just curious... | Arthritis Information

I was just curious if anyone else has pain in their tailbone? Seems like a wierd place to have pain, but whenever I get up- especially from sitting- my tailbone really aches. The pain goes away after I move around a bit. Is that area considered a joint???

Hayley

Hi Hayley. Yes, there are joints that feel like they're in your tailbone, but they are actually on either side. They are called Sacroiliac (SI) joints and it's where your spine connects to your pelvis. Mine have bothered me for a long time, and I just got joint injections there the other day and I'm waiting to see if they help. If you haven't already, you should mention this symptom to your doctor. It is possible (not necessarily likely...I don't want to scare you) that this can be a starting symptom for Ankylosing Spondylitis, so it should be evaluated. However it can just be nerve irritation (there are many small nerve endings near these joints) or muscle spasms can pull the joints out of place and cause pain. I found my chiropractor to be helpful.Just to add, since they are joints, it is possible they are being affected by RA, but I believe it is unusual for RA to affect these particular joints.

Mine often does that, although not to the same degree that my other joints hurt. I am very sensitive to sitting on hard surfaces, but I've always figured the degree of pain I had was normal? Have no idea.

Yep... I had inflammation in my Sacroiliac (SI) joints. It showed up on my Nuclear Bone Scan I had last December. I can be sitting and when my tailbone aches I can tense up my muscles and make the bone pop and it will feel a little better, but usually after sitting for a while it goes back to aching.

I have only ever accidentally popped that joint, but it feels good when I am finally able to. Maybe I just need to build muscles tone down there-ha!LOL! I cannot do it all the time; only when it hurts really bad it seems I can make it pop. Or when I cannot get it to pop that way. I get hubby to sit on my butt and his weight helps to make it pop. I lay on my stomach and he sits on my butt. But he will not do it for me all the time. Thats good to hear! I was hoping it could possibly be related to RA, and not just extreme laziness. Been kind of lazy lately -I'm on summer break from school....woohoo! (I think we get more excited about summer than the kids sometimes).

Oh yea, my tailbone pops sometimes too...I think it is so loud everyone around me can hear it! But it feels so good when it happens. My neck does it too.

Thanks for the replies!

Hayley

Nah... you are not lazy. Just doing what your body is telling you to do... which is rest. We need a lot of that some times, ok most of the time.

Oh mine definitely pops when I push it back into alignment. It goes so far out of alignment that there's a good half inch difference between the apparent "length" of my legs when it's out.

My chiro showed me a good non-violent way to do this...lie on the floor on your back, first with your knees bent to get your pelvis flat (a pelvic tilt), then wedge a thick book (or better yet a softer item, he has this strange little cushion shaped like a wedge of cheese) under the hip bone of the shorter side, then stretch your legs out straight. The weight of your own body will pull the joint back into alignment. The hardest part is getting the wedge in the right place. It usually takes 3-5 minutes for the joint to move, but can be as long as 10 minutes if it's really bad. I just wish it would stay put!