Tailbone Pain: Why Sitting Hurts and What Helps

Tailbone pain has a way of taking over your day, because sitting is unavoidable. Work, driving, meals, the couch in the evening, every one of them becomes a negotiation with the base of your spine. Pain here, medically called coccydynia, is more common than people realise and it is very treatable. Here is what causes it and how we help at our Berwick clinic.

What and where the coccyx is

The coccyx is the small, slightly curved set of fused bones at the very bottom of your spine, what most people call the tailbone. It is small, but it is far from useless. It is an attachment point for several pelvic floor muscles and ligaments, and it takes real load when you sit, particularly if you lean back and rest your weight through it.

Because so many soft tissues attach to it, tailbone pain is often a mix of the bone, the joint where it meets the sacrum, and the surrounding muscles all being irritated together.

How it usually starts

The two most common triggers are a fall and childbirth. A slip where you land directly on your backside can bruise or, less commonly, injure the coccyx and set off lasting irritation. Childbirth loads and stretches the region significantly, and tailbone pain afterwards is common and often overlooked.

It can also creep in without any obvious event, from long hours sitting on hard surfaces, a poor sitting posture that loads the tailbone, or repetitive strain from activities like rowing or cycling. Sometimes it follows rapid weight change, which alters how you sit and how much natural cushioning you have.

What it feels like

The hallmark is pain right at the base of the spine that is clearly worse when sitting, especially on hard surfaces or when leaning back. Standing up from sitting is often the sharpest moment. Many people find relief by perching forward on the edge of a seat or by leaning to one side to keep the weight off the tailbone itself. The pain can also flare during bowel movements or intimacy, which understandably adds worry and embarrassment.

How we assess and treat it

We start with your history, because how it began tells us a lot. We assess the coccyx, the sacrum, the surrounding muscles and how your pelvis and lower back move as a whole, since stiffness elsewhere can keep loading the tailbone. Where appropriate and always with your clear consent, careful assessment of the region helps us understand exactly what is driving the pain.

Treatment combines hands-on work to ease the irritated joints and muscles, guidance on sitting so you stop reloading the sore spot all day, and often a wedge or ring cushion that offloads the coccyx while it settles. We address the pelvic floor and hips when they are contributing, and we give you specific things to do at home so progress continues between visits.

Most tailbone pain settles well with conservative care and time. If it is stubborn, we coordinate with your GP, and occasionally imaging or a targeted injection is considered. Persistent or severe cases have further options, so you are never stuck with it.

If sitting has become the hardest part of your day, you do not have to just put up with it. Book an assessment and we will work out what is driving your tailbone pain and give you a clear plan to get comfortable again.

Book an initial consultation at RISE Sports & Spinal in Berwick. Clear diagnosis, hands-on treatment, and a plan that actually gets you better.