Lower back pain can leave you tossing and turning. We usually do not judge much on our patients’ sleeping positions as it is difficult to ask them to control and change their positions immediately. But a good sleeping position could help you to get better sleep at night if the pain is acute. This article will reveal the best and worst sleeping positions for low back pain.
The Best Sleeping Positions for Lower Back Pain
The best sleeping position for lower back pain is on your side with a partial bend in the knees. Keeping the knees bent helps to balance your body and minimizes pressure on the lower back. Furthermore, many people find it helpful to put a small pillow between their knees to make this position more comfortable.
The Worst Sleeping Position
Sleeping on your stomach is among the worst sleeping positions that are prone to back pain and compresses some joints, particularly spine and hip joints.
Remember your head can be turned to one side causing stretching of neck muscles and your spine can be totally arched at the waist.
How to Sleep Better With Lower Back Pain
Aside of getting yourself a supportive sleeping position, cultivating ‘sleeping hygiene’ is important to keep your back pain away while sleeping.
Adjust your pillows and mattress. Stock up on a few pillows of different thicknesses, shapes, and sizes to fill in any spaces between your body and the mattress. This extra support helps keep your spine neutral, offering pain relief.
Try relaxation methods. Finding techniques to wind down can put you in the right state of mind for sleep with less focus on pain.
- Reduce potential sleep disruptions. If you inadvertently wake up at night, pain may make it harder to get back to sleep. For that reason, try to eliminate excess noise and light from your bedroom or block them out with a sleep mask or earplugs. Set your bedroom to a temperature that will be comfortable throughout the night.
Conclusion
It is important to see a doctor or physiotherapist to check if there is any underlying problem than just pain. If you are experiencing a bad and serious low back pain and also have have tried to sleep with the pain for a period of time, do contact us or book an appointment with us.
KOH PEH CHIA
REHAB PILATES THERAPIST
Through her clinical experience, she then gained valuable experience in treating professional dancers and gymnastics athletes. Her interest in pre and post-natal physiotherapy was piqued as she finds women having difficulties maintaining an active lifestyle pre and post-childbirth. She then pursued a STOTT Rehab Pilates Instructor certification to help with this group and women. She also highlights her belief that prevention is a better way to handle injuries.
Due to its complexity and how much your body depends on it, it's no surprise that the lower back is the top hotspot for pain that may deprive you of a good night's sleep. Research indicates that eight out of ten people experience back pain in their lifetime, and lower back pain is one of the most common reasons people visit the doctor.
Back pain ranges from short-lived to long-lasting and severe, and if you experience pain, you're likely to experience poor sleep. Lower back pain makes it harder to find a comfortable sleeping position and get a good night's sleep. But, how do you eliminate back pain for better sleep?
Understanding the link between lower back pain and sleep offers various approaches to finding relief and quality sleep. So, if you're having trouble sleeping due to lower back pain, check out these tips that will help you ease pain and make your sleep much better.
3 Tips to Sleep Better With Low Back Pain
Not getting enough sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, generally makes you more sensitive to body pain. Quality sleep helps reduce lower back pain, and having a good mattress, adopting stretches, as well as knowing which sleeping positions to be in can help you cope with lower back pain. Bear in mind that these tips might be more temporary fixes that will help you manage your lower back pain before you eliminate the true root cause.
Find the Right Sleeping Position: How to Sleep With Lower Back Pain and Sciatica
The link between lower back pain and sleep can be tied to how your sleeping position interferes with spinal alignment. If you adopt sleeping positions that involve putting pressure on or twisting your lumbar spine, you're likely to experience stiffness and pain in your lower back. It's best to find a perfect sleeping position that's comfortable for you. Try these sleeping positions to make your sleeping much more effortless.
Try sleeping on your side, place a pillow between your knees, and partially bend your knees towards your chest. Slightly bending your knees will help balance your body and reduce pressure or stress on your lumbar spine. Adding a pillow between your knees makes this sleeping position more comfortable, improves the alignment of your hips and pelvis, and can reduce pressure on nerves, thereby helping to relieve sciatica pain while sleeping.
If you're a back sleeper, consider using a pillow under your knees or legs for support. You can also roll up a towel and place it under your lower back to support your natural spine curve and reduce pressure on the joints and discs in the lumbar spine.
If you're a stomach sleeper, consider a thin pillow for your head, and use a more supportive pillow for your abdomen and hips. This way, you'll prevent your lower back from obtaining a U-shape that disorients your spine from its original alignment. However, if you can avoid sleeping on your stomach, please do so because the position exerts more strain on the lower back (possibly contributing to SI joint pain when sleeping) and can also cause neck pain.
Consider a Mattress That Helps Relieve Your Lower Back Pain
The choice of your mattress plays a crucial role in reducing or even preventing lower back pain. A mattress in good condition helps support the body and ensures proper spinal alignment for a good night's sleep. A medium-firm mattress improves pain among patients with chronic low back pain. Even though research recommends a medium-firm mattress to manage pain in the lower back, the appropriate firmness of a mattress generally depends on each person's body type and preferences. For instance, body weight, sleeping position, and your comfort preferences will determine the kind of mattress that will work best for you.
Experts indicate that you need to evaluate your mattress every six to eight years. Consider changing your optimal support and comfort to help you improve your lower back pain. And if your budget allows, don't be afraid to test a few mattress options to find what works best for you. Ensure that the mattress you choose supports you well and maintains your spine position.
Try Stretching and Massage to Ease Lower Back Pain
Back pain disrupts the ability to sleep well, which generally affects your daily activities and productivity. Poor sleep also exacerbates pain symptoms and contributes to other health issues like diabetes and weight gain. Back pain can also be linked to tension and stress, and incorporating stretching or yoga helps reduce lower back pain, relieve stress, and helps you sleep better. Massages, on the other hand, help loosen your muscles to ease the pain. All these practices will help you stretch your muscles, lift your mood, and help you relax to ensure you properly manage your lower back pain.
Confirm with a professional on safe poses that will help you reduce the pain rather than make your back pain worse. Practicing stretches or yoga under an expert instructor will also ensure you practice the poses and breathe correctly – which is the secret behind relaxation. For more detailed information about stretching, check out the Tight Hip Twisted Core, which clearly demonstrates helpful information about stretching and muscle release. In the book, you'll be able to understand how muscle knots develop, and how you can handle them to reduce pain.
Release Muscles to Solve Low Back Pain for Good
Chronic lower back pain is a common and frustrating problem. According to a study conducted by the CDC, approximately 39% of adults in the US experienced back pain during that year. Some of the problems people encounter include nerve pain due to knotted and tensed muscles, posture problems due to tight muscles, and lower back pain from tightness in the hips. Even though working on your posture or sleeping position, getting a good mattress, and doing stretches help ease your lower back pain, all these are temporary fixes. If you can't sleep due to lower back pain and are looking to solve the problem for good, you need to eliminate the root cause, often chronically tight muscles.
So, do you want to eliminate back pain for better sleep? The secret to your problem may be the Hip Hook. The Hip Hook tool is an excellent solution to releasing chronically tight muscles to eliminate the pain at its source. The device is specifically designed to release or relieve tension in your iliacus and psoas, two of your hip flexor muscles (together known as the iliopsoas muscles) that connect to your lower back, hips, and pelvis.
The unique design of the tool allows you to apply precise perpendicular and angular pressure to the otherwise hard-to-reach psoas and iliacus muscles in a similar way that an experienced practitioner could work on your body. Therefore, using your Hip Hook for a few minutes each day helps you release tension, realign your pelvis and spine, and eliminate your back pain.
FAQs About Sleeping Better With Low Back Pain
What Causes Low Back Pain at Night?
Low back pain at night indicates a potential problem with the spine. Low back pain at night can be caused by problems with your spine, chronically tight muscles, fractures, or sprains. However, if you wake up each morning with low back pain, the problem might be your sleeping posture or using an unsupportive mattress. Other causes of low back pain at night include doing too much exercise without adequate recovery or getting out of your bed improperly.
How Can I Sleep Better With Low Back Pain?
The best way to sleep better with lower back pain is by finding the proper sleeping position. For instance, when sleeping on your side, try a slight bend in the knees with a pillow between the knees. By making some simple changes in your normal sleeping posture, you can eliminate strain from your lower back and spine.
In addition to your sleeping position, choosing the right mattress will help you sleep better with lower back pain. When selecting a mattress, avoid mattresses that are too hard or too soft. The hard mattresses are too stiff and may worsen the pain. On the other hand, the softer mattress may seem more comfortable but provides less support. For instance, the sinking of a softer mattress may hold your spine in an arched position.
Lastly, consider a foam mattress topper to provide additional support if you have a spring mattress. You can also opt to place a plywood board under your soft mattress to increase firmness. These are the main ways to help you sleep better if you have lower back pain.
What's the Best Way to Get Rid of Low Back Pain?
Low back pain can affect your sleep as well as your daily routine, and disrupting or not having the ability to have quality sleep makes everything worse. Even though you can incorporate tips to ease your pain, having a solid solution is essential. The best way to get rid of lower back pain is by tackling the root cause of the pain. You can achieve long-term pain relief through using the Hip Hook, a tool that's specifically designed to release tension in your iliopsoas muscles, which are often the main cause of lower back pain.