How To Sleep Better if You Have Lower Back Pain

How to Sleep with Lower Back Pain: Easy Tricks to Feel Better Fast

Everyone needs good sleep.

But it gets pretty hard to get it when acute pain in your lower back suddenly awakes you from a peaceful dream. And if you suffer from chronic lower back pain, getting quality shut-eye on a regular basis may become a real challenge.

Thankfully, there are some ways to get relief so that you could peacefully drift offand not experience painful awakenings throughout the night.

But first, let’s take a look at possible causes.

Why May Lower Back Pain Bother You While You’re Asleep?

This might sound surprising, but chronic medical conditions aren’t the only reasons for that.

In fact, your lumbar region may ache because of the following:

• Strains. The most common reason for lower back pain is too much load put on the lumbar area. This region of your spine has many ligaments and tendons, and when they become overstretched, you can experience pain and stiffness. Besides, lifting heavy weights or making sharp movements may trigger a spasm in the back muscles, resulting in pain as well.
• Misalignment. Naturally, our spine has three arches — in the neck, chest, and lower back regions. These arches ensure amortization while you move your torso or walk. But if you have problems with posture, such as lordosis or scoliosis, then your spine goes out of alignment, which can contribute to pain.
• Your weight. Overweight people who love to sleep on the back or stomach, typically have the weakest point of their spine located in the lumbar area. Since excess weight often concentrates around the hips or in the stomach region, it can put too much load on the lower back, which, as mentioned above, causes pain.
• Old mattress. An old mattress literally means an unsupportive mattress. Instead of creating a uniform sleeping surface and supporting your spine’s natural alignment, it adds awkward angles to your spine, straining the muscles and leading to pain.

These factors may not look serious if you’re 20 years old. But as you age, constant misalignment and frequent strainsinterfere with the changes in your bone structure and may lead to chronic inflammation and pain. That’s why it’s crucial to address these issues as soon as you notice them.

So, How to Get Relief from Lower Back Pain During Sleep?

Simplicity is genius, you must know that. The two key steps you should take to make sleeping with lower back pain easier are very simple too.

Revise Your Sleeping Position

A poor sleeping position could be an underlying cause of your lower back pain. According to science, certain sleeping positions may be more beneficial for people with lower back pain. So, the first thing you should do is revise how you sleep now and if necessary, consider changing your position to a more comfortable one:

• Supine position. Sleeping on the back is considered the healthiest for most back issues. In this position, your spine stays in its natural alignment, allowing your deep muscles to relax.
• Reclined back sleeping. Sleeping on a reclined surface — whether using a wedge pillow, an adjustable bed base, or a recliner — alleviates the pressure on the lumbar area and hence, gives you relief. People with chronic back conditions often are adviced to sleep like this.
• Side sleeping with a pillow between the knees. Overweight sleepers may benefit the most from this sleeping position. Putting a thin pillow between the knees helps remove the curve in the waist area and relax all the muscles there.

Upgrade Your Mattress

Another way to provide fast relief is to replace your mattress.

If your bed is more than seven years old, you’ll probably need to get a new one, which will give your spine proper support. Of course, not everyone is ready to do this at once, but investing in a good mattress topper designed for back pain reliefis a good start. This will help alleviate sagging and enhance the overall feel of your bed without tearing a hole in your pocket.

However, you should remember that using a mattress pad is just a temporary solution, and it won’t mask severe indentations. Besides, its lifespan is about 3-5 years, so you would still have to replace your mattress sooner or later.

Take the Lead: Working Tips for Preventing Lower Back Pain

Now, the best treatment method is prevention, so if your lower back pain isn’t severe and you want to prevent it from becoming progressive, doing a few more simple things regularly will help.

Drink Water

Water is highly essential for overall health, and for the condition of your bones and spine in particular.

Thing is, the spine consists of many small bones and intervertebral disks, and this entire construction requires lubrication in order to stay flexible. Thus, drinking water will promote flexibility, as water is the main component of a synovial liquid that prevents friction of the joints and helps maintain their health.

Try Massage (Or Acupressure)

A massage session can unlock the deep muscle knots and relieve painso that you could sleep better. Incorporating massage into your life can do you a huge favor and keep your spine healthy for longer.

And the best thing is, you don’t necessarily have to attend a specialist. An electrical massager or a chair with massage functions could a nice alternative.

Also, you can purchase an acupressure rug — the one with lotus-shaped spikes — and lie on it for 10-20 minutes. The spikes will promote blood flow in the lower back and can significantly decrease the pain, according to studies.

Work on Flexibility

Another way to alleviate existing lower back pain, as well as preventing it initially, is to build a strong muscle corset in your torso. The muscles will keep the spine properly aligned and help it withstand bigger loads.

The most effective types of physical activity for building core muscles are yoga and pilates. These activities mostly use body weight and static loads, which makes them suitable for older people.

For chiro treatment for back pain, please browse chiropractic providers near you on ZendyHealth. Or you can Request Price Quotes for a chiropractic exam and adjustment.