?