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Authored by Bodyful Physical Therapy and Wellness
Why Tucking Your Tailbone Can Contribute to Back, Hip, and Coccyx Pain
As somatic movers, we challenge the popular cue to “tuck your tailbone.” You may have read all over the internet to correct “lumbar lordosis” (an over-extended lower back) to achieve what was often framed as “better posture.”
Through somatic movement exploration—supported by an anatomical, embryological, and early developmental lens—we believe that the pelvis is over-cued and over-corrected in the mainstream fitness world. Our perspective is simple but perhaps less familiar: many people would benefit from freeing the tailbone rather than constantly tucking it.
This is not a blanket rule. Pain—especially lower back pain while sitting, hip tightness and pain, or coccyx pain when standing up or bending over—deserves individualized assessment by a licensed physical therapist. What follows is an invitation to rebalance the conversation, not replace one rigid rule with another.
The Spine Is Curved on Purpose
Our spines are curved for a reason and everyone’s curve is different. There is inherent stability in spinal architecture itself. When we consistently cue people to flatten the spine or lengthen the low back, we can unintentionally encourage movement patterns that increase strain—especially for people who already experience:
coccyx bone pain when sitting
tailbone pain during sit-ups
sharp pain when standing up from a chair
Flattening the lumbar spine over and over can disconnect us from how load is meant to travel through the pelvis, hips, and spine.
How Tailbone Tucking Affects the Sacroiliac Joint
One of my primary biomechanical concerns with habitual tailbone tucking is how it positions the sacroiliac joint (SI joint). A tucked pelvis brings the SI joint into a more open-packed position, meaning the joint relies less on bony support and more on muscular effort for stability.
When muscles are forced to compensate continuously, the system can become overworked and sensitized. This is one reason SI joint irritation is so common in people with low back pain while sitting or pain that worsens with transitions, such as standing up or bending forward.
Pelvic Floor Tension and Coccyx Pain
Another effect of chronic tailbone tucking is how it alters the length-tension relationship of the pelvic floor muscles.
When the tailbone is tucked, the pelvic floor is held in a relatively shortened position. Muscles are not strongest when they are constantly shortened—they function best when they can lengthen and yield, relax, and respond to pressure changes and load transfers with sufficient power and strength.
Loss of elasticity in the pelvic floor can contribute to:
pain with penetrative sex
discomfort during abdominal exercises
constipation
stress urinary incontinence
hip tightness and pain that feels deep or hard to stretch
Pelvic floor strain does not always feel like pelvic pain—it may show up as pelvic floor dysfunction, tailbone discomfort, hip restriction, or a sense of compression when seated.
Core Stability Is Dynamic, Not Fixed
This is not an argument against engaging your core or using pelvic tilts. A resilient core is one that can adapt across positions—flexion, extension, rotation, and multiplanar load transfers
Walking, standing, and running all require relative spinal elongation, not constant pelvic tucking. If we only train core stability in flattened or flexed positions, we miss how the body actually functions in daily life.
This mismatch often appears as:
coccyx pain when standing up
pain when bending over
discomfort that increases the longer you sit
The Somatic Movement Layer: Safety, Expression, and the Pelvis
As you explore the sensation of your tailbone, what arises?
What emerges for you as you free your tailbone?
What emerges if you tuck your tailbone?
How does your rib cage respond?
Your chest?
Your emotions or meaning-making?
If you have been conditioned as femme, what does it feel like to free your tailbone?
Do you feel powerful?
Embarrassed?
Expressive?
Are there cultures you can think of that you perceive to move with a freer tailbone?
What is it like to notice differences across cultures—or even different ways of moving within the same culture?
Movement is not neutral.
How we are taught to hold ourselves shapes how we take up space in the world.
Nervous System Resources and the Tailbone
Even animals show us this. When dogs feel afraid, they tuck their tails. When they feel safe, the tail is free and mobile.
So it is worth asking: How does your nervous system interpret constant tailbone tucking?
Does it register safety—or vigilance?
What is your experience of freeing the tailbone? Hopefully, the practice brings a deeper sense of grounding, ease, and internal safety—especially if you live with chronic pelvic tension, hip tightness, or tailbone pain.
An Invitation to Explore, Not Perform
This is not a cure-all or a rigid instruction. Bodies are diverse. Nervous systems are unique.
The invitation is curiosity.
Next time you are cued to tuck your tailbone, pause. Notice how it feels—especially if you live with tailbone pain, hip tightness, or lower back pain while sitting. If the movement allows choice, explore a range that feels supportive rather than constricting.
Small shifts in awareness can create meaningful changes in comfort, coordination, and confidence.
Your body already knows how to organize itself. Sometimes it just needs permission.
Work With a Pelvic PT in Oakland, CA
If you experience coccyx pain, hip tightness, or persistent low back discomfort—and want an individualized, somatic, pelvic-informed approach—we’re here.
Book with a pelvic physical therapist at Bodyful Physical Therapy and Wellness in Oakland, CA.
Your body is not broken. It is communicating with you. Can you honor and discern what it is saying?
