Tailbone pain is often caused by sitting in one position for too long or making repetitive movements. It can have other causes too, like an injury or a medical condition. Some people experience tailbone pain during pregnancy or when they start developing arthritis. In most cases, stretching out the surrounding tissue and creating some healthy movement can help you feel better. Getting some fresh blood circulating in the area and mobilizing stiff tissue helps relieve most of the common causes of tailbone pain.
In this blog post, we’ll give you step-by-step instructions for five different exercises that can help relieve tailbone pain.
What exercises are good for tailbone pain?
Often it’s not the tailbone itself, but the tissue around it that hurts when you have coccydynia. The muscles that form the pelvic floor attach to the coccyx, and the psoas and the piriformis are both muscles that run through the pelvis near the tailbone. Irritation of any of this tissue can cause the sensation of tailbone pain. Conditions that directly affect the coccyx include bone bruises or contusions and arthritis.
Try doing these five exercises every day to help relieve tailbone pain:
- Piriformis stretch — Lie on your back with your feet planted on the floor and your knees pointing up. Cross one ankle over the opposite knee to create a figure 4. Reach around the supporting leg with both hands and grasp the backside of your thigh to pull your legs toward you. You should feel the stretch in the muscle between the edge of your pelvis and your tailbone. Repeat on the opposite side.
- Knee to chest — On your back, keep one leg stretched out long and bring the other one up to your chest. Hold it in place with your hands and pull gently until you feel the stretch near your tailbone. You can fold your leg in so your knee is pointing to the opposite shoulder and hold the stretch there too. Repeat with the other leg.
- Glute bridge — Starting on your back with your feet on the floor, raise your pelvis up so you create a straight incline through your torso and lower body. Keep your hands at your sides to stabilize you. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds.
- Low lunge — Stand up and take a big step forward with one foot. There should be some space between your feet from side to side so you’re stable. Bring the knee that’s behind you to the floor and hold the stretch. You can also reach the opposite arm up and tilt slightly to the side for a deeper stretch. Repeat on the other side.
- Pigeon pose — Starting seated on the floor, bend one knee so it’s pointed in front of you. Rotate the other leg so it stretches out behind you. Touch your hands to the floor on either side of you to stay balanced and gently bend forward. Repeat on the other side.
If your tailbone pain is severe or ongoing, you may need some help from a physical therapist to start feeling better. A PT can provide treatments that get deeper into the tissue near your tailbone to stimulate healing. At Border Therapy Services, we begin with a thorough evaluation to understand what’s causing your tailbone pain. Then we create a custom treatment plan that targets the root cause.
Are you ready to try something new for your tailbone pain? Call us or request an appointment today. Let’s create your personalized plan for long-term relief from tailbone pain.