With the onset of winter, the risk of falling and hitting increases significantly, and the consequences of such injuries can remind a person of himself for the rest of his life. In addition to the limbs, the coccyx is the most vulnerable place that suffers from falls. It is with injuries in this area that people turn to emergency rooms, and it is bruises that can significantly complicate life in the future. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how a coccyx bruise is treated. The faster the patient gets rid of the pain, the less back problems await him in the future.
Anatomy
The coccyx is called the lower spine. At this point, the vertebrae are fused in the shape of an inverted triangle, that is, the upper vertebrae are larger than the lower ones. The coccyx is similar in appearance to the tail of mammals and, in fact, is a vestigial part of the tail.
Despite this, it has certain functions:he is directly involved in the work of the genitourinary system, since some muscles and ligaments necessary for the administration of needs are attached to it. Also around it are the muscles that innervate the pelvic floor.
A coccyx injury can worsen a person's he alth so much that the question of how to treat a severe coccyx injury becomes the main one for the entire time until the pain goes away.
Coccyx injuries
After a bruise of the coccyx, hematomas and hemorrhages can occur in this place, which both disrupt the blood flow at the site of the bruise and compress the surrounding tissues. The scars that occur at the site of injury directly affect the function of the ligaments attached to the coccyx. In some cases, myositis develops, that is, inflammatory processes in the muscles, which can also cause pain to the patient. If a person does not know how a coccyx bruise is treated, then the problem can turn into a chronic one: the injury site will hurt constantly. Eliminating chronic pain (coccygodynia) in the lower part of the spine is very difficult, it requires a lot of time and effort.
Bruised
Bruising can be obtained by falling unsuccessfully on a slippery surface, so in winter such injuries are far from uncommon. The only way to avoid them is to be careful in your movements, especially in ice. When walking on how many surfaces it is better to slow down, and while sledding or skiing, it is better to avoid uneven paths and springboards, since hitting the ground when falling even from a small height can cause injury. It is much easier to try to protect yourself in a fall than to treat a bruised coccyx a little.weeks.
Fracture
Fracture of the coccyx is a fairly severe injury that can chain a person to bed for several weeks. Usually, strict bed rest is recommended for at least 7 days, after which the patient is allowed to get up. The coccyx in case of a fracture must be fixed with a splint, and during treatment you will have to follow a diet. After a fracture has healed, a person needs to attend physiotherapy exercises for several weeks or months to restore muscle function.
In some cases, conservative treatment may not help. If the fracture does not heal, the coccyx is surgically removed.
Symptoms
Before deciding how to treat a bruise of the coccyx and sacrum, you need to exclude a fracture, clarify the severity of the injury. It is extremely difficult to do this without a doctor. The specialist diagnoses not only by collecting an anamnesis and listening to the patient's complaints. To rule out fractures and determine the degree of bruising, an X-ray examination is prescribed.
It should be remembered that in women the coccyx suffers more, as it is a more vulnerable place: in addition to the fact that the bones in the female body break and injure faster, their displacement during a strong blow can provoke consequences, which will be very difficult to get rid of. problematic. If a woman has hurt her tailbone, only a doctor will tell you how to treat, independent procedures can only aggravate the problem. In the case of a female, the coccyx can also be injured during childbirth.
Symptomatology of coccyx injury is mainly characterized by pain at the site of injury. But there are other signs as well:
- A trace of a bruise remains in the coccyx area: a hematoma, redness or a lump.
- In addition to pain in the place itself, there is pain during defecation and sexual intercourse.
- In some cases, the pain may radiate to the legs. This indicates a significant bruise.
- Uncomfortable to be in a sitting position.
How long it hurts if left untreated
Pain in the coccyx is perceived by most people as something insignificant, and the patient tries as much as possible to simply survive the bruise. Even in case of severe pain, a person often finds no other way out than to treat a bruised tailbone with folk remedies, which do not always help.
The pain of a bruise remains for at least three weeks if the person does not receive treatment. However, if the hematoma has squeezed the tissues surrounding the coccyx, chronic pain may occur in this place, which can persist for several months even if help is received. What is the treatment for a coccyx bruise that has become chronic? Stronger, and therefore more difficult drugs.
First aid for injury
So, the man survived a blow to the lower back. This can happen not only when falling on a slippery surface, but also in training or as a result of a conflict. How to treat a coccyx bruise immediately after the injury has occurred:
- If after a fall or blow the pain is excessively strong, then a cold compress should be applied to the bruised areaor ice. This will help reduce pain, reduce the area of inflammation and greatly facilitate the subsequent treatment of the bruised area.
- To exclude a fracture of the coccyx, sacrum or spine, you need to go to the emergency room and take an x-ray.
- Maximum relief of the bruised area: do not lie on your back, purchase an orthopedic pillow.
- Hot baths, pressure on the injured area, high heels are strictly prohibited.
If a woman bruised her tailbone, how to treat? Just like a man, but the female sex should contact a traumatologist as soon as possible, since any displacement can lead to serious consequences for the female body. Especially severely undertreated bruises make themselves felt during pregnancy and childbirth, when the load on the back and, in particular, its lower part grows several times.
Drug therapy
After a bruise, the coccyx is treated both with the help of medicines and thanks to compresses, supportive therapy or the usual unloading of the coccyx for a week.
Medications used in this case, as a rule, work for pain relief. These can be topical preparations or oral tablets. The main pharmacological group is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
For rubbing, use ointments with diclofenac, nimesulide or ketoprofen. For internal use, tablets with the same active ingredients are prescribed. Trade names of drugs: "Nimesil","Ketonal", "Diclofen", "Ortofen" and others.
It should be remembered that NSAIDs are quite a dangerous pharmacological group, especially with prolonged use. A person who has no contraindications can take such drugs for no longer than 5-7 days, after which further intake begins to have an extremely negative effect on the gastrointestinal tract and liver.
Also, with severe inflammation, corticosteroid preparations are used. Most often they are prescribed either in the form of ointments or as injections. Injections are made only in case of prolonged or severe pain, since the group of glucocorticoids also has a large number of contraindications for long-term use.
The most commonly used drug to relieve pain and inflammation in injured areas is Diprospan. It is available in ampoule form as a suspension, which is injected directly into the site of inflammation. As a rule, the course of treatment is no more than 5 injections, one per day. If the inflammatory process has not passed within 5 days, the course of the drug is not continued. It is necessary to take a break of at least 2-3 weeks before Diprospan can be used again in treatment.
Compresses
For some people, a compress is the most obvious way to treat a bruised tailbone after a fall. But the use of any kind of warm compresses for a bruise is categorically contraindicated. Even if the patient wants to reduce swelling and relieve pain in this way, in the long term, the effect of heatwill only increase pain and inflammation.
Then how to treat a bruised tailbone at home? Apply only cooling compresses, which help both to survive the pain and reduce swelling. Cold compresses can be somewhat uncomfortable during use, but they do help improve post-injury conditions.
Massage and exercise therapy
Massage and exercise therapy are methods that are used after the main symptoms have been removed. Even home massage treats bruised coccyx for both recent injury and older bruises.
But it should be understood that non-professional exposure should be as light as possible and not directly affect damaged areas. More intense massages should always be done in a specialized facility and only by people who are qualified massage therapists.
It is necessary to conduct physical therapy classes and massage sessions at least a few weeks after the disappearance of pain. During this period, bruised tissues will restore their functions, muscles and ligaments will regain mobility and the injured area will heal completely.
But in case of severe bruises, as well as fractures, the recovery period can extend to several months. In case of fractures, the program of therapeutic physical training should be selected specifically for this diagnosis, since general recommendations in this case will not work and can be harmful.
Physiotherapy
This methodalso refers to maintenance therapy and is used after the main problems (pain, swelling, inflammation) have already been resolved. Physiotherapy methods include UHF, electrophoresis, infrared therapy, acupuncture.
Also, physiotherapy methods are used during the recovery period after the healing of an injury. But the peculiarity of these methods is that in order to obtain any noticeable effect, they should be carried out for a long time and regularly.
All physiotherapeutic procedures are completely contraindicated in the presence of any inflammatory process, not only in the bruised area, but also in the surrounding tissues. The impact of physiotherapy on inflamed areas of the body can cause increased pain, an increase in the area of inflammation, and in some cases suppuration or tissue necrosis.
Consequences of injury
The main consequences of a bruise are associated with undertreatment of an injury, which in the future may make itself felt with an increase in physical exertion. For a woman, a long-standing bruised tailbone can result in birth injuries, increased pain and other problems that arise suddenly, as if for no reason.
But more often than not, if the patient started therapy on time and followed medical recommendations, full recovery and relief from pain occurs. In rare cases, they become chronic and require longer treatment. In such cases, the doctor diagnoses "post-traumatic kacigodynia" and prescribes additional physiotherapy, massage and injections.painkillers. Chronic pain is cured in a few months of therapy.
Prevention
But the most rational solution would be to take steps to reduce the risk of falls and bumps, especially in winter. You should replace your shoes with more stable ones, avoid slippery surfaces. For people involved in sports, the recommendation would be to minimize the risk of injury to the coccyx area: use protection against impacts, learn the correct technique for falling.
Despite the fact that a bruise is not a fatal or even dangerous he alth disorder, it can significantly damage the body's performance, reduce the comfort of life and disrupt a person's plans for the next few weeks. Therefore, when an opportunity arises to reduce the risk of such an injury, it must be used.
