A woman’s body is a very sensitive system that reacts sharply to external invasion by bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms. Despite the fact that the fair sex tolerates such conditions much better than men, they get sick longer and more intensely, and often experience a huge number of complications due to incorrectly prescribed treatment or an incorrect diagnosis. The unpleasant consequences of various diseases torment many women also due to the fact that, having fallen ill, ladies do not allow themselves to lie in bed for a couple of days, but continue to lead an active lifestyle, raise children, and perform everyday household chores. But such sacrifice in the near future threatens to turn against the women themselves. It’s hard to accept, but with their own hands they introduce an imbalance into the body, provoke the emergence of more serious pathologies, and doom themselves to daily suffering. Pain in the coccyx area can occur in many women, regardless of age, presence or absence of children. As a rule, unpleasant sensations are usually ignored until the moment when the pain becomes stronger or manifests itself more often. If you understand that you cannot cope with the situation on your own, you should definitely see a specialist - this could be a neurologist
or
an orthopedist-traumatologist
. Doctors of the highest category at the Energo Clinic are always ready to receive and listen to you, conduct examinations and diagnostic procedures, and prescribe treatment appropriate to the situation. Make an appointment by calling the number listed on the website!
Pathogenesis of pain in the coccyx in women
When answering the question of why women’s tailbone hurts, one can come to the most unexpected conclusions. However, when studying how a painful condition develops, experts most often talk about inflammation, which can be caused either by an infection or a metabolic disorder. Hormonal changes observed during puberty, during pregnancy and after childbirth, during menopause and after it can also cause pain. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to influence these processes - even drug therapy can only alleviate the condition. After completing a course of medications, the problem often returns again.
Nature of pain
Many women are not even aware that they have a cyst until they undergo a medical examination or develop complications. But sometimes, as the formation develops, a feeling of discomfort in the abdomen may appear in the early stages. This indicates the presence of irritated nerve nodes and pressure on the bladder.
As the formation grows, early pain occurs. With an ovarian cyst, the side hurts, it swells, increases in size, and the sensation of discomfort is constant. This is due to the fact that the formation presses on the wall of the abdominal cavity.
As the disease progresses or complications occur, a woman may notice severe discomfort, a feeling of squeezing, bursting from the inside. If such sensations appear, you should immediately consult a specialist.
Different types of cysts manifest themselves differently, and symptoms may also vary:
- Follicular. It causes virtually no pain. It manifests itself in the form of discomfort or nagging pain on the side where the formation occurred.
- Cystic formation of the corpus luteum. This form of cyst has almost no effect on the condition and does not cause pain. When localized on the right, discomfort may appear in that area.
- Dermioid. Causes intense pain at the location. This is due to the fact that the formation can greatly increase and affect the functioning of other organs.
- Muciotic. Benign formation with a tendency to malignancy. The pain is increasing in nature and radiates to the legs. As the formation grows, neighboring organs and tissues suffer.
- Endometriotic. Develops as a complication of endometriosis. With such an ovarian cyst, the lower abdomen hurts, problems with bowel movements arise, and convulsions and seizures may occur.
With polycystic disease, which is characterized by the development of several formations at once, severe nagging pain occurs. They are localized in the abdomen, in its lower part, and almost never stop. With prolonged growth of functional cysts and lack of proper treatment, hemorrhagic formations can occur. They are characterized by nagging pain that intensifies in the period before menstruation. At the same time, menstrual bleeding itself becomes more abundant.
Causes of pain
Contrary to popular belief, the reasons why the tailbone hurts in women do not always lie in pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. Very often, the trigger can even be a disease that is not directly related to the functioning of the skeleton.
Damage due to trauma
Injuries - sprains, dislocations, bruises, fractures - are the prerogative of not only professional athletes, but also people who are very far from football, tennis, and running. With the onset of the first warm spring days, many Russian women go to their summer cottages, where they can get injured as a result of a sharp increase in physical activity. Women who complain that they have pain below the tailbone when sitting or standing are regular guests of surgeons and traumatologists. Elderly women especially often complain because their bodies are no longer able to function as efficiently as they did 5–10 years ago. In general, you can injure your back, pelvis and tailbone at any time of the year. Slippery roads, mud and ice on asphalt or stairs actively contribute to this.
Pathologies and vitamin deficiency
Pain in the coccyx in women does not always require medication, since sometimes the cause lies in a lack of vital vitamins. For example, calcium deficiency makes bones especially vulnerable to various types of damage. You can correct the current state of affairs by starting a course of dietary supplements, which your doctor will recommend, as well as by including foods rich in one or another vitamin in your diet. So, if there is a lack of the already mentioned calcium in the body, you should consume dairy products, hard cheeses, and broccoli.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
The gastrointestinal tract is a complex system in which all organs are inextricably linked with each other - which is why the pathological state of one spreads to the rest. For example, if your intestines hurt, then it can “give” to the liver, stomach, and kidneys. Exactly the same situation is observed with “recoil” to the pelvic area. If the tailbone hurts, the causes of this condition in women may lie in inflammatory diseases or infections of the rectum, appendix, and even organs located above.
Obesity
The presence of excess weight negatively affects the functioning of all parts of the body without exception. The digestive and endocrine systems suffer, and the load on the heart and blood vessels increases. Excessive body weight causes malfunction of the musculoskeletal system, the likelihood of fractures increases, and due to metabolic disorders, osteophytes appear on the bones, making normal movement difficult. In obese people, there is an excessive load on the spine and pelvic bones, which is why many women experience aching pain in the tailbone area.
Characteristics of pain syndrome
Pain syndrome with adenomyosis can be different:
- pulling;
- aching;
- pricking;
- shooting;
- cramping.
Adenomyosis causes pain in the lower abdomen, but often the symptom radiates to the lower back, perineum, and thigh. A few days before the start of menstruation, the pain increases, and as soon as menstruation ends, the condition partially or completely returns to normal.
If the pain is severe, the woman may often experience spasms of varying intensity and duration. Typically, such signs are disturbing already in advanced stages, when pathological tissues have grown into the muscular walls of the uterus and spread into the retroperitoneal space. Particularly severe pain, which cannot be relieved on its own, occurs when adhesive processes progress in the uterine cavity.
Relieving pain at home
Medical experts strongly do not recommend treating pain with traditional methods or taking medications without a doctor’s prescription. Without knowing what causes the pathology, you can very quickly aggravate the course of the disease and harm yourself instead of alleviating suffering. Folk remedies - if the patient believes that they can be effective - should only be used in combination with medications, physiotherapy and massage. It would be a good idea to consult with a doctor before using self-made ointments and rubs, if possible, take allergy skin tests, or at least “raise” the results of these tests if they have already been carried out.
Localization: where it occurs
The location of pain depends on several factors. A particularly strong influence is exerted by:
- Associated inflammatory processes.
- Dimensions of education.
- Complicated course.
The first manifestations are usually noted on the left or right in the lower abdomen. Most often, cysts develop on the right, which is explained by the peculiarities of the female ovaries; in this case, their manifestations are confused with appendicitis. If the formation grows quickly, then the pain becomes wandering in nature.
Most often, discomfort can be observed in the area:
- Breasts. The appearance of unpleasant sensations in the chest area is characteristic of a corpus luteum cyst.
- Lower back. Localization in this area often indicates rapid growth of formation and a high probability of rupture.
- Lower abdomen. The appearance of discomfort indicates the progression of the pathology and an increased risk of complications.
- Left or right side with discomfort in the leg. Localization of pain on the left or right indicates the location of the formation, and unpleasant sensations in the leg indicate compression of the vessels of the hip area.
- Rectum. Unpleasant sensations indicate that the formation has grown significantly and is affecting the functioning and blood supply of neighboring organs.
- Sacrum. Pain indicates the progression of the disease and the presence of complications.
Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis, determine the type of cyst, its location and possible complications after conducting a thorough diagnosis.
Prevention
Having figured out why a woman’s tailbone hurts, it is within our power to do everything to eliminate the possibility of a pathological condition occurring. To begin with, you should lead an active lifestyle. This does not mean that you need to immediately sign up for a gym or start running marathons: physical activity must be proportionate to your age and current condition. At a minimum, try to walk every day - half an hour will be enough. Try not to lift weights, this can not only injure your back muscles, but also cause prolapse of your internal organs. In your diet, pay special attention to a balanced diet; avoid frequent consumption of fast food and other generally harmful foods. This is especially true for those who are already experiencing problems with excess weight, endocrine system, and gastrointestinal tract.
Urgent medical care
When diagnosing a tumor, it is very important to visit your doctor regularly. Cyst rupture, leg torsion and malignancy require emergency medical care and hospitalization. When torsion or rupture occurs, the following symptoms occur:
- Ovarian cyst colitis.
- Painful sensations intensify and become more intense.
- The area where the formation is located increases in size and swells.
- After sudden movements or intimacy, the pain intensifies and is pulsating.
- Discomfort spreads from the lower abdomen to the lumbar region and sacrum.
- There is a feeling of weakness, vomiting is possible.
- Body temperature rises.
If such symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. As a rule, the specialist insists on hospitalization and performs diagnostic laparoscopy. If necessary, the complication can be removed immediately. The recovery period after laparoscopic intervention is 5 days.
If a woman arrives in serious condition, abdominal surgery with removal of the ovary may be required. In this case, the recovery period will be from 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the complexity and volume of the intervention.
The mechanism of pain in endometriosis
Normally, the endometrium, under the influence of hormonal levels, goes through several phases of development: proliferation, secretion, a period of rejection and regeneration. In the first half of the menstrual cycle, estrogens cause the growth of endometrial cells, thickening of the mucous membrane of the uterine cavity, and its abundant blood supply. At the moment of ovulation - the release of a mature egg, the concentration of progesterone in the blood increases, which inhibits the growth of the endometrium and promotes its transition to the secretion phase. During this period, the inner membrane prepares for fertilization and implantation of the embryo.
If conception does not occur, the concentration of progesterone decreases due to atrophy of the corpus luteum, the vessels in the endometrium spasm, and the tissue is rejected. Menstrual bleeding occurs. Then there is a gradual restoration of the mucous membrane. Normally, vasospasm and endometrial rejection are characterized by pain. Since in endometriosis pathological foci are also subject to all cyclic changes, they also cause pain - this is one of the mechanisms of their appearance. In addition, endometriosis is characterized by an excess of estrogen and a lack of progesterone, and this imbalance causes increased excitability and contractility of the uterus, which leads to pain.
It is worth noting that menstrual blood from endometriotic lesions may not come out, in which case it becomes the cause of inflammatory processes, which are also accompanied by pain. One of the manifestations of endometriosis is cysts, when the walls of the cavity are lined with endometrial tissue, and during a menstrual-like reaction, dark exudate accumulates inside, which leads to a gradual increase in the size of the cyst. This also causes pain, and there is a high risk of cyst rupture, accompanied by severe pain and bleeding.
How to eliminate pain with endometriosis
Pain from endometriosis can be eliminated after the disease has been cured or stable remission has been achieved. Patient management tactics depend on the location of the pathology, severity, age and other factors, and therefore are developed on an individual basis.
For grade 1-2 endometriosis, drug therapy is most often used, in particular hormonal drugs, which, when properly selected, reduce or completely eliminate the pain response. Also, the patient may be additionally prescribed sedatives, painkillers, antispasmodics and restorative drugs. Surgical interventions performed to remove endometriotic lesions also help restore organ function and lead to the disappearance of adverse symptoms.