These days, bicycling is gradually becoming tremendously popular. People prefer it over the other athletic activities. Bicycling offers several benefits. The list includes making the bone and muscle tissues powerful, losing weight, preventing diseases like cancer, lungs infection, heart attack, insomnia or other sleep issues and more.
However, every good comes with some evil and bicycling is not an exception to the same. If you are a regular cycler, you may feel the urge of visiting a musculoskeletal doctor. This is because, bicycling can strain your coccyx, which is better known as tailbone. It is located right under the vertebral column.To know more about this discomfort and the ways combat it, make sure you don’t miss to check out this post right away!
Symptoms
- Tenderness and excruciating localised pain
- Visible bruise
- Uneasiness during bowel movement
- Throbbing sensation when having sexual intercourse (in case of women)
Home Remedies
- Avoid sitting for a prolonged period, especially on a harder surface. When seated, always lean forward to avoid applying pressure on the tailbone area.
- Warm compress or ice pack can alleviate soreness and inflammation. For achieving similar results, people can also take a hot bath.
- Massaging the affected area with any carrier oil for at least twenty minutes twice a day can provide utmost relief.
- A top-notch sports medicine physician said people often fail to recover from tailbone injuries because they are deficient in vitamins B6, B12, and D. Soaking up the sun and consuming cheese, eggs, chicken, legumes, peas, green leafy vegetables, soya, whole cereals, etc. can surely improve the condition.
Medical Tests and Treatments
A comprehensive physical examination can determine if a coccyx is impaired. Apart from X-rays, two other common tests include:
- Rectal Exam- While performing this test, your doctor will insert a finger in to the rectum to feel the coccyx. It creates a direct pressure on the said area and naturally, it helps in understanding the issue correctly. The list of possible issues includes but not limited to-fracture, dislocation, or general shock.
- Local Anaesthesia- A doctor injects local anaesthesia to understand if coccyx is the source of pain or any other part of the vertebral column is involved.
When home remedies fail to generate a desirable outcome, people opt for different medical treatments namely,
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and aspirin not only reduce pain but also enhance movement. Doctors do not prescribe these supplements if a person has a kidney disorder or a history of abdominal bleeding.
- Strong painkillers or injections become mandatory when the pain instead of subsiding continue to exacerbate.
- When non-invasive procedures do not work, a doctor is compelled to perform coccygectomy surgery where the tailbone is altogether removed.
Preventive Measures
Most tailbone injuries can be prevented if a cyclist takes a break, or in other words, stop cycling long distances when he or she is exhausted. Wearing protective padding also helps.
Nearly every individual recovers from a traumatic tailbone injury within few weeks provided he or she strictly adheres to instructions specified by a sports medicine physician. Even though quite rare, some continued experiencing chronic discomfort despite proper care. This is, unfortunately, an extremely debilitating problem.
