Tailbone pain relief stretches and exercises for fast results

Tailbone pain is a complaint that mainly occurs in women. There are several possible causes of tailbone pain. It can develop during or after pregnancy or after a fall.

Tailbone pain, also known as coccyx pain, can usually be treated well-using massage and our 5 exercises.

This article will explain precisely how tailbone pain occurs and what you can do about it.

So read on quickly.

  1. The cause of tailbone pain.
  2. The symptoms of tailbone pain
  3. Tailbone pain treatment with 5 exercises
Tailbone pain relief stretches and exercises for fast results

The cause of tailbone pain

Your tailbone or coccyx is attached to your sacrum at the very bottom of your lower back. Your tailbone has the function of absorbing the shock when you sit down. It is also an attachment point for the glutes.

There are 3 common causes of tailbone pain. In almost all cases, the tailbone itself is not the cause of the pain. As a result, the cause of the pain is not always clear. In that case, we do not speak of coccyx pain but coccygodynia. It means coccyx pain without an obvious cause and is a Latin name.

 

Pregnancy

The first cause is pregnancy. Coccyx pain can occur both during and after giving birth. That is because of the position of the pelvis changes during pregnancy. In addition, the ligaments that provide strength to the pelvis become looser in the run-up to delivery. It puts more strain on the muscles around the tailbone. That can lead to tailbone pain.

After childbirth, muscles and ligaments that are too slack can lead to tailbone pain. For many women, it is a residual complaint after pregnancy. SI joint pain can also occur during or after pregnancy, which can be confused with tailbone pain. However, the symptoms are different.

 

Fall

Another obvious cause of tailbone pain is a fall on the buttocks. That happens especially when you fall down the stairs. Your tailbone lands hard on a step when pain arises. A fall can lead to a bruised tailbone. There is little that you can do about this; it often heals on its own.

 

Radiating pain from your lower back

The third cause of tailbone pain is radiation from your lower back. Especially the lower vertebrae can radiate towards your tailbone because the nerves coming from the lower back control this entire area. A stiff lower back or stiff lower back muscles can cause tailbone pain. Because practitioners do not always recognize this, many forms of coccygodynia probably fall under radiating pain from the back.

3 causes for tailbone pain

The symptoms of tailbone pain

Several symptoms indicate tailbone pain. The main symptom is, of course, pain around the tailbone. The pain is often on one side of the tailbone, directly around the butt crack. SI joint pain is located a bit more to the side.

In addition, you feel coccyx pain when sitting and especially when sitting down. Standing up can also be equally sensitive.

People with coccyx pain, in many cases, do not experience back pain, even though the tailbone complaints can come from the back.

Tailbone pain treatment with 5 exercises

Tailbone pain treatment consists of massaging the painful muscles around the tailbone and loosening and training the lower back.

By massaging the muscles around the coccyx, the tension in those muscles decreases. Because these muscles often cause tailbone pain, the pain quickly subsides through the massage. To do this, find the place around the coccyx that is most painful.

By loosening the back and training the muscles, you can adequately treat the pain radiating from the back.

Let’s start with the exercises.

5 Tailbone pain relief stretches and exercises for fast results

Tailbone pain relief exercise 1: Loosening the lower back

The first exercise focuses on making the lower back more flexible. As your lower back becomes more flexible, the pressure on the back decreases, and the muscles can relax more.

It ensures that the back muscles and glutes can recover and get stronger so that the radiation to your tailbone disappears.

The exercise goes like this:

  • Lie on your back with your legs bent, and your arms spread
  • Turn your knees to one side and your head to the other
  • Hold this for 10 seconds
  • Then turn your knees to the other side
  • Repeat 10 times on each side

You can also find the execution of the exercise in this video.

Repeat the exercise 2 times a day.

Tailbone pain relief exercise 1: Loosening the lower back

Tailbone pain relief exercise 2: Bending the lower back

The second exercise focuses on improving lower back flexion. In addition to improving the rotation of your lower back, you also need to ensure that your lower back bends better. When your back does not bend properly, this puts more pressure on the lower vertebrae and, therefore, more radiation towards your tailbone.

The exercise goes like this:

  • Lie on your back
  • With both hands, pull both knees towards your chest as far as possible
  • Hold this for 10 seconds
  • Repeat this 3 times

You can also see the execution of the exercise in the photo.

You should feel the tension in your lower back. When you have performed the exercise more often, you will notice that the tension slowly decreases.

The exercise also works well for lower back pain.

Tailbone pain relief exercise 2: Bending the lower back

Tailbone pain relief exercise 3: Training the lower back

The third exercise focuses on improving the strength of your lower back. When the lower back muscles are too weak, they stiffen quickly. That also makes the back stiff and can give tailbone pain.

By training your back, you ensure that your back remains strong and flexible. This gives you the least tension on your tailbone.

The exercise goes like this:

  • Lie on your stomach with your arms under your head
  • Lift your arms and upper body at the same time
  • Keep your feet on the ground
  • Repeat this 10 times
  • Do this 3 times

You can find the execution of the exercise in the photo.

You don’t have to hold the pose. Move your body up and down slowly.

You should feel the muscles in your lower back tighten, but you can also feel the muscles in the upper back. Repeat the exercise 2 times a day. You can increase the exercise to 3×15 repetitions as it gets easier.

Tailbone pain relief exercise 3: Training the lower back

Tailbone pain relief exercise 4: Improving lower back stability

The fourth exercise focuses on training the stability of the lower back. In the lower back, you have 2 types of muscles, the large back muscles that help you lift and the small stabilizing muscles. These muscles mainly work when sitting, standing, and walking for a long time.

When these muscles do not work sufficiently, the other back muscles take over. As a result, they cramp and radiate to the side of the back and towards your tailbone.

Therefore, these muscles must also be trained.

The exercise goes like this:

  • Lie on your back with your legs bent
  • Cross your arms over your chest
  • Lift your buttocks
  • Hold this for 10 seconds
  • Repeat this 3 times

You can also find the execution of the exercise in this video.

In the beginning, you may especially feel your thigh muscles tighten. You can even get a cramp in your hamstring from the exercise. If you have done the exercise more often, you will notice that the pain and tension in your legs disappear, and you feel more muscle tension in your back.

When this version becomes too easy, you can extend 1 leg. It will train your back muscles even better. Repeat this for both legs 3 times and also hold for 10 to 15 seconds each time.

Tailbone pain relief Exercise 4: Improving lower back stability

Tailbone pain relief exercise 5: Mobilizing the SI joint

The last exercise for coccyx pain aims at mobilizing the SI joint. Radiation from the SI joint can also contribute to coccyx pain. By making your SI joint more flexible, the tension and pain around your tailbone decrease.

The exercise goes like this:

  • Lie on your back with your legs stretched out
  • Pull your knee to your chest with 2 hands
  • Leave the other leg stretched out on the floor
  • Hold this for 15 seconds
  • Repeat 3 times on each side

You can find the execution of the exercise in this video.

Repeat the exercise 2 times a day.

Tailbone pain relief exercise 5: Mobilizing the SI joint

Conclusion

With these 5 exercises, your tailbone pain should disappear quickly, regardless of the cause of the pain. If it doesn’t work out with the exercises, you can always send me an e-mail, and I will try to help you as best as possible.