I too experienced the exact same thing years ago. I was in the Army at the time and working out a lot. This included doing a ton of situps and crunches. While doing a rapid rate series of situps on hard ground, I felt a bizarre "popping" sensation on my tailbone. Thinking nothing about it I finished my workout and headed back to the barracks. While showering I felt this bizarre lump on my tailbone through the skin. There was no bleeding or pain so I ignored it. By the next morning, the lump had grown considerably and now hurt to touch it or the surrounding area.
I went on sick call and the medic who first examined it said it was a "traumatic" cyst. Like a blister, it formed when the skin, being held almost immovable against the hard ground was "rubbed" from the inside by the tailbone. This created a loose pocket between the layers of skin which of course filled with fluid and became engorged.
The doctor who eventually examined me said he could drain it and see if it healed, but recommend opening it fully, removing all fluid and damaged tissue. Then it would be treated with antibiotics and packed with a sterile gauze strip to allow it to heal from the inside out.
I experienced no real problems except the surgeon used an extremely strong version of local anesthetic. Unlike the typical "bee sting" you experience with lidocaine this was more like a 400 lb. wasp! However I was numb from my back almost through my body to my front and from the lower back almost to my knees, so I guess it was better than being stuck a bunch of times with normal local anesthetic. Removing the guaze was also a very weird sensation but it served its purpose.
The open wound quickly closed and healed. My only limitations were a couple of days bedrest (on my belly of course) and taking it easy for a few weeks. This put a real cramp in my workouts but proper healing is way more important. I now have a scar that very much resembles an "in-ny" navel on my back. My kids used to I had two bellybuttons.
So, if you haven't done anything yet I highly recommend the D&C procedure. I've never had a single problem since. Good Luck!
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I too experienced the exact same thing years ago. I was in the Army at the time and working out a lot. This included doing a ton of situps and crunches. While doing a rapid rate series of situps on hard ground, I felt a bizarre "popping" sensation on my tailbone. Thinking nothing about it I finished my workout and headed back to the barracks. While showering I felt this bizarre lump on my tailbone through the skin. There was no bleeding or pain so I ignored it. By the next morning, the lump had grown considerably and now hurt to touch it or the surrounding area.
May 19, 2011 - 12:49amI went on sick call and the medic who first examined it said it was a "traumatic" cyst. Like a blister, it formed when the skin, being held almost immovable against the hard ground was "rubbed" from the inside by the tailbone. This created a loose pocket between the layers of skin which of course filled with fluid and became engorged.
The doctor who eventually examined me said he could drain it and see if it healed, but recommend opening it fully, removing all fluid and damaged tissue. Then it would be treated with antibiotics and packed with a sterile gauze strip to allow it to heal from the inside out.
I experienced no real problems except the surgeon used an extremely strong version of local anesthetic. Unlike the typical "bee sting" you experience with lidocaine this was more like a 400 lb. wasp! However I was numb from my back almost through my body to my front and from the lower back almost to my knees, so I guess it was better than being stuck a bunch of times with normal local anesthetic. Removing the guaze was also a very weird sensation but it served its purpose.
The open wound quickly closed and healed. My only limitations were a couple of days bedrest (on my belly of course) and taking it easy for a few weeks. This put a real cramp in my workouts but proper healing is way more important. I now have a scar that very much resembles an "in-ny" navel on my back. My kids used to I had two bellybuttons.
So, if you haven't done anything yet I highly recommend the D&C procedure. I've never had a single problem since. Good Luck!
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