What can cause morning back pain? Morning back pain can stem from a problem with sleeping posture, mattress, or pillows. However, a hurting back in the morning can also indicate a problem, such as degenerative disk disease or fibromyalgia. Waking up with back pain can slow down a person's start on the day.
Back pain red flags – Night Pain
Back pain that worsens at night or while you're sleeping might indicate something more severe like an infection or cancer. This is especially true if you also have other symptoms in addition to your back discomfort when you sleep or relax.
Nighttime back pain may be caused by a variety of factors, including poor posture, inadequate support from the mattress or pillow, underlying medical conditions, or previous injuries. It is important to address back pain at night as it can lead to sleep disturbances, fatigue, and reduced quality of life.
Call your doctor immediately if your middle back pain is accompanied by a feeling of tightness or pressure in your chest that radiates to your shoulders and arms, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, and/or vomiting.
Unsupportive Sleep Position
If you feel lower back pain every morning after sleeping, your sleep position. View Source could be at fault. Sleeping in an unsupportive position can increase pressure on your spine and lead to back pain.
If you feel you're sinking into your mattress and your spine is not able to maintain a neutral position, it might be the reason behind your back issues. A mattress that is too soft for you can start hurting your spine sooner than you realize. A mattress that is too hard causes joint pressure.
This includes spinal arthritis, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal), and degenerated, ruptured, or herniated discs. Osteoporosis, or thinning bones, can also cause middle back pain.
Contact your health care provider for back pain that: Lasts longer than a few weeks. Is severe and doesn't improve with rest. Spreads down one or both legs, especially if the pain goes below the knee.
If the pain lasts four weeks or longer. If the pain keeps getting worse as time goes by. If you are experiencing other symptoms, such as fever, major weight loss or weight gain, loss of function or weakness in extremities, bladder problems, etc.
If your back pain wakes you up in the middle of the night or appears when you're in certain positions, such as lying down, then this could be a sign of a more serious problem. It could be a sign of a more systematic problem such as an infection, fracture, severe nerve compression or even cancer.
The best position to avoid back pain is lying flat on your back. Even so, many people find it the hardest way to enjoy deep sleep. For optimal spine alignment, place one pillow underneath your head or neck and another underneath your knees.
The best sleeping position to reduce pain and avoid injury is on your side, according to research. If you sleep on your back or stomach the risk of developing back pain increases by 23 percent. Side sleeping positions can be made more comfortable with a thin pillow between the knees.
Some symptoms (often called "red flag" symptoms) may suggest that the back pain has a more serious cause. These include fever, recent trauma, weight loss, a history of cancer and neurological symptoms, such as numbness, weakness or incontinence (involuntary loss of urine or stool).
Muscle strains are the most common cause. Different types of arthritis, sciatica, and spinal changes can also lead to nighttime back pain.
Sharp pain rather than a dull ache: This could indicate a torn muscle or ligament, or a problem with an internal organ in the back or side. 2. Radiating pain: This pain "moves" or shoots to the glutes or legs, which could indicate a nerve compression condition. Radiating pain could be a sign of nerve damage.
Acute (short-term) back pain lasts a few days to a few weeks. It usually resolves on its own within a few days with self-care and there is no long-term loss of function. Chronic back pain is pain that continues for 12 weeks or longer, even after an initial injury or underlying cause of back pain has been treated.
Kidney pain vs back pain
Spine-related issues can also cause back pain to sometimes radiate down your legs. In comparison, kidney pain is typically located higher on your back and it often feels deeper. Most of the time, kidney pain symptoms occur under your ribs, to the right or left of your spine.
A number of cancers can metastasize to the spine, including breast cancer, testicular cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer. In fact, approximately 25% of people with lung cancer report back pain as a symptom.
People commonly think their back pain comes from their kidney. But it's more likely that your discomfort is due to muscle spasm or strain or a spine-related problem. The kidneys are located higher than most people realize (see image).
Tummy or back pain
People describe it as a dull pain that feels like it is boring into you. It can begin in the tummy area and spread around to the back. The pain is worse when you lie down and is better if you sit forward. It can be worse after meals.
The Wrong Pillow Can Cause Discomfort
The wrong pillow can intensify headaches, neck and back pain, shoulder and arm numbness, discomfort, sneezing, and wheezing. Therefore it is important to know how your pillow can affect these things.
Doctors used to recommend that patients with chronic pain sleep on a firmer mattress. However, studies have shown that people with low back pain who slept on hard beds had the poorest sleep quality. Firm mattresses are not recommended if you have more severe back conditions including scoliosis and arthritis.
As a general rule, a soft mattress is not suitable for back pain. The best mattress for back pain is both responsive, supportive, and designed to be medium-firm. A soft bed lacks support, leading to muscle tension and back pain.