Column It’s impossible to sleep because of my strained back! What is the stress free way to sleep during these times?
A strained lower back that suddenly hurts when you lift something heavy and can’t move.
When lower back pain suddenly occurs, it is not uncommon to not be able to sleep through the night, or even if you do sleep, you wake up with pain the moment you turn over.
This time, we will explain how to sleep without straining your lower back when you suffer from a strained lower back.
Symptoms and causes of a strained back
If you have a strained back, you need to be careful about the way and position that you sleep in.
How to sleep on your back
The key to sleeping on your back is to place your feet in a higher position to reduce the strain on your lower back.
If you sleep with your legs stretched out, your pelvis will be pulled, putting strain on your lower back and prolonging the pain.
We recommend placing a rolled up towel or blanket under your knees and sleeping with your knees bent at 90 degrees.
How to sleep on your side
Even when sleeping on your side, it is important to bend your legs. By placing cushions between your knees, your hips and legs will be level, stabilizing your pelvis and relieving pain. You can also sleep more comfortably by curling up a little, like the fetal position.
If the pain is severe even when you sleep on your side, one option is to use a body pillow. It is a good idea to prepare a body pillow that is large enough to hold your body in a natural position.
The type of bedding is also important
In order to be able to sleep comfortably even with strained backs, you need to be careful when choosing bedding. We do not recommend using soft mattresses. If you use soft bedding, especially something like a memory foam mattress, your lower back will end up sinking into it, putting strain on your lower back when you get up or turn over. Thus, ifyou have a strained lower back, we recommend changing to a firmer mattress or futon, even temporarily.
The wrong way to sleep when your back is strained
When a person has a strained back, many people try to sleep in a position that is comfortable for them, but there are actually some sleeping positions that are unacceptable.
Here we will introduce some the wrong way to sleep with a strained back.
Placing a cushion under your lower back
First of all, it is not a good idea to sleep with a towel or cushion placed under your waist. Placing a cushion or other object under your lower back can cause your body to become distorted, which may worsen your lower back pain.
If you are someone who habitually uses a cushion under their waist, you should be especially careful. Also, if the lumbar cushion is too thick, it will cause your back to curve and arch. On the other hand, if the cushion is too thin, the weight of your body will be concentrated on your lower back, which may increase the burden on your lower back.
Sleeping on your stomach
Lying on your stomach is also one of the ways to sleep that puts a lot of strain on your lower back.
Sleeping on your stomach for long periods of time can increase tension in your lower back, which can make your back pain worse. Also, when you wake up, you’ll end up sitting on your lower back, which increases the pain.
People who find it easier to sleep on their stomach tend to have less flexibility in their lumbar spine. In this case, it is necessary to improve the condition, so we recommend that you consult a lumbar pain specialist.
Not tossing and turning
It is also a no-no to sleep with your body fixed because your lower back hurts when you turn over.
Turning over in bed relieves tension in your body. Also, since the direction in which the weight is applied can be changed, the burden will not be biased to one side.
It is important to use bedding that makes it easy to turn over. Bedding that is too soft will make it difficult to turn over and should be avoided.
Sleeping on the painful side
Sleeping on the side where your lower back hurts can worsen blood flow and slow recovery. Also, your lower back becomes overstrained, which can make the pain worse. When sleeping on your side, it is recommended to sleep with the painful side facing up.
Sleeping in a corset
It’s not good to sleep in a corset, especially when you have lower back pain.
Corsets tighten your waist for long periods of time, which can impair blood flow and worsen the pain instead of improving it. If you have a strained back, take off your corset when you sleep to free up your body.
If you continuously have a strained back or it occurs regularly, fundamental treatment is important
Our clinic provides treatment for strained backs caused by intervertebral discs.
The nucleus pulposus, which is the cushioning component of the intervertebral disc, leaks out little by little, and the disc gradually collapses. When an intervertebral disc collapses, it can cause various diseases.
With our clinic’s Cellgel method, we inject a drug that fills the cracked part of the intervertebral disc, and it turns into a gel to repair the crack, making it possible to perform fundamental treatment. The disc volume does not decrease, and the drug remains in the disc as a gel-like implant after treatment, so the disc is preserved.
In addition, our clinic also carries out “low back pain specialized rehabilitation” which can treat strained lower backs caused by facet joints and strained lower backs caused by fascia and muscles.
If you are worried about a strained back, please consider seeing a doctor at our clinic.
