How To Stop Waking Up With Back Pain

You want to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to attack the day, but that’s hard to do if you’re regularly waking up with lingering back discomfort. Don’t let morning back pain start your day off on the wrong foot. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at some treatment techniques to consider if you are waking up with back pain every morning.

Putting An End To Morning Back Pain

Morning back pain could be caused by a number of different issues, so while the following tips may end up being helpful, your best bet is to connect with a spine specialist like Dr. Sinicropi who can figure out what is going on in your spine and how to best treat it. With that said, many patients with mild to moderate back discomfort in the morning find that symptoms improve by pursuing a combination of the following treatments.

• Daily Exercise – You may think that daily exercise is only going to put more stress on your spine, and that’s true to an extent. With that said, your spine craves controlled exercise and activity. This healthy stress challenges your spine and the muscles that support it. Over time, this stress helps to strengthen muscle groups and decrease instability in your spinal column that could be contributing to your morning discomfort. Strive to carve out 30-45 minutes of low-impact exercise a couple of times throughout the week, and you may notice that you’re waking up with a newfound spring in your step.
• Improve Your Posture – The fact of the matter is that most people don’t have great posture. We’re prone to slump, slouch and hunch forward, and that puts an increased amount of strain on different parts of your spine. This can passively stress our spine throughout the day, and although sleep is a restorative process that helps your body recover from the rigors of the day, if you have poor posture for an extensive portion of your day, you may still wake up sore. Make some adjustments to your seated and standing posture if you notice you are out of alignment.
• Check Your Bed – How long has it been since you replaced your mattress? Even though mattresses are more durable than ever before, they can wear out over the years if we’re always sleeping in the same spot. A common rule of thumb is to replace your mattress every 7-10 years, so if you’re past that window, consider looking into a more supportive mattress that can better protect your spine as you sleep.
• Stretch – Our muscles are relaxed while we’re sleeping, and if you jump out of bed and rush to get dressed, your muscles have to quickly transition from an inactive to an active state, and that can lead to discomfort or even pain. Give yourself a few extra minutes in the morning and slowly stand up and do some light stretches before you attack the day, as this will help make this transition period easier on the tissues that support your spine.
• Connect With A Specialist – As we mentioned in the introduction, back pain is highly specific to the individual, so what works for one person may not work for you. Sync up with a spine specialist like Dr. Sinicropi to undergo a comprehensive evaluation. This will help your doctor understand what’s going on in your spine and which treatments would likely prove most effective. There’s a good chance they’ll recommend some targeted physical therapy exercises along with some of the techniques mentioned above. Odds are you’ll notice some improvement, but on the off chance that back pain is still persistent in the morning, your doctor can talk with you about your surgical options.

Don’t let your day get off to a bad start because of back pain. Take some simple proactive steps and work with a physician to put an end to your back pain. For more information, or for help with a different spinal issue, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

Related