# How long will my ass be broken? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620 "2004-03-26T19:48:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/1 "2004-03-26T19:48:34Z")
I slipped on the ice last month and bruised my tailbone. It’s still sore. Anybody know how much longer it will take or have any tips for recovery? At least I work at home so I don’t have to be carrying around a damn donut everywhere to sit on. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/2 "2004-03-26T20:23:19Z")
Been there and one that 2-3 months for it to stop being really bothersome. About 6 months to vanish entirely. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/3 "2004-03-26T21:12:54Z")
A lot depends on what exactly you did to your ass. If you actually fractured your tailbone, it’s gonna take a long time to heal. After all, it takes 6-8 weeks for a fully immobilized bone to fully heal, and there’s no way to immobilize the tailbone. It gets yanked all over the place with just about every move you make, so it’s going to take longer to heal. Like Astro said, couple-three months before it stops being a real pain in the ass, and it’ll still twinge for a few months after that. ---
**Author:** ![BurglarGenie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BurglarGenie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurglarGenie)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/4 "2004-03-26T21:38:04Z")
And even then it’ll still have a crack in it. ---
**Author:** ![YPOD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e99b99/32.png) [@YPOD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YPOD)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/5 "2004-03-26T22:42:16Z")
Been there, done that. I fell and shattered my tailbone - the doctor’s term, not mine. He said there were probably a dozen or more pieces, but all were more or less in place. You can’t put it in a sling, no matter what the saying, not much hope of putting it in a cast, and no one is going to kiss it and make it feel better. He said the text book response is to tell the patient that it will eventually heal. As my doctor put it, you go everywhere with your tailbone - you walk on it, you sit on it, you lay on it -you never get away from the damn thing. Even standing, the muscles holding you up straight are attached to it. Hurt like hell for a month or two, then it simply hurt for another two or three months, and was sore for another couple of months. Years later, it still aches. By the way, breaking your ass is one of the few times you get no sympathy whatsoever. Everyone thought it was hysterically funny. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/6 "2004-03-26T23:28:46Z")
Took me a year of sitting on cushions and being unable to comfortably sit through a movie or a plane ride of more than 2 hours. Forget ballpark bleachers or any hard chair. Even today, if I sit in an uncomfortable chair, the damn thing will start bothering me. But I’m packing some extra poundage, so that doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/7 "2004-03-27T00:03:18Z")
Aw man 3 - 6 months. Oh well, at least you assured me it will someday get better. Thanks for all the replies, even our wiseacre **BurglarGenie**. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/8 "2004-03-27T00:32:09Z")
I broke mine many years ago, I cannot remember how, or when, I just remember having a sore arse, and not being able to go horse riding for weeks … In the last couple of years I’ve been “unseated” while riding and managed to land on my arse, hurt like feck and I couldn’t walk the next day … it’s one of those “never really heals” things … ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-my-ass-be-broken/236620/9 "2004-03-27T06:22:04Z")
I’d agree that it’s possible it will never quit hurting entirely. I broke mine falling off a horse at the age of nine, and it still twinges if I sit on it wrong. If you’re a man (you are, right?), you have one huge advantage, though, in that you will never have to push a baby past that injured tailbone.