did I damage something?

[kellie2]

I’m not really sure if these two things are connected but hopefully somebody out there has also experienced this and can help me.
About a month ago I slipped and fell on a ceramic floor, and I mean hard. I fell almost flat on my back with my tailbone taking the brunt of it. A doctor did say that even if I fractured something, there was nothing that could be done, and that eventually it would start to heal. I was in alot of pain for about 3 weeks and have just started feeling better this last week. My question is – could I have also hurt my rectum, or anus? I noticed the week after this happened that my insides ‘down there’ ached. Twice after a bowel movement, the ache was just terrible, and even now it’s still there off and one though not as intense. Of course my mind is thinking of all kinds of terrible things that it could be, although there is no blood anywhere and no change in anything, just this off and on aching. And because I was just fine before my fall and didn’t start feeling this until the week after makes me think that the two are connected. I didn’t think you could actually ‘hurt’ yourself inside like that, though my husband thinks that I may have maybe bruised it inside when I slammed into the floor. Is that possible? He said I hit that floor so hard it was a wonder I didn’t shatter everything back there.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[quincy]

Hi,

No, you wouldn't have hurt the rectum/anus, but the nerves in that area are "connected" for function and pain. If you're in pain, it would be difficult to "bear down" for a bm....even for holding in or contracting the sphincter to prevent urination or bowel movements. If the nerves are damaged, impinged or affected in any way....you will have pain with all the functions with which those nerves are involved.

As far as the pain you're having now....as we heal, some parts start functioning better than others. If some are functioning to capacity and the others are lagging behind, they're not maintaining the load so to say and become fatigued or overloaded and pain will result.

It seems normal what you're experiencing, and I can definitely relate to your pain. When I was a child, I always tended to fall on my tailbone. Either from skating or on the icy roads/sidewalks. My doctor feared I might suffer permanent damage if it persisted. Luckily I "grew up" and was a bit more cautious about my balance on those surfaces.

It'll take a while for you to heal. But, if it persists maybe meds can help get you through this worst time. Caution about some pain meds, they can cause bowel bleeding and/or constipation.

Another option could be accupuncture to stimulate nerve pathways and help the healing process.

Hope this helps.
quincy

[kellie2]

Thanks Quincy. What I'm feeling 'in' there is not so much pain as an ache, much like a toothache would feel. The pain in my tailbone is pretty much gone but this 'other' lingers, which is why I wondered if the two were related. And I guess what also made me start to worry a little is that I don't think I felt this ache until about a week after I fell, but I may not have noticed it much either, because of my back hurting. I'm also on coumadin (blood thinner) so I start to worry about bleeding internally. Although I believe I would have had other symptoms of that by now.

Thanks so much for your quick reply, I feel better already.