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Coccyx The Seat of the Soul

The coccyx, or tailbone, is a small but significant part of the spine. The name comes from the Greek word for “cuckoo,” since the bone resembles a cuckoo’s beak. Though often dismissed as unimportant, the coccyx serves as a structural anchor for key ligaments and muscles of the pelvic floor, and its misalignment or injury can cause surprising ripple effects throughout the body. Ida Rolf famously referred to the coccyx as the “seat of the soul,” a reminder that this little bone can influence not only biomechanics but also the way clients feel in their bodies.

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 Don’t Disregard the Coccyx

Pain while sitting is a common client complaint, but massage therapists often disregard the coccyx as a possible pain generator. This is due to a lack of biomechanical knowledge about the coccyx, as well as concerns about how to safely assess and treat this structure. When seated, the coccyx and bilateral ischial tuberosities form an elegant weight-bearing tripod. Although the coccyx bears minimal weight when sitting — about 10 percent like the fibula — it can be a major pain generator. Events such as childbirth or falling on the tailbone can lead to coccygeal pain, known as coccydynia. In most cases, the pain is caused by an unstable coccyx, resulting in chronic inflammation of the sacrococcygeal joint, along with protective guarding in associated muscles

 The Human Tailbone May Not be Needed, But It Remains a Feature of Our Ancient Past

Learn more about the human tailbone and how, even though we may not have a strict need for it anymore, it still helps us with our everyday lives.

 Why is the tailbone (coccyx) so important?

Often during my conversations with patients, they will mention an old tailbone injury from a fall, an accident, or a challenging birth of a child. Many times, the injury is blown off with an “It was just my tailbone.” Oh, the little attention the tailbone gets! How is this little bone so often involved with pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, constipation, and pelvic organ prolapse? Let’s take a closer look at this little bone that gets so little respect.The lack of coccyx support has far reaching consequences, beyond the pelvic floor. Let’s start with the pelvic floor and expand outward. The coccyx (tailbone) is the very end of the spine, attaching to the bottom of the sacrum, and is the anchor for the many of the muscles in the pelvic floor.

Articles of Interest

A Tailbone of Two Injuries

The coccyx, colloquially referred to as the tailbone, is a small, often overlooked anatomical landmark that sits below the lumbar spine and sacrum. Despite it’s tiny size, it is extremely clinically significant. Think of it as the Grand Central Station of your pelvic floor, so to speak. The coccyx serves as the attachment site of the gluteus maximus and levator ani muscles (which include the coccygeus, iliococcygeus, and pubococcygeus muscles) and ligaments (including the anterior, posterior, and lateral sacrococcygeal, sacrotuberous, and sacrospinous ligaments). Injury to the coccyx can affect the aforementioned muscles and/or ligaments. Conversely, injury to the muscles and/or ligaments can affect coccyx alignment. Symptoms of coccyx dysfunction include coccyx pain (referred to as coccydynia), pain with defecation, pain with intercourse, pain with prolonged sitting, pain with transitional movements (such as sit to stand), coccyx pain, low back pain, and even neck pain.

Everything You Should Know About Your Coccyx

First, what the heck is your coccyx actually? It’s a tiny grouping of three to five bones in your tailbone area that start off as separate pieces but eventually fuse together by the time you’re 30. This is what makes it so unique. It’s triangular in shape, weight-bearing, and an important part of body functions like walking and sitting.

How Humans Lost Their Tails

A new study suggests that a single genetic mutation helps explain why monkeys have tails, while apes and people do not.

Tailbone Pain Awareness: Shedding Light on a Commonly Overlooked Condition

The most common cause of tailbone pain is joint hypermobility, which results in excessive movement of the individual bones of the coccyx. But most radiology departments in the U.S. and worldwide have no experience doing the specialized types of X-rays that are the gold standard for making this diagnosis.

The Difference Between the Sacrum and Coccyx and Why They’re Important

While both the sacrum and the coccyx consist of multiple fused vertebrae, the sacrum is wider and stronger, whereas the coccyx is made up of smaller bones. Both bones contribute to stability. However, the sacrum bears the most weight, stabilizes the spine and pelvis, and serves as a shock absorber for the spine. The coccyx plays a less significant role and is considered a remnant of the tail that was present in our distant ancestors.

Things You Didn’t Know About Your Tailbone

While most human anatomy can be traced to a specific function, there are certain body parts that are more mysterious. One mysterious body part is the human tailbone. After all, if humans do not have tails, why would we need a tailbone? Evolutionarily speaking, humans have tailbones because at one time in evolutionary history humans had actual tails. These tails were believed to be used for balance and motion, however were no longer necessary once humanity began to walk upright. As a result, the tailbone became what is known as a vestigial, or functionless, structure. However, there is still much that people don’t know about their tailbone. Here are a few of the most interesting tailbone facts...

Understanding the Tailbone

The tailbone, also known as the coccyx, is a small triangular bone located at the base of the spine in humans. It is composed of three to five fused vertebrae, and its shape and size can vary from person to person. The coccyx is considered a vestigial structure, meaning it is a remnant of evolutionary ancestors that had tails. While the tailbone may not serve a significant functional purpose in modern humans, it still plays a role in supporting and stabilizing certain structures in the pelvic region. Here are some functions of the tailbone:

Resources

Coccyx.org

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