I sit here typing this in my computer chair on top of a giant fluffy pillow. Why? Because since dropping my 165lbs I must be very selective about what chairs I sit in because after a very short period my tailbone begins to hurt. If I try and ignore it the pain turns into a stabbing sensation… so, ignoring it is not an option. So how do the tailbone and weightloss relate.
Causes of Tailbone Pain
According to the American Orthopedics’ Association tailbone pain or Coccydynia can be caused by several things which creates an issue for me. The top reasons listed are falling on your tail bone and breaking or dislocating it, poor posture, having a primarily sedentary job that requires you to be sitting most of the time. Also, repetitive strain from activities like rowing or biking, or childbirth.
Let take a closer look at that list and how it applies to me:
Falling – I was a professional wrestler for seven years, falling was my job. I remember several incidents where I took hard shots to the tail bone when landing wrong.
Poor Posture – I was a short overweight guy for most of my life, posture was not my strong suit.
Tailbone and Weightloss and A Lazy Job
A Sedentary Job – after wrestling I decided to use my degree and have been in management for many years, let’s just say my job doesn’t require me running a lot of marathons.
Repetitive Strain – I was never a big biker because I was simply too overweight to enjoy or be able to do the activity properly. As for rowing… see biking.
Childbirth – safe on that one!
As you can see several of the factors that cause pain in the tailbone area have happened to me But it was never an issue before I lost the weight, so I had to look at that.
Another article by the American Orthopedics’ Association goes on to say, “A less commonly known reason for tailbone pain can actually be significant weight loss. When someone loses a substantial amount of weight, this can affect the padding around your tailbone. This causes you to experience more discomfort when sitting on hard surfaces or in uncomfortable positions.”
We Found the Connection Between Your Tailbone and Weightloss
Bingo!!! Once gain much like the newness of being cold all the time, my pain could be from “losing my insulation.” It makes sense that a bone and nerve system that was covered in padding that is suddenly exposed would begin to hurt as the weight is distributed on it differently. I literally removed the pillow around it in fat.
I have the reason, but can I now find the solution. WebMD offers some practical advice such as sit only in places you are comfortable, make sure to get up and stretch and move around regularly, or my absolute favorite… carry a donut shaped pillow around with you. I don’t see that happening. I don’t need my ass to be a topic of conversation even in the most casual of settings.
The Cleveland Clinic gets a little more in depth with treatments. It advises you visit a doctor for an Xray or CT scan to properly assess any damage. They go on to offer some of their own home remedies. These include taking a hot bath, wearing loose fitting clothing, and taking a stool softener if your having pain during bowel movements.
From a medical standpoint they say reducing inflammation with ibuprofen or seeing a chiropractor or physiotherapist is a good course of action as well.
Tailbone Pain Can Be Serious
For very serious cases there are nerve blockers that can be administered or even surgery to remove the small triangle shaped bone known as the tail bone. They say this is very rare and only done in the most serious cases that are altering the patient’s life significantly.
My course of action will be a hybrid of all that advice. I’m going to start making appointments with my osteopath to help with some realignment. Then begin a stretching routine when I know I’ve been sitting too long. It hurts from time to time, but not enough for me to go to the doctor or seek medications.
Tailbone and Weightloss Pain
Once again, I guess you could say this is a “side effect” of weight loss so is it worth it? 100%. Having a pain in the ass is a lot better overall then having chronic health issues. Or no energy to even take the time to learn about why something hurts. My life is better since losing the weight, even with a little pain in my tushy.
Take care friends. Bill
