The Donut Pillow – Reduce Tailbone Pain While Sitting

Tailbone pain (or coccyx pain) is a terrible discomfort that can reduce the mobility and functionality of a person. The medical term for this condition is Coccydynia. But more often than not, suffering patients prefer to call it a literal pain in the butt.

The coccyx is the affected part of our body when we suffer from tailbone pain. It is a bone located at the end of the vertebral column. The reason why it is also called a tailbone is because it really is a tailbone. Charles Darwin, along with other evolutionists, would argue that this bone was once a longer tailbone (called a vestigial tail) that our pre-human ancestors had. Perhaps after thousands of millions of years from now, our descendants would no longer have a coccyx in their back if the evolution process continues the way it did until now.

Until that happens, the coccyx has still some functions to perform. According to experts, the tailbone is used as a tripod that bears the weight of the body when the person sits down. As a person sits backward, the pressure is transferred to the tailbone. If this pressure persists for a very long period of time, it can result to ‘butt pain’, as we know it.

At the same time, tailbone pain may be caused by a medical condition, an injury or it could simply be idiopathic, meaning the cause of the symptom cannot be determined.

But either way, sitting with a tailbone pain could really be unpleasant because sitting generally puts pressure on the coccyx. In order to relieve this symptom and also to prevent this from happening, an orthopedic pillow may be used: the donut orthopedic pillow.

A donut pillow (also spelled as doughnut in U.K.-based countries) has this funny name because it is apparently shaped like a donut. Other coccyx pillows found on the market are square-shaped with a hole in the back where the tailbone can rest while the person is seated. The hole in the middle of the donut orthopedic pillow functions the same. It allows the person to sit down without putting too much pressure on his coccyx. Instead of hurting the tailbone, the weight of the body is evenly distributed to the muscles around the coccyx.

This way, the user may sit backward comfortably, without worrying about painful tailbone and lower back. This is the same reason why pregnant mothers are advised to use a donut pillow. Due to the heavy weight in their belly, their overall body weight increases as well. That is why pregnant women at times tend to experience pain in their coccyx. But by using a donut pillow, such incidence is thus prevented.

This pillow may be used in different places. It can be placed on the office chair, on a bench, on a church pew, on a subway train seat – basically anywhere the person wishes to sit down. Donut pillows are portable. They are also available in different sizes, trying to match the varying sizes of users.

Aside from relieving tailbone pain, this orthopedic pillow can also be used for other purposes. For instance, since the coccyx is anatomically situated near the anus, people who are suffering from piles bleeding or hemorrhoids (round swelling found inside the anal canal) can find comfort by using a coccyx pillow.