Morning back pain

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Nachi, Jul 12, 2015.

  1. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    This is not much of a MA related question, but I thought I'd ask nonetheless :) For a few months now I've been waking up every morning (the exception being the nights when I don't have time to sleep for too long) with a middle back pain. It's never happened before and my back doesn't hurt normally nor when I lie down, just after the night, no matter if I sleep on my soft mattress or on the floor. The pain doesn't restrict any movements and dissapeares shortly after I get up, but it's still irritating.
    I tend to sleep on my side or on my belly or something in between. When I wake up and don't have to get up yet, but the back hurts, what helps is to try to align my back by putting the blanket under my waist. My only theory about what's the cause is that I have wide hips, maybe quite wide shoulders and smaller waist, so the spine isn't aligned and it hurts after several hours in that position. Anyone has the same problem? Or even better any idea how to prevent it? :confused:
     
  2. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Maybe it's the sleeping on your side that's causing the problem.

    If your legs are too straight it can pull your lower back into an arched position.

    Too bent and they can pull the back into a rounded position, especially if you have tight hamstrings.

    You can put a pillow between your legs, which stops the torso twisting.

    If you lay on your back do you get any lower back pain? If so does pulling your knees up 90 degrees ease the pain?

    If so you have tight psoas muscles. I had this and it wasn't funny. You could put a pillow under your knees to ease to ease the tight hips.

    I think some trial and error is in order here.

    Keep a diary on how you slept, the measures you took and how you felt the following day.

    Best of luck.

    My other advice would be to send a PM to Late for Dinner, as he's a physiotherapist.
     
  3. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    i sleep in a freefall sometimes and sometimes in foetus position and have similar back pain.
    someone recommended that i raise one knee while sleeping in freefall and put a pillow under it or put a pillow between my legs in foetus.
    [​IMG]

    greatly reduced my discomfort
     
  4. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Thank you for the tips! As for the answers:

    When sleeping on side, I tend to bend my legs to approx. 90 degrees, but I think I do twist my torso, so I'll try the pillow thing. :)

    My back doesn't hurt normally, nor when I lie on my back. Except in the morning, until I get up, it hurts nonstop, no matter my position, the only thing easing the pain being putting a pillow/blanket or something under my waist. I'll try to lie on the back and lifting the legs in the morning and see if there's any difference.
    If I'm not mistaken, the psoas mucles bend the body to the sides, right? I think I'm fairly flexible that way and in hips in general, so I hope this won't be the issue...

    Otherwise, yep, I'll be experimenting. I thought about sleeping on my back, but that's just impossible. I have trouble falling asleep normally and I just can't do that :D
     
  5. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Thanks for the insight! :) My sleeping position according to this is either the foetus or a freefaller, but with one knee raised, as you wrote. I haven't tried the pillow, yet, I probably should :) Thanks.
     
  6. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    It is very important to alternate which knee you raise in that "freefall" position, as well as which way your head is turned.

    The problem with sleeping on your belly is that you are arching your spine.

    Remember that there is no such thing as a "correct" position for the spine. You have to vary how you hold it to stop problems arising over time.

    Also, soft mattresses are the work of the devil and the enemy of spines! I recently spent 9 days sleeping in a tent with no cushioning whatsoever, and my back hasn't felt so good for ages! One night on a soft mattress afterwards and my back was complaining the next morning.

    Any stretching routine that includes both flexion and extension of the spine is good. I like to do a modified version of the Yoga Sun Salutation - like a shortened version of this video, but when I do "downward dog" I have my thoracic spine as the highest pont, rather than my hips, to give extreme flexion and rounding.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP6O9Yg35vg"]Yoga Sun Salutation for Beginners - YouTube[/ame]
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2015
  7. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    I do alternate the knees and the way the head is facing, but that is, you know, just before I fall asleep...

    Yeah, I have this mattress for years, it's really comfy, but already "spent lying" (if that's the correct word?), so after my back started hurting, I tried a harder matress, but nothing changed and after two trials on the floor with my back still hurting I decided the (main) problem probably isn't in where I sleep.
    I can believe that. :) The longest I spent sleeping on a hard surface (not floor, but a wooden bench) was for a month I spent in Siberia. I remember that once with supplies they brought us some cheap matresses, but I didn't even think about using mine as the bench felt weirdly comfortable and the mattress didn't fit there too well anyway :)

    Thanks for the video. I will try. But I'm not sure if it's going to help, since my back is perfectly fine during the day... :(
     
  8. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Just because your back hurts after sleeping, that doesn't mean that strengthening and stretching it under different circumstances won't help!

    Another exercise that did wonders for my back is lying on your front on the floor, keep your hips on the ground, lift your shoulders off the ground for one long exhalation, then your legs (kept straight), then both at the same time. Repeat 3 times and alternate which side your head is facing.
     
  9. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    You're probably right. Now you reminded me that I've been given some similar exercises to strenghten my back years ago on rehabilitations because I was told I had scoliosis. There were at least seven of them and I think I could remember them and could give it a try! :) My back isn't perfectly straight, there might be some minor problems, but it never hurt (unless under big pressure for example, but that's pretty normal, I think). I was told my best option is to strenghten the muscles, but I think karate helped me plenty with that.
     
  10. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Doing those exercises again sounds like a good idea to me. There's no harm in complimenting your karate with supplementary exercises.
     
  11. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Right you are :bow1:
     
  12. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    I imagine the scoliosis may be the primary cause of the problem (if that's what caused it last time, and you haven't been doing the physio) , but its only symptomatic after lying on an old mattress for a several hours, its worth mentioning to your Dr/physiotherapy/back specialist when you see them next, in case the scoliosis has developed, or if different exrrcises may be better, and potentially try out a memory foam bed/ pillow in the shop and see if that may help.
     
    Last edited: Jul 13, 2015
  13. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    I haven't been doing the exercises, but there was no previous time, my back never hurt. The scoliosis was found at a regular check by my doctor, when I was like 10 or 11... I was sent for some rehabilitations, but that was it, I never heard about it again. I heard some people can outgrow it at that age. My doctor told me it can't be repaired, but I can prevent my back hurting at a later age by strenghtening the muscles.
    Yep, that sounds reasonable. Thanks for the tips :)


    Tonight I tried the trick with the pillow between knees when lying on the side. And yes, I did help! It doesn't hurt at all. Ok, I can feel a little tightness, but I'm pretty sure that's because I cheated close to the morning... :)
    Also triev lying on my back, but didn't feel any discomfort at all, so hopefully, no psoas musles problem :)
     

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