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You are here : Healthopedia.com > Medical Encyclopedia > Injuries and Wounds > Tailbone Trauma
      Category : Health Centers > Bones, Joints, and Muscles

Tailbone Trauma

Alternate Names : Coccyx Injury

Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors | Symptoms & Signs | Diagnosis & Tests | Prevention & Expectations | Treatment & Monitoring | Pictures and Images | Attribution


Tailbone trauma is any injury that occurs to the coccyx or tailbone, which is found at the base of the spine.

What are the causes and risks of the injury?

Usually, tailbone trauma occurs when a person falls backward onto the tailbone and lands on a hard surface. This happens more often to elderly people. It is also more likely to occur when walking on very slick surfaces, such as a wet or polished floor or ice.

Tailbone trauma may also be caused by a direct blow to the area or by strain during childbirth.

The factors that increase an individual's risk for tailbone trauma include the following:

  • arthritis
  • certain medicines, such as corticosteroids
  • contact sports, such as football
  • a diet low in calcium
  • obesity or overweight
  • osteoporosis, or bone thinning
  • poor balance or dizziness
  • pregnancy

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    Tailbone Trauma: Symptoms & Signs

    Author: James Broomfield, MD
    Reviewer: Eileen McLaughlin, RN, BSN
    Date Reviewed: 08/09/01









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    Page Last Updated: 6th April, 2009