Back Pain At Night - What Causes It?

There are many different possible causes of back pain at night, this article highlights the most common causes and cures for nocturnal back pain.

The majority of people will experience nocturnal back pain at some point during their life. The pain may be sharp and stabbing or dull and throbbing, brief or constant, acute and sudden or chronic and seemingly unending. Back pain can haunt a person for a number of reasons, including injury due to accident or fall, improper lifting technique or lifting too much, spinal misalignment, bone spurs, or even just being out of shape. Regardless of the cause, the one thing everyone desires in this situation is a solution, allowing for the relief of the pain and a resumption of their life. Rapid relief from back pain, allowing the body to begin the healing process, is possible.

Improper Back Alignment

In many of the situations surrounding back pain at night, the cause is simple improper back alignment. Proper bodily alignment should reduce discomfort, lowering the volume of "tossing and turning" resulting in greater levels of uninterrupted sleep and a significant decrease in aches, pains, and morning stiffness. Ongoing spinal misalignment increases the risk of further degeneration of the back over time. Initially, knowing proper body position when sleeping helps. Unfortunately, people often arrange their body in the worst positions, believing they are the healthiest. When sleeping on your side, they might bend their upper knee towards the chest. This has the effect of removing all support for the upper leg, resulting in twisting of the spine. Ultimately, this can result in the generation or increase of back pain. Generally, it is a good idea to place a pillow between the legs. This prevents unhealthy knee pressure and helps to keep the spine properly aligned. Preventing torsion on the spine and avoiding undue knee pressure are critical. Proper bodily alignment in this way can help you achieve a healthy, restorative sleep. Of additional concern could be the mattress, as in considering acquiring a new one. Many clinical sleep studies are available to provide a wealth of information to the public. Most of this information can be accessed via the Internet. The best sleeping surface and pillow setup can be found for your problem.

Treatment

While bodily alignment is good, it may not be your primary problem, especially if you are out of shape. Daily exercise and proper weight control are essential, and generally require and appropriate diet. Maintaining an appropriate regimen of these is never a bad thing. However, failing everything else, you might want to consider a nice, hot bath, hot tub, or heating pad. They even have pain patches available over the counter that can provide some level of relief.

Regardless of the primary cause of your back pain at night, proper alignment is still one of the biggest considerations. Appropriate mattress form and pillow placement can contribute to your deep sleep, but never neglect the importance of keeping fit. Any one of these can help, but when combined, they should be more than a little effective at fighting your pain. Unfortunately, too many Americans suffer unnecessarily due to poor weight, improper posture and alignment, and a failure to exercise, all of which can contribute to their back pain.