Tailbone hurting when doing mat work

Firephoenix013
Firephoenix013 Posts: 214
edited October 19 in Fitness and Exercise
Has anyone else had this problem. When I go to the mat/floor to do ab work etc, my tailbone KILLS ME! It hurts and I want to put a pillow under it so badly. Is that an acceptable solution to the problem?
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Replies

  • elliottgirl209
    elliottgirl209 Posts: 78 Member
    I have the same problem, and I haven't found a solution...
  • Bump in case anyone else knows of a solution.
  • Bump.
  • FuneralDiner
    FuneralDiner Posts: 438 Member
    I have this too! D:
  • AHatFullOfSky
    AHatFullOfSky Posts: 83 Member
    Are you making sure your lower back is flat against the floor, when you make your exercises? Imagine pulling your bellybutton down towards the floor.

    Try and look into basic pilates techniques when doing abbs and so on. And do them slow and controlled.
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
    Question Gals, did all of you had babies with this problem? Reason why I ask is because I have heard this before from many females who happen to have had babies. Not saying that this is the case and that is why you have the pain but pretty funny thing for me to read this.
  • KStambulic
    KStambulic Posts: 131
    Are you making sure your lower back is flat against the floor, when you make your exercises? Imagine pulling your bellybutton down towards the floor.

    Try and look into basic pilates techniques when doing abbs and so on. And do them slow and controlled.

    ^^This. I used to have the same problem until I looked into exercises for back pain and to strengthen my core muscles. Remembering to "push" your lower back into the floor (basically a pelvic tilt) makes all the difference. This is the website that I found useful.
    http://www.bigbackpain.com/back_exercises.html
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    It hurts me to. But doing yoga and strecthcing and stuff has helped me alot!!!
  • camelgirlmn
    camelgirlmn Posts: 226 Member
    Question Gals, did all of you had babies with this problem? Reason why I ask is because I have heard this before from many females who happen to have had babies. Not saying that this is the case and that is why you have the pain but pretty funny thing for me to read this.

    Alot of women do get lower back pain from having a child and/or a shot in there back. But thats not quite where the tailbone would be at. :)
  • treblemaker90
    treblemaker90 Posts: 65 Member
    Try using an exercise ball to do AB work. I find that it really helps with my back and I still get a good workout!
  • 75Juniper
    75Juniper Posts: 376
    I don't have trouble with my tailbone, but my hips feel like they are digging into the floor if I do a lot of mat work. I have a flat pillow that I'll use when this happens and it doesn't seem to affect my form or ability to do the exercises. It makes such a difference! Just make sure it's not too puffy.
  • terrara715
    terrara715 Posts: 15 Member
    I have this same problem. And yes, I have had 2 children.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Mine only hurts when I'm doing things like Russian twists when I actually sit right on it, and most of it is from breaking it back in december falling down some steps. I find doubling my mat really helps give enough cushioning to avoid most of the pain.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Are you making sure your lower back is flat against the floor, when you make your exercises? Imagine pulling your bellybutton down towards the floor.

    Try and look into basic pilates techniques when doing abbs and so on. And do them slow and controlled.

    I used to have that problem, too, when I was using momentum rather than my core for ab work. And no I've never had a baby lol. Once you focus on engaging your core, pulling your belly button into your spine and using your core muscles to perform the exercises your tailbone will no longer be pressing into the floor...
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
    Mine only hurts when I'm doing things like Russian twists when I actually sit right on it, and most of it is from breaking it back in december falling down some steps. I find doubling my mat really helps give enough cushioning to avoid most of the pain.

    Yes -- this. I haven't had children so I don't think that's an issue. But doubling the mat and/or using two (or even three if they're available) mats helps a lot.
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
    Question Gals, did all of you had babies with this problem? Reason why I ask is because I have heard this before from many females who happen to have had babies. Not saying that this is the case and that is why you have the pain but pretty funny thing for me to read this.

    Alot of women do get lower back pain from having a child and/or a shot in there back. But thats not quite where the tailbone would be at. :)

    I know what you are referring to and I know thats something else. I was referring to the tailbone itself. My kids mother happens to have pain where her epidoral shot was taken at, but she also happens to have pain around the tailbone area when doing certain exercises with proper form too.
  • Cwilbanks12105
    Cwilbanks12105 Posts: 99 Member
    I don't have the tailbone problem, but I have a bulging disc in my lower back that makes things like crunches, sit ups, etc..anything that involves pushing my lower back into the floor to be absolutely excrutiating, so I don't do anything like that. Instead, I'll do c-sit or v positions, standing ab work, plank work, and crunches and other ab workouts on an exercise ball. There's so many other options for ab work that are just as good, if not better, than having to actually lay down on the mat if it's uncomfortable for you.
  • angirs
    angirs Posts: 9 Member
    This took me some practice, however you do not want to be rolling on your tailbone. I learned how to tuck and pull the belly button towards the spine through yoga. I had a tailbone and lower back injury when I was younger...using your core is the ticket.
  • raerae514
    raerae514 Posts: 171 Member
    I have this problem too! I guess I have a big tailbone, my mama has the same, even when I like sit on the floor against a wall it hurts to get up sometimes. When doing ab work or whatever on the floor, I usually put a ****ty pillow underneath, I don't see any harm in it! Also when doing GIRL pushups I put a pillow under my knees, lol. But now I can do a REAL pushup! Maximum of 2 though ;)
  • goldfish29
    goldfish29 Posts: 44 Member
    Mine does but it didn't hurt until I fractured it downhill skiing. That was two years ago and it still causes me pain :sad:
  • AReasor
    AReasor Posts: 355 Member
    I don't have Scoliosis(sp?) but my tailbone curves out a bit more than other people. There are some exercises I simply cannot do because of the painful pressure. Anything lying on my back and tilting the pelvis is completely out. I haven't found a way around it. I just do other things.

    Sorry this wasn't more helpful. Good luck!
  • Nope no kids. I'll have to work on the core thing but omg I was hurting so bad doing that mat work I was like there is no way, I've got cushion it or something or I won't be able to keep doing this. At least I'm not the only one out there!
  • Amryfal
    Amryfal Posts: 225
    i find i have this problem now that my hip bones have less "cushioning" on them. heh. for yoga, i find that tilting my hips helps - basically repositioning on the mat until i have more of a cushion under them :)

    my current theory is that with the fat going, i need to build up muscle as a cushion. i notice it with a lot of places where my bones have less fat covering them now - if someone pokes my ribs, OMG! i never used to be able to feel it and now it hurts!
  • I did the visualize the belly button to the spine thing, it helped some. Still hurt a little but not as bad. Only one move where you have to life your butt up and bring it back down for some sort of ab work did I have to cushion myself.
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
    Yep, I have this problem too since I've lost all of my weight. I attribute it to the fact that I don't have any padding left so it's bone on mat (seriously, my *kitten* is now so flat it's practically concave. LOL!)
  • My wonderful pilates instructor did some research after I had the same problem (long tailbone) and found that by placing 2 foam pads alongside the tailbone that the space left between accommodates the extra length and I can do all the exercises now with NO pain!
  • rswalls
    rswalls Posts: 157 Member
    I literally cannot do a traditional sit up because it hurts my tailbone.
  • Same problem here! Three mats is the magic number for me. But now I want to try to figure out this mysterious belly button spine technique...
  • I'm a male that has had the same trouble; a few years ago when I first try doing a pilates workout, I could do any of the floor exercises; namely anything that required raising my legs in the air and putting weight on my lower back/tailbone, as the pain was exceptionally uncomfortable - so I stopped doing it for a while. I had lost a fair amount of weight and decided to try the work out again, using extra padding, putting down several blankets, along with a pilates mat; the pain was still there, but less intense and I could work through it, and eventually I didn't notice it at all. Then after a time, gained back a lot of the weight and tried getting back into a workout routine, particularly the pilates workout I had done before, but here again I couldn't do half the workout, because there was too much discomfort along my tailbone during the floor exercises, no matter how much padding I put on the floor - which is already carpeted and not even all that hard to begin with...
  • stefaery
    stefaery Posts: 9
    I have this problem, too. I've been to the chiropractor for lower back pain and got an X-ray so, for me, it's because my pelvic bone is tilted back due to years of sleeping on a mattress that dipped in the middle.

    I'm told I can get adjustments to help with the pain, but my spine/pelvic bone will not go back to normal.

    Might help to do some ab-work exercises on an exercise ball??
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