Back condition
The coccyx is a small triangular bone at the very base of your spine — and when it hurts, it charges rent on every chair. Coccydynia is worst on sitting, sharpest on standing up, and affects women several times more often than men. The good news: most tailbone pain settles with the right care — and the stubborn kind is very treatable too.
Coccydynia itself is a nuisance, not a danger — these signs suggest something more. Tap any that apply:
These signs put the pain outside ordinary coccydynia — have it assessed promptly. Infection near the tailbone needs treatment without delay, a significant fall deserves imaging, and the rarer causes are exactly what a proper assessment rules out. Bowel or bladder changes with numbness are an emergency today.
Good news — this fits ordinary coccydynia. Ordinary, but not something to simply endure: the right cushioning strategy, targeted treatment and — where needed — a precise injection can retire the pain rather than manage it. Sitting is not meant to be an ordeal.
The coccyx anchors pelvic floor muscles and takes real load whenever you sit leaning back — more than its size suggests. The usual reasons it protests:
Rarer causes exist — infection near the bone, and rarely growths — which is precisely why tailbone pain that persists deserves one proper assessment rather than years of cushions.
Take the pressure off and let it settle: a wedge cushion with a cut-out at the back (it beats the classic ring for most people), a slight forward lean when you sit, and sit-stand alternation before the ache builds. Warmth or a cold pack over the area helps flares, simple pain relief from your pharmacist covers the sharp days, and give cycling and long hard sitting a short holiday. Most coccydynia rewards this patience — and the checker above tells you when patience isn't the right prescription.
Time changes the plan for a sore tailbone — tap the one that fits:
Early days — let the sitting strategy work. Cushion, forward lean, breaks, and time heal most recent coccydynia, especially after a minor fall. If the injury was a hard one, or the pain is severe, don't wait — a fracture check is quick and settles the question.
Six weeks in is the assessment window. Pain outlasting the usual healing time deserves an examination — confirming it's ordinary coccydynia, checking how your coccyx moves, and starting targeted treatment before sitting becomes something you plan your day around.
Chronic tailbone pain is more treatable than most sufferers believe. Between pelvic floor physiotherapy, precise manual treatment and image-guided injections at the source, years of organising life around a cushion can genuinely end. Same-day appointments are usually available.
Diagnosis starts with a careful examination — and, where useful, imaging chosen for the question: sitting-versus-standing X-rays can reveal a coccyx that shifts, and MRI answers the rule-out questions in persistent pain. Then, the least invasive option that works:
Whatever the recommendation, our specialist walks you through the options, the risks and the expected recovery before anything is decided.
Tap a card to reveal the truth:
Practical sitting hygiene carries you through: the cushion travels where you do — office, car, hawker centre bench; lean slightly forward as the default; break long sits before the ache reminds you; ease back into cycling with a cut-out saddle and short rides; and keep the pelvic floor relaxed — stress clenches it, and it pulls straight on the coccyx. Healing tailbones reward consistency far more than heroics.
Most coccydynia settles within about eight to twelve weeks with sensible sitting care — and injury-related pain often sooner. The stubborn minority that persists beyond three months doesn't mean something sinister; it means the pain has earned proper treatment, and chronic tailbone pain responds well to it.
Because the coccyx pivots as your weight shifts off it — that moment of rising rocks the tailbone through its sorest arc, producing the classic sharp stab. It's such a signature move that we treat it as a diagnostic clue: pain on rising points squarely at the coccyx rather than the spine above it.
A wedge cushion with a cut-out at the back beats the classic ring — it tilts you slightly forward and removes pressure from the coccyx entirely, while a ring can still let you sink onto it. Use it anywhere you sit long, lean forward a touch, and remember: cushions manage the pain — treatment is what resolves it.
A small bundle of nerves sitting just in front of the coccyx carries much of its pain signal. Under image guidance, a precise injection quiets that bundle — a short day procedure performed by our internationally certified interventional pain specialist. For stubborn coccydynia it can be both confirmation of the source and lasting relief.
Very rarely. Removing the coccyx — coccygectomy — is a genuine last resort, considered only when a long, proper course of everything else has failed, and with honest counselling that benefits take months to arrive. Almost everyone finds relief far earlier on the ladder.
Same-day appointments are usually available. Call or book online — our team will take it from there.
