Coccyx fracture

One of the injuries that a person can get from landing unsuccessfully on their buttocks is a fractured coccyx. Most often, this result of a fall haunts older people, small children and women whose pelvis, due to its anatomical structure, is somewhat wider than a man's. What are the sources that can provoke this injury, how to diagnose and stop it? We will try to answer all these questions in this article.

ICD-10 code

The trauma in question has been classified by doctors as a separate disease, which is why it has its own separate ICD code in the International Classification of Diseases. This code corresponds to the code S32.2 - coccyx fracture.

Causes of coccyx fracture

As noted above, the source of the pathology in question is trauma, and this is, first of all, the result of external influence on the victim's body. Therefore, the causes of a coccyx fracture are different, but they have one thing in common - the nature of the impact on the coccygeal bones, which leads to such a deplorable result.

It should be noted right away that a complete fracture is quite rare. More often, doctors diagnose an incomplete fracture with dislocation.

A number of medical workers consider this disorder to be an age-related disease, since it is most often diagnosed in young children and elderly people. This fact is quite understandable physiologically, and is explained by the peculiarities of the formation of the spine in children and age-related changes in it in the elderly.

In small patients, the spine is only actively growing, and the ligament-muscle framework is also being formed in parallel with it. It is precisely because the development of these devices is not yet complete that the risk of such damage becomes very significant.

In old people, the clinical background of the pathology is somewhat different. Gradually, a person overcomes the peak of his activity, a number of age-related changes occur in his body. Including the level of calcium in bone tissues gradually decreases, which leads to their increased fragility. The creation of such a soil provokes bones to break more often, not always receiving even a sufficiently large load.

Due to their physiological structure, it is women who are significantly ahead of the stronger sex in the number of similar injuries they receive. In this case, the reason for such a percentage advantage is the size of the pelvic bones, because they are wider in women.

So what are the reasons that can lead to such serious consequences:

• Road traffic accident.
• An accident involving a fall and landing on one's bottom from a great height.
• Harsh, traumatic vibrations while traveling in a form of transport such as a bicycle, snowmobile, sledding or snowshoeing, or something similar.
• An injury sustained during sports training or competition.
• Weak supporting muscular framework.
• Increased fragility of bone tissue (of various etiologies).
• Pre-labor contractions and passage of a large fetus through the birth canal.

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Symptoms of a Coccyx Fracture

The pathology in question also has its own classification, distinguished by accompanying changes: with displacement, without it, with dislocation. In any case, the symptoms of a coccyx fracture are quite similar and if the main pain symptoms increase, you should immediately seek medical help, you should not try to endure the injury "on your feet", and even more so, self-medicate. You can get acquainted with these manifestations in more detail in the article " Symptoms and consequences of a coccyx fracture ".

Diagnosis of coccyx fracture

If any discomfort or pain symptoms occur, you should make an appointment with a specialist and get his advice. If the doctor suspects that the patient has the pathology in question, he will prescribe the appropriate examination.

A certain differentiation of diagnosis requires a number of diverse measures. Therefore, diagnostics of a coccyx fracture usually includes:

• A vaginal or rectal examination that allows you to determine whether there is damage. The downside of this examination is that it is quite uncomfortable for the patient.
• An X-ray examination is mandatory, which confirms or does not confirm the presence of a violation of the integrity of the coccygeal bone.
• To assess the condition of the tissues, blood vessels and nerve endings adjacent to the site of injury, the doctor prescribes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - a tomographic method for examining internal organs and tissues using the physical phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance.

The diagnosis is made based on the results of all studies conducted.

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X-ray signs of a coccyx fracture

One of the main methods of examination when suspecting the disease in question is an X-ray, signs of a coccyx fracture cannot always be clearly seen on an X-ray. This fact is due to the fact that this section of the spine is covered by a fairly thick layer of soft tissue, which reduces the clarity of the image.

When performing the procedure, images are usually taken in both frontal and lateral projections.

At the same time, specialists know that in most cases, the violation of the integrity of bone tissues passes through the sacrococcygeal joint and much less often affects the body of the bone process itself. Therefore, if the doctor has any doubts, he additionally prescribes a computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

MRI signs of coccyx fracture

If the doctor examining the patient has certain doubts about the supposed diagnosis, and the X-ray images show insufficient visualization, the patient is prescribed a computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

Innovative, safe, painless diagnostic technique that provides a fairly high definition of the image of deep biological tissue layers. When conducting MRI, signs of a coccyx fracture, the condition of adjacent soft tissues, vascular and nervous systems, can not only be viewed, but also recorded frame by frame.

This method is especially relevant in the case of an old fracture. Unlike a fresh injury, it is more difficult to identify. After all, over time, a bone callus forms at the site of the fracture and it is easy to confuse it on an X-ray image, taking it for an anatomical variant of the norm. MRI easily copes with this task.

Treatment of coccyx fracture

Treatment tactics largely depend on the nature of the injury and the overall clinical picture of the disease.

For example, a patient with a pathology without displacement undergoes treatment of the problem in an outpatient setting, while the same disease diagnosed with displacement is treated only in a hospital setting. More details about the therapy can be found in the article " Treatment of a coccyx fracture ".

Sex with a broken tailbone

As was said earlier, the disease we are considering is more of an age-related pathology, but this fact does not mean that such a disaster cannot happen to adults, but to fairly young people for whom sex is an integral part of their lives. Therefore, having received such an injury, they, naturally, are interested in whether sex is possible with a fractured tailbone?

In response to this question, specialists who have repeatedly worked with this problem are unambiguous: “It is not recommended to have sex until the bone tissue has healed!” If you ignore this advice from a qualified doctor, serious complications may subsequently arise, against which there will definitely be no time for sex.

Therefore, a well-founded conclusion suggests itself: it is worth refraining from “making love” until a cartilaginous callus forms at the site of injury.

Prevention of coccyx fracture

None of the respondents will argue that the most reliable prevention of a coccyx fracture is to constantly avoid injury in general and the body part that interests us in this article, in particular. Naturally, it is much easier to talk than to protect yourself from injury - no one is immune from it. But still, it is quite possible to take a number of measures that can significantly reduce the likelihood of injury.

• Diversify your diet. It should include foods with a high content of calcium and vitamin D. It would not hurt to periodically take vitamin and mineral complexes.
• To strengthen skeletal muscle tissue, it is necessary to do a set of exercises daily. This can be basic exercises, swimming, fitness or dancing.
• You should avoid participating in sports or hobbies that involve a high risk of injury.
• For athletes and people whose profession involves performing complex maneuvers and dangerous gymnastic elements, such exercises should only be performed with insurance and personal protective equipment.
• Forget about hypodynamia. A passive lifestyle is the path to muscle cell atrophy and increased fragility of skeletal bones, which creates the prerequisites for injury.
• You should get rid of bad habits: drugs, alcohol, nicotine only increase the likelihood of injuries. Since in an altered consciousness, a person's reaction is dulled, and he is not able to adequately assess the danger.
• An active lifestyle, communication with nature, and spending enough time outdoors.
• It is also necessary to control physical activity and harmoniously combine work and rest.
• But if it so happens that the diagnosis in question has been made, then it is necessary to immediately begin treatment, following all the recommendations of the attending physician.
• It is worth remembering that after receiving such an injury, the patient is prohibited from sitting for six months, especially on hard surfaces.

Coccyx fracture prognosis

The accuracy of the answer to this question directly depends on the timely appeal to the doctor and the type of injury. If the specialist has to take measures to stop a fresh problem, then the therapy usually goes quickly, and the prognosis for a coccyx fracture is very favorable.

If five to seven or even more days have passed since the injury, a bone callus has already begun to form at the damaged site, which prevents the most effective result from being achieved. The consequences may be unpleasant. The damage to the integrity of the bone tissue may not grow together correctly, which may lead to unpredictable consequences. For example, if two parts grow together at almost a right angle, and the broken part is directed inward, this will lead to a reduction in the pelvic outlet cross-section, which is unacceptable for the natural passage of the newborn through the birth canal during obstetric care.

Also, untimely provision of medical care can provoke serious complications, one of the symptoms of which will be chronic pain syndrome.

When performing surgical intervention, in the vast majority of cases, the subsequent life prognosis is quite favorable.

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Sick leave for a coccyx fracture

Many patients, faced with this problem, experience not only physical but also emotional discomfort. Treatment of this disease takes a certain period of time, and the patient is not allowed to sit for some period of time. Therefore, given the existing symptoms and prescriptions, the attending physician almost always provides his patient with sick leave for a tailbone fracture.

No matter how hard you try, it is not always possible to avoid injury. If it so happens that an injury has occurred and the symptoms are alarming, you should not walk around the problem “on your feet” or try to relieve the pain on your own. Delaying the diagnosis and adequate therapy, a coccyx fracture can lead to significant complications, the consequences of which even a qualified specialist cannot always predict. Women of childbearing age who are planning another pregnancy and childbirth should be especially careful. Such an insignificant, it would seem, fact of life as an incorrectly healed fracture and during obstetric assistance, when the child goes along the birth canal, problems can arise that will affect both the baby and the health of the woman herself.