Should I go get X-rays just to be safe??

Question

2 days ago i had went 4wheeling with a friend of mine. We were on the trail and all of a sudden i hit a patch of rocks off to the side of the trail and with it being so dry out, i slid through the sand, and i flew off of the 4 wheeler and i think i might've broken my tailbone. My butt is all bruised, it has big patches of like pitch black bruises on it. Ive been trying to hold off going to the ER because I keep hearing theres nothing they can do but i've been in horrible pain ever since then. Everytime i sit down or get up, or even move to walk or anything its so painful. Also, it feels like i did something to my neck. All of my muscles in my neck feel pulled and it hurts to turn my neck certain ways... Should i wait it out a little longer to see if the pain gets any better?

Answer 1

xrays are needed by the doctor to make a good overall diagnosis.. so yes - get them. It is not like they have xray vision.

Answer 2

I assume you are young, since you were up to this sort of activity.
If I suspected you were over 40, you would probably get lectured by myself and others:-)

Since you have made it two days after your injury indicates it is certainly nothing life threatening.

Sounds like you have indeed broken/dislocated, or severely bruised your tailbone. There is nothing doctors can do about this except perhaps x-ray, which usually does not show anything (the bone is a quarter inch long). You should be prepared for it to really hurt for a couple of weeks more and intermittently hurt pretty badly for two months more. You need to get a "donut" pillow from the pharmacy, will help with sitting. But the MOST important thing you need to do right away is, while you are at the pharmacy, get some stool softeners and begin taking them, at maybe double the dose. Take lots of water, and maybe eat lots of prunes. You want to get your bowel movements to be just shy of diarrhea. The coccyx (tailbone) is the attachment site for many of the pelvic floor muscles, one of which is the anal sphincter. That sphincter muscle will not want to cooperate, and you will get more and more constipated, and at some point, it will have to get out of there. This is, by far, the least painful way.

You should probably go ahead and go to one of the "doc in the box" places, as this already two day old injury obviously does not achieve emergency status. If not to reassure you, then to have something to report to all the people you see in the next few weeks who will look at you aghast and ask "What did the doctor say?" You will find you will have lots of social pressure to seek medical care. The deep dark bruises (I assume are on your buttocks) will also take several weeks to completely resolve.

But rest assured, in a few months, you will have only the memories and a good story to tell.

Answer 3

Are you nuts? Get to the hospital! You should be immobile right now...all that moving around can cause even further damage and you may end up needing surgery if you get an infection. Hop to it and get to the hospital...it certainly sounds like you did do something like fracture your tailbone with bruises that bad and I wouldn't be surprised if you popped a disc in your neck or something too.

Go in and don't wait a second longer.

Answer 4

Your right, there is not much they can do for a broken tailbone but I would still get checked out anyways. You may have a pinched nerve somewhere, especially in your neck. They will also give you something for the pain.

Answer 5

Whoever told you there's nothing the ER can do is wrong! Yes, go get yourself checked out. Back, neck, and even tail-bone injuries can be dangerous if you let it go too long w/o getting it checked. It's gonna be tender and sore for a while, but you can't be sure how severe the injury is unless you get x-rays.

Answer 6

Deep bruises can be incredibly painful, just as you are describing. Anytime you have a traumatic event such as what you described you should go to the ER and just get checked. It may be nothing but what if it is something. Might want to get that neck checked out as well.
good luck

Answer 7

You need to go see a doctor ASAP. If you did something to your neck, it could be more severe than you realize. People have fractured their spines doing less. You don't want to cause permanent damage that could have been prevented by seeking early treatment. Get off the computer and call your doctor.

Answer 8

Go to your Dr. if you have one or to the ER and get those x-rays done . But the best Dr. to go to is an Orthopedic Dr. . You may have to have a Bone Scan done if the Xrays don't show anything just to be sure there is no hairline fractures that x-rays might miss.

Answer 9

jus go to the doc and have it chkd thoroughly and ya u need to get a X-ray and in dif angles i suppose because its ur god damn spinal chord for cryin out loud and u b so careless bout it becareful and avoid further stress on it.and u better make it fast as these things get severe as the delay increases u need to go to the doc immediatly and make it really compulsory this prob may lead to other and thus chain may follow on k and that to for women, u need to take care of ur spinal chord very much as another new life wil also depend on it k now be a gud gal n meet the doc

Answer 10

Yes, go to a doctor. Don't put it off. These types of injuries can plague you for years and cause considerable discomfort, arthritis, etc. for the rest of your life. Never hurts to know for sure what's happened to your body. You've been quite traumatized.

Answer 11

i am in the x-ray room all the time it aint that bad, so if it is hurting ya that bad go get it checked out at least u will get something 4 the pain an know whether ur ok.