I came off on the 14th January and my coccyx is still sore...

Tash88

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On the 14th January I was thrown off rather quickly when my horse did a lethal spin, bucked and dropped his shoulder. I came off in the indoor school so onto a soft-ish surface, but my lower back/coccyx was very painful indeed - I consider myself to be quite a brave person but I remember shaking with the pain. I got back on and rode for about 15 mins in walk and trot, but was in considerable pain and didn't want it to happen again. I wasn't wearing a body protector at the time but bought a new one and don't ride without it now :).

But this was six weeks ago and I am still in pain. My whole lower back was very swollen but that has just about gone down now, but isn't the same as it was pre-fall. I have always been okay whilst standing and moving around, and haven't stopped riding, but I can't sit down for long periods of time (i.e. at work) without being really uncomfortable and almost getting a burning pain in my coccyx, so I have to move. A couple of weeks ago I had my hair done and then went to get my nails done (was my birthday and wanted to be pampered before going out), and by the end of the day sitting in salon chairs I was in agony and desperate to walk home, I was sitting there wincing! Today I am sitting at the computer on three thin cushions and can still feel it, and I can't read sitting up in bed because that is uncomfortable too. It's like I've forgotten what it is like not to have pain there; it has got much better but I don't think there has been any improvement in the last three weeks.

I've bruised my coccyx before and the pain hasn't gone on for as long as this before, has anyone else had a similar experience? I didn't go to the hospital at the time because I was okay and didn't have time to it around in A&E for hours; I'm not usually one to worry about myself but I am starting to wonder whether it could be more than just a bruise. If anyone has been through similar or has any advice, it would be much appreciated :)
 

flurryjuno

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Go to A&E! Yes you might have to wait but surely that would be better than possible permanent damage from putting it off? I haven't had the same injury, only I got kicked in my hand and thought I staved my fingers, turns out I broke two really bad and are now in a permanent odd angle and easily breakable, and last summer I got kicked in the foot, thought it was just bruised and didn't do anything about it for a week because I could still put weight on it. Turns out I tore quite a few ligaments and because I was walking around on it they started to heal wrong and now I can't bend it certain ways and its still isn't right.

Learnt from those that even though it didn't seem bad its always worth going to check! Hope you're okay:)
 

JLD

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Sensible to get checked but radiology depts may have guidelines not to xray coccyx injuries so don't necessarily expect one but you need to make sure nothing else is going on. Coccyx has a massive nerve supply as is the tail remnant. I broke mine snow boarding years ago and it took a good few months to improve and still plays up from time to time. Wedge cushions with coccyx cut outs are helpful.
 

Tash88

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Thanks for the advice, I need to go to the GPs in the next couple of weeks anyway to get my blood pressure checked for the pill so will ask them what they think. Or I might just go to the walk-in when it first opens and hopefully won't have to wait too long.

JLD - thanks for the cushion recommendation, will see if I can get hold of one because I have to do a lot of work from home so need to be able to sit down comfortably! When you broke yours were they able to do anything for it?
 

Potato!

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Get it checked. I hurt mine when I was 13 whist riding my bike and whilst it only hurt for a few months It still plays up from time to time now and I'm nearly 32.
 

twiggy2

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mine took almost 2 yrs before i could sit normally on a chair or cushion, I had fractured 3 but there is nothing they can do, could not ride for 2 years without pain either and if i have a fall now and my coccyx are involved the pain is terrible-when I did it I cried and have never done that before-I did mine falling down 3 stairs, then fell over a week later kicking a tennis ball, the grass was wet and my feet just went from under me. driving was agony, sitting was the most painful thing,riding was a close 2nd
 

frannieuk

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I had a bad fall (landed sat up on the road) about 3 years ago and had the same symptoms as you but didn't get it checked. 3 months later, I had another fall that resulted in x-rays for a suspected broken pelvis (it wasn't!) but they did my coccyx at the same time and there were 3 fractures. Nothing they can do about them though.
Apparently it can take up to two years to heal and pain can remain for much longer. Unfortunately, the advice appears to be correct - 3 years on it's still often damn painful if I sit for too long or slouch on the sofa etc. The best thing I found was to sit on a hard chair rather than a cushion (the Next directory was quite helpful to perch on when sitting on the sofa). Sorry this isn't a better experience to relate, and hope it gets better soon.
 

Tash88

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Thanks for all the replies, it looks like I'm in for the long haul then! Doctors appt for something else booked for next Thurs so will ask about it then. Have a feeling it's fractured... :-(
 

mudmonkey17

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I fell off about 18 month ago and ended up in a and e with concussion. At same time I injured coccyx though never got it checked but was agony for about a year so really feel for you. No idea how I managed to bang head and backside at same time :)
 

Echo24

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I had a very similar incident like yours, was doing sitting trot with no stirrups and fell off the horse. I got back on and rode and felt okay in walk and trot but was sore in canter. I remember it took over 3 months before I felt normal again. In the meantime I couldn't sit for longer than 5 mins as I was so sore! It felt like someone had sliced my bum and when I sat, it moved! I did see a nurse who couldn't understand what was wrong with me and where I lived I couldn't register with a doctor so never saw one.

Hope you feel better soon! If in doubt get yourself checked out.
 

Gloi

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After I hurt mine I ended up buying a well padded treeless saddle because it was all I could ride in for several months without it hurting. Back to normal now, fortunately.
 

MrsMozart

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I didn't know I'd broken my back (L2) for two days. I only went to A&E because I couldn't sit down unless right on the edge of a chair.

I'd suggest calling NHS Direct and asking if you should go along to A&E.
 

_GG_

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Don't wait for the doctor. They will refer you and that could take a long time. Just walk in to A&E one evening this week (before Friday) and get seen to. The coccyx is easily damaged. My sister slipped while standing at her friends door, landed on her bum and had a lot of pain but thought not more of it. Later that year, she had to spend 6 weeks in traction before an operation to remove all the fragments as they had dispersed, meaning the pain got worse with time, not better.

GP's are great for general medicine. If there is a risk you have broken something, which this very much could be...then go to A&E...they can diagnose and sort treatment.

It sounds really painful and I winced a bit reading it. My back still swells up and I still get pain from Molly landing on me last May and I didn't break anything. You MUST get it x rayed though...the spine is not a place you want bone fragments migrating around!!
 

Umbongo

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Don't wait for the Dr, they will just get you off to a hospital for x-rays anyway. I have fractured my coccyx and was in agony. Fell of a horse in a field and landed lower back/bum first onto a rock......I still wince thinking about it.

Sounds the same as you, for days afterwards if I got comfy lying down on the sofa I was so sore and painful all over that I couldn't get up, I think I spent about 2 or 3 days lying on the sofa in agony.

Happened right before my end of year exams too...had to sit on a rubber ring! When I did ride, I rode standing up in the stirrups for months!

I really would just go to A & E for x-rays, if a simple fracture not a huge amount they can do, but if any fragments, damage to vertebrae higher up, spinal damage etc then you really do need to get it sorted. I had a simple fracture and was just given some good painkillers and took a year or so until I felt back to normal.

Good luck!
 
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Dumbo

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Oww poor you! I agree with others, it's worth getting it checked out asap.
A couple of years ago I came off (horse jumped 3'3ft from near enough a stand still and sent me flying). My ankle swelled up a lot and I had to crawl or hop around the house! My uncle, a doctor, was convinced it was just a sprain so I was encouraged to walk on it. A week on and it was still unbearable to the point that I had to pushed into A&E in a wheel chair! Broken ankle! Wish I had gone to hospital the day it happened and saved myself a week of enormous pain!
 

Mike007

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Sorry ! I doubt if there is anything anyone can do that will speed up your recovery. My honest opinion is that time spent in going to hospital will be time wasted. rest recuperate . You have only had a couple of months to recover. |That is nothing on the scale of things. My fall of 15 months ago is still considerably work in progress. It took me at least 6 months for the paralysis in my arm to recede.Even now I know that there is "stuff" going on ,repair wise.
 
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stencilface

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I did something to mine when I slipped and landed smack onto a pointy rock. I went to a and e who basically said even if I had broken it there was nothing they could do to help.

I couldn't walk comfortably for a few months, couldn't run properly for longer and sitting down and standing up was pretty interesting. I think it's likely you'll just have to wait it out, but you could always go into a and e if you want to pay for an expensive coffee and sit on a plastic chair for a few hours :)
 

Mike007

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I did something to mine when I slipped and landed smack onto a pointy rock. I went to a and e who basically said even if I had broken it there was nothing they could do to help.

I couldn't walk comfortably for a few months, couldn't run properly for longer and sitting down and standing up was pretty interesting. I think it's likely you'll just have to wait it out, but you could always go into a and e if you want to pay for an expensive coffee and sit on a plastic chair for a few hours :)
Also the cofee is rubbish!
 

ILuvCowparsely

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On the 14th January I was thrown off rather quickly when my horse did a lethal spin, bucked and dropped his shoulder. I came off in the indoor school so onto a soft-ish surface, but my lower back/coccyx was very painful indeed - I consider myself to be quite a brave person but I remember shaking with the pain. I got back on and rode for about 15 mins in walk and trot, but was in considerable pain and didn't want it to happen again. I wasn't wearing a body protector at the time but bought a new one and don't ride without it now :).


But this was six weeks ago and I am still in pain. My whole lower back was very swollen but that has just about gone down now, but isn't the same as it was pre-fall. I have always been okay whilst standing and moving around, and haven't stopped riding, but I can't sit down for long periods of time (i.e. at work) without being really uncomfortable and almost getting a burning pain in my coccyx, so I have to move. A couple of weeks ago I had my hair done and then went to get my nails done (was my birthday and wanted to be pampered before going out), and by the end of the day sitting in salon chairs I was in agony and desperate to walk home, I was sitting there wincing! Today I am sitting at the computer on three thin cushions and can still feel it, and I can't read sitting up in bed because that is uncomfortable too. It's like I've forgotten what it is like not to have pain there; it has got much better but I don't think there has been any improvement in the last three weeks.

I've bruised my coccyx before and the pain hasn't gone on for as long as this before, has anyone else had a similar experience? I didn't go to the hospital at the time because I was okay and didn't have time to it around in A&E for hours; I'm not usually one to worry about myself but I am starting to wonder whether it could be more than just a bruise. If anyone has been through similar or has any advice, it would be much appreciated :)

I fractured my Coccyx, it was horrid , every time i sat down i felt bone move. It did heal and had no pain since. I would def have it checked out as yours sounds more serous than mine
 

ROMANY 1959

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When I was 12 I came off over the bum off a pony who went up, I landed on my bum in a gateway, ever told anyone and I am now sure I damaged myself and I am now over 50 and there are days it still hurts !
Do ask your doctor, there may be nothing but time to make it better , I don't think fractured coccyx can be repaired, bur nerve damage can be helped with anti imflam tablets.
 

_GG_

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It's not often I post like this but I seriously cannot believe people are advising not to bother getting seen. If you want to take risks like that, take them with your own body, not someone elses!

It's true that most of the time a coccyx can't be "fixed" but when broken or shattered, it is extremely important to know what you are dealing with. Migrating bone fragments can be dangerous and extremely painful and the only way to prevent that is to get it seen and sorted out.

It's far better to be seen and not need treatment than to need treatment and not be seen!
 

southerncomfort

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I fractured my coccyx and it took 6 mths to heal. Unfortunately, 6 mths to the day afterwards I was chasing the cat down the stairs (don't ask) and slipped and re-fractured it! And yes, it took another 6 mths to be fully pain free.

No long term problems with it although I always ride with a HM seat saver. :)
 

1Anastasia

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I did mine in exactly the same way, landing upright off a horse when I was 18. The coccyx can't, as others have said be fixed, as the muscle pull around it is so strong that once broken always broken. The pain does fade eventually but I did mine 20 years ago and still can't sit on a hard chair for too long (although I did then have a similar fall which resulted in futher coccyx aggravation and seven compression fractures further up so that didn't improve the situation!). If I fall from a horse I still seem to manage to land on my bum every time and whilst it fortunately doesnt happen very often when it does it aggravates the old injury and causes pain and inflammation which takes a good 8 weeks to subside. I always find that when bad, the process of getting into a sitting position is ok but getting up from that position is agony!
 

ester

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If you get medically cleared it might be worth seeing a chiro or similar.

Although I hadn't had a fall I spent some months carrying a cushion around school with me..... and had a lot of pain of bottom of the coccyx area but it actually turned out that my sacrum had been twisted and muscles were all not terribly happy etc so worth keeping in mind something a little more alternative to help with healing (accupressure/acupuncture etc quite useful for me).
 

Billabongchick

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I had a bad fall on mine aged 14 (although never found out exactly what I did to it as I was never taken to hospital despite being reared up/trampled on! Good health and safety there!) Now in my 30's and I still struggle to sit through things like weddings if the seats are hard and that shooting pain when you first do it is excruciatingly painful. Definitely get it checked out as mine was 'bad' for several months, bearable for the next 10 years and has now tailed off (see what I did there...!) to a dull soreness at times. I think it could have been a different story if it had been dealt with correctly at the time.
 
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