Tailbone pain is also called Coccydynia and it typically causes pain when you're sitting down.
So, how can you relieve tailbone pain when you need to sit down
during the course of the day, as most of us do?
Hi, I'm Michelle. And today I'm guiding you through for physiotherapy ways to help you
sit if you need to sit during the course of the day, if you're suffering from tailbone pain.
Now, if you've been advised not to sit, then follow that advice. But if you do need to sit,
these tips can help you. It's really important to try to avoid sitting if you can, because if you
look at the tailbone, that's this little bone here at the back. So our weight is taken when we sit
through these two sitting bones, those bottom those bungee can feel in your bottom when you sit,
but also to through the tailbone like this. So, that is why when you sit, that little bone is
being pressed forward, so that needs to actually rest and not be moved to recover. But if you're
constantly sitting or not sitting well, this is why tailbone pain can occur when you're sitting.
So what do you need to do to fix it? All right, there's a number of things that you can do.
The first thing I want to talk about using either an angled wedge and I will give you an alternative
to this, that doesn't cost anything. But an angled wedge, as you can see up here,
is a wedge that actually helps to take pressure off the tailbone. So the back of the wedge
looks like this, you can see this hole here and I like to get a wedge that's actually
has the hole close to the back where it's going to be against the back of the chair
and a larger hole. You'll see some of these with really narrow openings, they're not going to be as
useful. You need a larger opening here so that there's no weight on the coccyx when you sit.
Now it's really also important to avoid using a rubber ring. A rubber ring will
actually increase pressure in and around the tailbone. So avoid using a rubber ring to sit
because that's really not going to help with tailbone pain. Now the second thing you do
if you can't access a wedge is to use two rolled up towels that you can see here in the image.
Now you can use the towels use the same size towels if you can, rolling them up and placing
them along underneath the thigh and so either thigh so that you bought them is actually lifted
off the chair. Now you better off using a firmer chair than a soft chair. If you use a soft chair
with a wedge or a soft chair with the towels or even with some long foam off cards angled foam off
cuts, your bottoms going to sink down, see what to use a firmer chair, not a hard, really hard chair,
but a firmer chair that will give you some support if you are suffering from tailbone pain.
Now, the next thing I want to mention is the importance of leaning forward when you're sitting.
So, as you saw before with the with the pelvis when you sit backwards,
so if you're leaning backwards like that, then that increases the load on the tailbone. If you
actually lean forward like that, you can see how the tailbone will lift and this is why leaning
forward is more comfortable. So in that long position, you're going to lean yourself forward
so that your tailbone isn't in contact with the chair. Now this is where a rolled up towel can
be helpful. If you place a towel roll in the curb if you lower back a lot in combination with the
wedge that can give you some support to your back because you come back and get very tired
when you're sitting and leaning forward for a long period of time during the course of the day.
Now the final thing I want to mention is the importance of lengthening your spine
if you slumped forward, so if you sit with rounded shoulders,
again in a soft chair, say a soft lounge chair at nighttime, then that is going to aggravate
the discomfort. You're much better off again sitting in your firm chair, but lengthening
your spine because as soon as you lengthen your spine and lift tall, that coccyx is going to
move and again this is where that towel roll in the lower back can be really helpful as well.
Now, if you're looking for tailbone exercises, I have a video linked above
that you might find helpful too and also to mention the importance of not doing Kegel
exercises with tailbone pain unless this has been recommended to you. Kegel exercises will actually
pull the tailbone forward with each exercise and they will aggravate tailbone pain.
Very finally, you can also use to other home remedies. You can cold pack over the area so you
can lie down your tummy. You can apply a cold pack over the lower back and the bottom to 20 minutes
at a time to give you a relief if you have been sitting and you can also talk to your pharmacist
about using anti inflammatory gel, and that would be used a small amount so like a pea sized amount,
four times a day in and around that area where the coccyx is, which is that cliff between your
buttocks just in there and that's where you'd message that for four times a day and apply that
especially when you're going to sleep at night. That's a really good time to apply the gel.
So, you can see there are a number of things you can do to help you sit with tailbone pain. We've
talked about using the wedge, we've also talked about using the towel rolls, we've talked about
lengthening your spine, not slumping, and also using a rolled up towel in your lower back to
help you maintain that inward curve and keep the pressure off the tailbone when you sit.
So, I really hope this information helps you feel more comfortable with your tailbone
and heal quickly. If you found the information helpful,
I'd really appreciate it if you can give the video a like below because then,
this encourages YouTube to share this information with other viewers too. So, I'd like to thank you
very much for watching today. I look forward to seeing you in the next video. Goodbye for now.