After an accident like a car crash or slip and fall, you may wonder if you’re suffering from a broken tailbone. The tailbone is a small bone near your spine that often causes pain and disruption when injured. The tailbone rests at the lower end of the spine and connects to muscles and ligaments that support posture and balance.
Harm to this bone often causes sharp pain and limits simple movements. Continue reading to get clear answers about symptoms, causes, medical tests, treatments, and legal steps if your tailbone suffers damage.
Pain Levels Linked to a Broken Tailbone
Pain from a broken tailbone affects people in different ways. Some feel a dull ache, while others struggle with stabbing pain that blocks movement. Discomfort often worsens when you sit, rise from a chair, or shift your weight. Direct pressure on the coccyx tends to cause intense pain that reaches the lower back or hips.
Many people describe sharp pain that feels like a jab or burn. Soreness often lingers long after the event that caused the injury. Movements like bending or lifting may make the pain worse. You should speak with a doctor when pain interferes with work or sleep. A complete exam helps uncover the cause and leads to better options for relief.
Other Symptoms Beyond Pain
A broken tailbone often causes more than sharp discomfort. Swelling or tenderness in the area near the coccyx appears often. You may feel discomfort when you sit or lie flat on your back. Bruising in the lower spine area may reveal trauma to blood vessels or tissue.
Tailbone trauma may also affect movement in your hips or lower back. You may feel stiff or notice trouble when you try to bend forward. Pain in this area often limits your ability to twist or move freely. You may also notice changes in your bowel habits if pain forces you to adjust how you sit. Some people feel shooting pain in the legs or hips.
Treatment Options for Tailbone Fractures
Tailbone treatment focuses on pain relief and recovery. Rest gives your body a chance to calm swelling and allow damaged tissue to heal. Over-the-counter medicine like acetaminophen or ibuprofen helps reduce pain and swelling. Cold packs applied for brief periods ease inflammation and help numb the area.
Doctors often recommend cushions shaped like rings or wedges. These tools remove pressure from the coccyx when you sit. Once pain starts to fade, your doctor may suggest light movement or simple exercises. Physical therapy sometimes helps restore strength and flexibility in the surrounding muscles. Surgery does not happen often, but may become necessary if the pain continues or the tailbone moves out of alignment and presses on nerves.
How a Tailbone Injury Can Affect Daily Life
A broken tailbone disrupts daily activities in many ways. You may struggle to sit through work meetings, drive for long periods, or eat meals without pain. Movements like climbing stairs, bending to pick up objects, or standing from a seated position may send sharp pain through your back or hips.
Pain often limits one’s social life or fitness routine. Some people stop going to events, working out, or traveling because the injury prevents long stretches of sitting. Sleep often becomes difficult since lying on the back may cause pressure on the injury. These changes make daily life more difficult and reduce one’s comfort in normal routines.
Legal Rights After a Tailbone Injury
If someone else’s carelessness caused your tailbone injury, you may hold the right to seek payment for medical bills and other costs. You may have fallen on a wet surface, sat on a broken chair, or walked through an unsafe area without warning signs. These events may create legal responsibility for the harm you now suffer.
After an accident, you should collect photos, witness names, and doctor reports. These records help support your claim. A clear file of your expenses and symptoms helps prove how the injury affected your health, income, and comfort.
You may have missed work or lost income because of your pain. Medical visits, therapy, and medicine cost money, and long recovery times may limit your ability to care for your home or family. You may also feel less joy in life, which counts as harm under the law. Our attorneys explain what compensation may apply and how local rules affect your timeline to act.
Contact the Metairie Personal Injury Attorneys at Santana & Blanchard Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
At Santana & Blanchard Personal Injury Lawyers, our legal team offers support when your tailbone injury results from someone’s failure to act with care. We review how your injury happened, how it affects your life, and what you may recover through a legal claim. Contact us today for a free consultation with a Metairie personal injury lawyer.
We proudly serve Louisiana and it’s surrounding areas, including Metairie, Gretna and Kenner.
Santana & Blanchard Personal Injury Lawyers
3500 N Hullen St Suite 17K
Metairie, LA 70002
(504) 323-6000
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