Sacrum
Also called: sacral bone
What it means
The sacrum is the triangular bone at the base of your spine that connects your backbone to your pelvis.
A weak sacrum can lead to painful insufficiency fractures, especially in people with low bone density.
The sacrum is a triangular bone made of five fused vertebrae sitting between your lumbar spine and your tailbone (coccyx). It connects to the two hip bones through the sacroiliac joints, forming the back wall of the pelvis. This connection lets your upper body weight transfer down into your legs whenever you stand, walk, or run.
Like other bones, the sacrum contains both cortical (dense outer) and trabecular (spongy inner) bone, and it responds to the mechanical forces placed on it. Because it carries so much load, it can be a site of insufficiency fractures in people with low bone density, especially after a fall or sometimes even without one.
Sacral insufficiency fractures often show up as low back, buttock, or pelvic pain that gets worse with standing or walking. They're more common in older adults with osteoporosis. A doctor can evaluate unexplained pelvic or low back pain with imaging and, if needed, a bone density assessment to understand the underlying cause.
A weak sacrum can lead to painful insufficiency fractures, especially when bone density is low.
Where this leads
WordThe sacrum can suffer insufficiency fractures from weak bone. Curious exactly what makes a break count as an insufficiency fracture?
Related words
The pelvis is the large, bowl-shaped bone structure that connects your spine to your legs and supports your body weight.
The ilium is the largest, uppermost part of the pelvis—the wide, curved bone you feel as your hip bone.
The lumbar spine is the lower part of your backbone, made up of five vertebrae (L1-L5) between your ribs and pelvis.…
An insufficiency fracture is a break that happens in bone already weakened by low bone density, caused by normal…
A pelvic fracture is a break in the ring of bones connecting the spine to the legs, often caused by a fall in older…
Trabecular bone is the spongy, honeycomb-like bone found inside structures like your spine and hip, providing…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
