Why My Back Pain When I Wake Up

Symptoms Of Middle Back Pain

Usually, the symptoms depend upon the underlying reason for the pain. Some of the most common symptoms of the middle backache are:

• Dull type of pain and discomfort below neck
• Muscle aches in the back
• A burning sensation in the mid of back which may also be felt in upper and lower limbs.
• Sometimes sharp or stabbing pain is felt. This happens due to the tearing of discs or cartilages.
• Tightness, pain and stiffness is felt in muscles.

worse in the morning

Apart from these, some more serious symptoms may also happen like:

• Tingling sensations in the upper or lower extremities and chest.
• Chest pain
• Weakness in both upper and lower limbs.
• Bowel or bladder dysfunction, either continence or incontinence.

Additionally, if you suffer from middle back pain in general, but it tends to get worse in the morning, it is recommended to seek medical advice in case there could be something serious causing these symptoms.

Upon receiving a diagnosis, you may be able to choose from some of the following treatment options, that depend both on the cause of your pain, as well as intensity:

• Physical therapy
• Surgical intervention

How Do I Know If My Bed Is Causing Back Pain

How To Tell If Your Mattress Is Causing Back Pain

The 6 Big Causes Of Morning Back Pain

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Pain In The Middle Back Due To Scoliosis

Another reason for pain in the middle back after sleeping is scoliosis. Scoliosis is a curving of the back. Scoliosis is a congenital disease. The vertebrae are not nicely aligned but form a curve. The middle back often is the bending point in scoliosis: this is where the misalignment is located. In congenital scoliosis, the back hurts when it is straightened. Dorsoo has a unique bed with a mattress that adjusts to the requirements of the back and supports the scoliosis where necessary, without pain and discomfort, because the natural curve of the back is respected.

When Should You See A Doctor

If you’re suffering from morning back pain that doesn’t get better with self-care measures, you’ll want to speak with your doctor. It’s essential that you seek medical treatment promptly if you’re experiencing severe pain that makes your day-to-day movement and activities difficult.

You should also see your doctor right away if your back pain occurs alongside any one or more of these symptoms:

• Weakness or loss of feeling in your legs or arms

• Bladder or bowel problems

• Sudden fever accompanying lower back pain

Your doctor will likely review your symptoms and medical history and perform a physical exam. They may also suggest imaging tests, such as CT scans, X-rays, or MRIs, to help diagnose the underlying cause of your morning back pain.

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Can Memory Foam Hurt Your Back

A memory foam mattress can hurt your back if the mattress is too soft, too firm, too thin, lacks support, is sagging, is placed on the wrong frame, hasnt had enough time to adjust to your physical characteristics or simply isnt a good fit for your body weight, body type, or dominant sleeping position.

You Have A Bone Condition

Sometimes bone issues are the cause of your pain after sleeping, Dr. Drake says. Take, for instance, arthritis in your spine, which can cause pain and stiffness along your back, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

If your arthritis is the result of age-related wear and tear, it can also contribute to a condition called degenerative disc disease. This is when the cushion between your spinal joints deteriorates and can cause back pain, stiffness, tingling, numbness and weakness, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The fix: How you deal with your arthritis depends on what form of the condition you have, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Some types of arthritis like osteoarthritis are the result of aging, whereas other kinds like rheumatoid arthritis are autoimmune and cause excess inflammation.

Accordingly, visit your doctor to determine how to best treat your specific condition.

In general, though, certain natural remedies for arthritis may ease your symptoms, including:

• Exercising regularly

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Why Youre Experiencing Lower Back Pain In The Morning

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Morning pain in your lower back is usually an indication of several health factors. It may be due to certain lifestyle habits likes carrying extra weight or living a sedentary life. This may cause repeated wear and tear on the muscles on your lower back while placing addition pressure and strain.

Just imagine you have a full night of restful sleep. You start making your way out of your bed when all of a sudden you begin feeling the aching feeling in your lower back. But why? Why do you always seem to notice that your lower back pain is at its peak when you wake up in the morning?

The pain might start as a twinge. Then maybe, a dull ache. After some time, it may just feel like pain that radiates. In short, lower back pain can be an inconvenient and unpleasant experience for many.

If you are suffering from chronic lower back pain there may be a few reasons why. But lets first discuss what your lower back is, why pain in that location matters, and some common causes for morning pain.

Why Your Mattress Is Important For Back Pain

You may have the wrong mattress if you are experiencing back pain every morning. Your bed may not be the problem, but a good mattress can alleviate back pain.

Your spine will be aligned if you have a good mattress thats well-suited to your needs. This alignment can help to relieve aches and discomforts. For those with lower back pain, a mattress should not put pressure on the sacrum and shoulders. The right mattresses are firm enough to ensure your shoulders dont sink but soft enough for you to feel comfortable. On the mattress firmness scale, aim for a rating of 5-7 .

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Getting Out Of Bed Improperly

How a person gets out of bed can be vital to preventing early morning aches and pains. Even if a person is well-rested, rising too quickly or bending too far forward when getting out of bed can place a strain on the back.

To reduce the risk of morning back pain and stiffness, a person should follow these steps:

• Begin by moving slowly to the edge of the bed.
• Using the arms for leverage, transfer to a sitting position with the legs dangling off the side of the bed.
• After taking a few seconds to adjust to this position, slowly place the feet on the floor and stand up.

What Is Your Lower Back

Your lower back is located in the lumbar region of your spine. Your lumbar region supports much of your upper body. The spinal column is composed of vertebrae that are padded with intervertebral discs. Your spinal column is also composed of a complex system of bones, nerves, and tissue.

This complex system serves as the mechanisms that allow the body to move and feel physical sensations. These spinal nerves are responsible for interpreting pain sensations and transmitting pain signals to the brain. Cushioning each vertebrae, these jelly-like discs work as shock absorbers protecting the spinal column and the body .

When your lumbar region becomes irritated or injured, the nerves in your spinal canal message the brain to feel pain. You may begin experiencing pain when standing or walking, and at different intervals throughout the day.

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Causes Of Back Pain In The Morning

Why does your back hurt? In most cases, the reason your back may be sore when you first wake up is simple: long periods of rest and decreased blood flow can make the muscles in the back feel stiff. A bit of movement is usually all it takes to alleviate this pain. It may also occur more often when youve slept in an odd position. However, if the pain is persistent or occurs every day, it may be a result of more chronic problems like stress and poor posture.

Get Exercise Throughout The Day

Regular exercise throughout the day is key to alleviating back pain. Walking is among the best exercises, and you should aim for at least 10,000 steps per day. However, anything that gets you moving and on your feet can help keep your back strong.

Also, if you have an office job that involves sitting, its important to take frequent breaks. Stand up at least once every 30 minutes and stretch. Standing desks can also help keep the pressure off your back during the day at work so you wont suffer the consequences the next morning.

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Is There Such A Thing As Poor Posture When Sleeping

Yes, but I believe its rare for it to be bad enough to matter much. As discussed already, most awkward postures during sleep involve relatively minor postural stresses being a little twisted this-a-way or that-a-way that we tolerate for too long because were unconscious. Such postural stresses arent a bad habit in any meaningful sense. But it is also possible to be so habitually careless with sleeping position that it does constitute poor posture. If you know that a particular sleeping position is uncomfortable for you, but you keep sleeping like that, thats a poor sleeping posture.

Or is it a bad habit if you cant stop it? If its something you do habitually but unconsciously? This is a philosophical puzzle for the reader to work out.

Habitual sleeping position is clearly a factor in some back pain. Just about the only study ever done on this topic showed a small improvement in a few back pain patients who were instructed regarding the recommended way to sleep which basically meant a more neutral position.24 The benefit was real but small. I think conscious sleep positioning is only a minor factor in low back pain, and tough to fix. Usually we dont even suspect a problem with our sleep posture until its too late! For most people, trying to work on sleeping position probably does not offer particularly good bang for buck.

Alternate Sides If Youre A Side Sleeper

Some evidence suggests that habitually sleeping on one side on an ill-fitting mattress may contribute to muscle imbalance and pain. Always sleeping on the same side suspends the middle of your body between your hips and shoulders, the broadest parts of the trunk. Place a pillow between your knees as shown below to keep hips, pelvis and spine aligned.

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Other Signs Of Inflammatory Back Pain

Back pain at night is one of the more obvious clues for inflammatory back pain, but there are other key signs to keep in mind as well. There are slightly different sets of criteria for inflammatory back pain, but generally speaking they include the following:

• Back pain improves with exercise or activity
• Back pain gets worse with rest
• Back pain in the morning that lasts more than 30 minutes
• Gradual, not sudden, onset

What Youre Sleeping On

The first of these might be your mattress and/or pillow. I personally use a firm mattress topped with 2 memory foam and find this very comfortable and supportive, says Dr. Carpenter.

Its important that your back is getting the proper support while you sleep. After all, we spend approximately one-third of our life sleeping.

Mattresses and foam can deform over time and should be replaced as they wear out. If you notice that yours is becoming bowl shaped or indented in one area, its time to go shopping for a new one.

Also, remember to turn the mattress regularly.

If a firm mattress doesnt help solve the problem, you may want to consider sleeping with your torso elevated to create some flexion in your lower spine.

Prolonged low back extension due to lying on your back on a hard surface can lead to aching muscles.

Torso elevation will prevent that little arch in your low back from forming.

Options are sleeping against a wedge pillow in a bed with an adjustable head or in a recliner chair.

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How Do You Treat Inflammaging Lifestyle Medicine

No one really knows, but its probably all about just being as fit and healthy as possible, and reducing biological vulnerabilities . Systemic inflammation is almost synonymous with being out of shape and all the bad habits that tend to go with it so these very general approaches to health can be considered inflammation treatments specifically. But they are also a sensible everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to treating any health problem we dont understand .

Their superpower is that its hard to actually waste your time doing this stuff. Its all good for you, whether it helps morning back pain or not.

What about more specific inflammation treatments? There are many. Obviously there are OTC anti-inflammatory drugs. They arent a long-term solution those drugs are too hard on the GI tract for anything but taking the edge off now and then. But they might do that, and if they do its also good diagnostic evidence that the issue is caused by inflammation. Inflammation can also be nuked by some more potent drug therapies, but those cures are definitely worse than the disease of morning back pain.

I have an article specifically about inflammation that goes into more detail about managing inflammation:

Some Common Reasons For Morning Lower Back Pain

Sometimes the causes for your morning lower back pain may be so simple you did not even think of them. The most obvious would be the quality of your mattress. If your mattress is more than 10 years old, lumpy and bumpy, you may be receiving no support. If your back is not supported while you sleep, the strain on your lower back magnifies. Your lumbar region carries the majority of that pressure during the day and if it does not have an opportunity for rest that pain will also magnify.

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What To Do If Your Back Hurts After Sleeping

Now lets check what you can do to prevent this condition from happening.

• Stretching in Bed

If youre experiencing back pain after you wake up, one thing you can do is stretch in bed. There are a few different stretches that you can try that target the muscles in your back and neck. You can find videos of these online or ask a physical therapist for advice on how to perform them correctly.

• Try a Different Sleeping Position

Another possible solution to stop waking up with back pain is to try sleeping in a different position. If you usually sleep on your stomach, try sleeping on your back instead, and if you sleep on your back, try sleeping on your side. This can help to decrease the amount of stress thats put on your spine as you move around during the night.

• Certain Yoga Poses

You can make your lower and upper back pain after sleeping go away by simply practicing yoga for a few minutes every day. There are some yoga poses suitable even for beginners, such as the cat-cow pose, sphinx pose, the childs pose, and bridge pose, which might be a great solution to this problem. For best results you should try meditating with the help of meditation tools.

• Daily Exercise

• Knee Bends

• Topical Remedies

Poor Quality Sleep And Insomnia Are Probably Major Causes Of Morning Back Pain

Dont get me wrong: some people sleep just fine and still have morning back pain. But poor quality sleep and pain tend definitely to go together,15 and mornings can be the roughest part of that link.

The more interesting question is the chicken/egg thing: which comes first? Pain or sleeplessness? Once you have both insomnia and pain, they surely cause each other, but one side of that equation is probably more important than the other, like a cyclist pushing much harder on one pedal than the other.

In 2017, Gerhart et al studied the which-came-first question of pain and insomnia in 105 chronic low back pain patients.16 Their subjects bravely filled out five detailed questionnaires per day for two weeks thats quite a lot of paperwork tracking and rating many aspects of their pain and sleep quality. The goal was to study lagged temporal associations: what tends to happen after what? Are bad sleeps often followed by bad days with back pain? Are rough days with back pain followed by lousy sleeps?

Yes and no to those two questions.

Poorer sleep was strongly linked to everything being worse which is about as surprising as a dog barking at a squirrel. Its the timing of that relationship that this study zoomed in on, and not only did a bad night clearly herald trouble across the board the next day more pain, more disability, more doom and gloom but especially during the early part of the day.

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