If you have lower back pain, then you can know how bad mornings can be. You wake up, try to pull yourself out of bed, and are crippled by how stiff your back is. It can be enough to make you want to skip out work and lie in bed for the entire day. The night is supposed to provide us a reserve of energy and regeneration so that we are ready to take on the day, but you have first-hand experience on just how much of an ordeal it can be to sleep comfortably when you have back pain. However, you could be putting your back through unnecessary pain by sleeping in the wrong positions.
How are your back pain and sleep connected? The positions that are sleeping in could be putting a large amount of stress on your back. One of the best joint pain treatments for back pain is to alter the way that you are sleeping. We are about to unveil the five best sleeping positions for those who have back pain.
Lying down
This may sound silly, but the first thing that you should be doing if you have back pain is to sleep lying down. So many people sleep sitting up on their couch after watching television into the early hours of the night, at the desks after working into the night, and some people even sleep facing down on their beds with their knees and heads pulled down in a crouching position. None of these positions are good for back pain. During the night, you need to give your body the chance to unwind and relax. Lying down put your muscles at ease and allows the body to let go of tension and stress that have built up throughout the day.
Sleeping on your side with a pillow between the legs
Sleeping on your side is one of the greatest sleeping positions for people with lower back pain. But you need to do a few things to make sure that it is safe for back pain. When people sleep one side, the leg on top tends to roll forward and down so that it can be on the mattress. If this happens, it can create a twisting pressure on the lower back, and create pain in the back rather than relieve it.
In order to maximize sleeping on your side, you should put a long pillow in between your legs that are pulled to the side. This will alleviate the pressure that has a tendency to build when your body is in a twisted position. You should make sure that the pillow is sturdy enough to add a significant amount after it is placed underneath the top leg.
Sleep on your back with a pillow under the knees
Sleeping on you back is another great position to for those with back pain but just like the previous section we have a tip that will change the way that you feel throughout the night and in the morning after sleeping on your back. You should put a pillow underneath your knees. Sleeping on your back is good because your back is straight which cuts out any twisting or contortion on the back. It can completely relax. Putting a pillow underneath the knees serves to realign the natural curve of the back instead of letting your spine collapse onto the mattress.
Sleep in the fetal position with a pillow underneath the head and the knees
Many people think that the fetal position is bad for those who have back pain. It’s not necessarily bad, but it depends on how you do it. Many people who sleep in the fetal position sleep without a pillow underneath the head and with the legs pulled dramatically into the body. The fetal position can be good because it allows the spine to open up but try not to use a significant amount of force to keep the knees locked into the chest. You should also make sure that you are using a pillow beneath the head and another pillow between the legs. The pillow underneath the head will protect the alignment of the neck and the pillow beneath the legs will help maintain the curve of the back and keep your legs in position so that they don’t pull too dramatically into the chest for joint pain treatment.
Sleep on your stomach with a pillow underneath the chest and stomach
This is not a great position for those with back pain. However, if you must sleep on your stomach put a pillow underneath your chest/stomach area. This will keep the back from inverting into the mattress.
In Conclusion
These are a few sleeping positions that will help anyone with back pain. If you don’t believe us try them out the next time, you sleep. After you try them, stick with the position that leaves you feeling rested and pain-free in the morning.
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