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Body map Sacrum and tailbone

Sacrum and tailbone

The bottom of your spine can become a pain in the backside.

Book an osteo appointment to talk about pain in your sacrum or tailbone

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Common sacrum and tailbone conditions
Introduction

Too much or too little movement can cause pain in your sacro-iliac joint (where the sacral spine attaches to the pelvis).

An osteopath can teach you exercises to stretch or stabilise your muscles to help reduce pain. Don’t let pain in your lower back or tailbone be a pain in the backside. See your local osteopath for advice and treatment.

Patient resources

Your osteopath will advise you on the best way to manage or prevent injury to your sacrum or tailbone injury. This might include advice about, for example:

  • Posture
  • Exercise
  • Muscle strength (e.g. your core)
  • Identifying and avoiding or modifying activities that cause pain

Watch Sarah’s journey with osteopathy and her coccyx pain:

Sarah’s Journey

READ the blog by the team at Active Health:

Coccydynia – pain in your tailbone

Learn more about sacro-iliac joint disfunction from the team at Geelong Osteopaths:

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

Try this simple exercise for sacro-iliac joint dysfunction (with thanks to the Sports and Spinal Group Melbourne):

Sacroilliac Joint Mobility

What the evidence says
  • A comprehensive review found that ergonomic adjustments (e.g. posture training, doughnut pillows, buttock strapping) and manual therapy (manipulation and massage of the coccyx and surrounding areas) may be useful management options for coccydynia (Garg et al 2020).
  • Pelvic floor physical therapy may help reduce pain in patients with coccydynia (Scott et al 2017).
  • Manipulation therapy and exercises may help reduce pain and improve pain in patients with sacro-iliac joint dysfunction (Al-Subahi 2021).

References:

Garg B & Ahuja K. 2020. Coccydynia – a comprehensive review of etiology, radiological features and management options. Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma Vol 12, Issue 1, pp123-129.

Scott K et al. 2017. The Treatment of Chronic Coccydynia and Postcoccygectomy Pain With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. PM&R Vol 9, Issue 4, pp 367-376.

Al-Subahi M et al. 2021. The effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions for sacroiliac joint dysfunction: a systematic review. J Phys Ther Sci. 2017 Sep; 29(9): 1689–1694.