Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) for Tailbone Pain.
- NSAIDs are medications commonly taken by mouth to decrease pain, inflammation, fever, etc.
- NSAIDs may cause stomach/intestinal ulcers and associated internal gastrointestinal bleeding.
- Examples of NSAIDs include traditional NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen) and newer versions (such as Celecoxib, brand name: Celebrex).
All NSAIDs in the USA carry a “Black Box Warning” that they increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. - In my medical practice, I consider these meds to be good for short term use. But the longer someone is on them the more likely that they will run into side-effects.
- One down-side of oral NSAIDs is that medications taken by mouth essentially get distributed throughout your whole body, meaning that they can 1) cause side-effects throughout your body, and 2) their beneficial effect is “diluted out” across your whole body (so that, unfortunately, only a tiny bit of the medication actually gets delivered to your painful or inflamed coccyx).
- This is one of the reasons to instead have medications placed locally just at the painful site, typically by the physician doing a small local injection under fluoroscopic guidance, specifically targeting the part of the coccyx that was abnormal on the imaging studies and also matches with the site where the patient is having their pain.
Some of these NSAIDs are available in topical versions (where the medication is placed on the skin, within a cream or lotion or ointment or patch).
- Topical Patches/Ointments/Creams may help some folks, but generally have a tough time getting the medications deep enough.
- Also, the coccyx is an awkward spot for these, since patches don’t stick well in the crease between the buttocks (they stick better on flatter surfaces).
- Also, for privacy and hygiene reasons, folks generally need to use a bathroom, etc. if needing to re-apply the topical medications while at work. (Unlike someone using the creams on their wrist, for example, which they could easily do that right at their public work space without any fuss.)
COME FOR RELIEF: For more information on coccyx pain, or to be evaluated in-person by Dr. Foye’s Coccyx Pain Center in the United States, go to: www.TailboneDoctor.com
– Patrick Foye, M.D., Director of the Tailbone Pain Center, New Jersey, United States.
Founder and Director at Tailbone Pain Center
Dr. Foye is an expert at treating tailbone pain (coccyx pain).
His personable, private-practice office is located on a modern, renowned, academic medical school campus, at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
For an appointment, call 973-972-2802.
https://tailbonedoctor.com/
His personable, private-practice office is located on a modern, renowned, academic medical school campus, at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
For an appointment, call 973-972-2802.
https://tailbonedoctor.com/
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