Work Limitations due to Tailbone Pain (Coccyx Pain)

  • Sometimes a patient with tailbone pain (coccyx pain) or their employer will ask for my official medical opinion on sitting tolerance, ability to work, etc.
  • In those situations I typically provide information about the difficulties that patients with tailbone pain have with prolonged sitting.
  • Some useful approaches can include sit-stand workstations. For example, you can arrange to have a computer workstation that raises and lowers throughout the day, so that you can stand at the workstation when your tailbone is sore from sitting and you can sit down at the workstation when your legs and back are tired from standing.
  • Another modification is simply allowing the person to alternate between sitting/standing at will throughout the workday.
  • For some jobs these modifications are not really possible though.
    • For example, an airline pilot can’t stand up while flying the plane, nor can a taxi driver or bus driver stand up at random.
    • Even typical office jobs can be difficult to modify. For example, it may be socially awkward to stand up throughout an entire business meeting while all of the representatives from other companies are sitting down at the table.
  • Another difficulty with these modifications is that many people are physically unable to stand throughout most of the workday.
    • For example, if you have arthritis or other sources of pain in your feet, knees, hips, or lower back, it may be very difficult to stand throughout the bulk of the work day.
  • If a patient responds very well to treatment, they may be able to sit normally throughout the workday.
  • However, during flareups (exacerbations) of the tailbone pain, the person might not be able to sit at all or might have pain so severe that it mentally distracts them from being able to reasonably concentrate on work tasks.
  • Every person is unique in their sources of tailbone pain, severity of tailbone pain, response to treatments, frequency and severity of exacerbations, work duty requirements, etc.
  • So, an individualized approach makes the most sense.
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Book: “Tailbone Pain Relief Now! Causes and Treatments for Your Sore or Injured Coccyx” by Patrick Foye, M.D.

Patrick Foye, M.D.
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