If you have tailbone pain, you’ve probably had a hard time sitting down recently.
With how painful it is to sit down, it is common to ask: what type of chair should you sit in with tailbone pain?
We have found that there are five main types of chairs that are easiest to sit in when you have tailbone pain: a kneeling chair, a split style saddle stool, a ball chair, a forward tilting office chair, and a split seat office chair.
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Can a Bad Chair Cause Tailbone Pain?
Yes, but only indirectly!
In most cases, what causes tailbone pain is bad posture, which causes you to put too much pressure on your tailbone, especially when sitting for long periods of time.
If you’re sitting in a bad chair, you probably aren’t getting the proper support, which may lead to bad posture if you don’t make sure you’re sitting properly.
Here are some other possible causes of tailbone pain:
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): if you repeatedly lean forward and stretch your spine during activities, you may strain and damage the muscles around your tailbone, making them unable to hold the tailbone in a neutral position.
- Weight Extremes: the heavier you are, the more pressure there will be on your tailbone. And the leaner you are, the less fat there is to protect it from pressure and rubbing.
- Childbirth: pressure from childbirth may overstretch the muscles around the tailbone, causing pain.
- Spinal Osteoarthritis: as the cartilage discs in your spine wear out, they have trouble holding your tailbone in place. Your tailbone also fuses together, causing more pain.
- Tailbone Injury: if you fell on your tailbone, you may have injured it, as well as the tissue that holds it in place.
- Disease: if you have cancer or an infection at the bottom of your spine, your tailbone can become painful.
What Type of Chair Should You Sit in With Tailbone Pain?
If the pain in your tailbone takes a long time to subside, you may want to consider buying a chair that can speed up your recovery, as well as prevent future pain.
For relieving tailbone pain, there are five types of chairs we recommend: a kneeling chair, a split style saddle stool, a ball chair, a tilting office chair, and a split seat office chair.
Kneeling Chair
A kneeling chair consists of two parts: a tilted seat and a cushion that supports your knees and shins.
By increasing the angle between your knees and hips, a kneeling chair encourages proper posture, which supports your back and tailbone.
And with the tilted seat, a kneeling chair doesn’t put as much pressure on your tailbone as traditional seats.
Many kneeling chairs also have seats that are designed to avoid contact with your tailbone, such as split seats or seats with a cutout, especially for your tailbone.
If you’re interested in buying a kneeling chair, we recommend buying the Fedmax Kneeling Chair , which features:
- Adjustable height
- 4 wheel casters
- A weight capacity of up to 250 pounds
- A seat with a coccyx cutout
- A faux leather seat cover
Split Style Saddle Stool
A saddle stool has a seat that has gently sloping sides, just like a real saddle.
By positioning your knees below your hips, it improves your posture. It also opens up your hips by increasing the angle between your legs.
A split style saddle stool works the same way, except it splits the seat into two halves, leaving a gap in the middle that prevents contact or pressure on your tailbone.
If you’re interested in buying a split style saddle stool, we recommend buying the Master Massage Split Style Saddle Stool , which features:
- A PU leather seat cover
- A 2-inch thick seat
- A weight capacity of up to 660 pounds
- Adjustable height from 21 to 28 inches
Ball Chair
A ball chair is just what it sounds like – a chair where you use an exercise ball as your seat!
By using an exercise ball as the seat, a ball chair encourages good posture and engages your core muscles, forcing you to practice active sitting.
This reduces strain on your tailbone area, since active sitting forces your tailbone up and away from the seat.
If you’re interested in buying a ball chair, we recommend buying the Safco Products Zenergy Ball Chair , which features:
- An anti-burst exercise ball
- A mesh seat cover that keeps the ball in place
- A weight capacity of up to 250 pounds
- 4 anti-slip legs
- Adjustable height depending on assembly method
Forward Tilting Office Chair
Most office chairs don’t do much to relieve pressure on your tailbone, but there is one feature that you can use, if your chair has it.
Forward tilting office chairs allow you to tilt the office chair so that the back of the seat is higher than the front of the seat.
Similar to the kneeling chair, this encourages better posture and puts less pressure on your tailbone.
If you’re interested in buying a forward tilting office chair, we recommend buying the Duorest Gold Office Chair , which features:
- A forward tilting mechanism
- A dual backrest that puts no pressure on your spine
- A leather seat cover
- 3 years warranty
Split Seat Office Chair
Alternatively, you could look for an office chair that is similar to a split style saddle stool, with a seat that doesn’t touch your tailbone at all.
A split seat office chair features a seat that is either split into two parts or has the middle of the seat cushion cut out. This means there will be no pressure on your tailbone when you sit down, whether your chair is tilted forward or not.
If you’re interested in buying a split seat office chair, we recommend buying the Carmichael Throne Split Seat Office Chair , which features:
- A split seat design
- A mesh fabric backrest
- Firm, high-quality foam
How Do You Sit in a Chair With a Sore Tailbone?
If you can’t find a chair that will relieve your tailbone pain, you can use simple techniques to sit on a regular chair without increasing your pain.
To sit in a chair with a sore tailbone, you can follow these easy steps:
- Elevate yourself on the chair and sit on the edge. This improves your posture and lifts the tailbone away from the seat.
- Shift your weight away from your tailbone. You may shift from side to side, sit with one foot underneath you, or move your legs while sitting.
- Use a Tailbone Support Cushion .
- Stand up slowly when you need to stop sitting.
- Try to take regular breaks from sitting.
And, if all of these techniques still don’t work, we recommend seeing a medical professional for advice.
Conclusion
A bad chair can cause tailbone pain if you are prone to bad posture.
There are five types of chairs you should use to relieve tailbone pain: a kneeling chair, a split style saddle stool, a ball chair, a forward tilting office chair, and a split seat office chair.
To sit in any chair with a sore tailbone, keep pressure and contact away from your tailbone, and take regular breaks from sitting.
We hope this article helped you with your tailbone pain!
My name is Vance, and I am the owner of To Ergonomics. Our mission is to improve your workflow by helping you create a supportive and welcoming environment. We hope that you’ll find what you’re looking for while you’re here.