If you’ve ever experienced coccyx pain, you know how frustrating is to try to get relief. Some patients experience coccydynia or inflammation of the tailbone and pain in the area between the buttocks only temporarily. Yet for others, tenderness and pain are ongoing and may be quite severe.

Whether your pain is caused by a known injury or overexertion or it’s more of a chronic condition with no apparent cause, there are ways to avoid making the pain involved in coccydynia worse. Unfortunately, there are also mistakes people commonly make that actually aggravate the situation and worsen pain.

You can stay as comfortable as possible by avoiding the following 5 mistakes that can give you coccyx pain:

1. Sitting for long periods of time.

Sitting for too long is one of the surest ways to aggravate and worsen coccyx pain. Take regular breaks from sitting and either stand or kneel instead as often as you need to for as long as you need to in order to avoid pain.

2. Feeling self-conscious.

People often worry about standing up while others are sitting down and allow feelings of embarrassment to keep them from avoiding pain. Whether you’re at a church service, work meeting, musical performance or movie theater, if standing up will alleviate pain and you know it – don’t stay sitting.

Most people are aware that sitting for long periods is painful for individuals who have certain back conditions. If someone is bothered by your standing, it is their problem – not yours.

3. Failing to use a coccyx cushion.

A specially designed coccyx cushion can help you avoid pain whenever you are sitting. This is a cushion that offers firm support, but is cut out in the back where your tailbone would normally rest on the chair’s bottom. Avoiding that pressure can make all the difference between extreme tailbone discomfort and pain-free sitting.

4. Not using a coccyx cushion at all times.

Once you realize a special seating cushion can help you avoid pain, you’ll want to use it all the time, right? The problem is, people don’t. They don’t want to carry one around in public, or they "forget" to put one in the car.

If you’re serious about avoiding coccyx pain for the long term, you must use a coccyx cushion whenever you sit. This means while driving, at the office, when you go out to eat and anywhere else you may go where you’ll be sitting.

5. Using the wrong type of cushion for coccyx pain.

Cushions that are designed to provide lumbar support or alleviate lower back pain are not the same as coccyx pain cushions. They may cause just as much tailbone pain as neglecting to use a cushion at all.

So-called "donut" cushions are still mistakenly advised for use to prevent coccyx pain. In fact, you need a cushion that’s cut out at the back to avoid putting pressure on the coccyx. Wedge-shaped pillows that are cut out also work well for some people.