![]() Or bring your knees to your chest to loosen up your hips a little bit. ![]() This is called “abdominal bracing,” says Dr. When you wake up in the morning, if you’re lying on your back, squeeze your abdomen down into the bed to engage those core muscles. Here are simple stretches and exercises that you can do before bed to loosen up your back. The “motion is lotion” concept means you’re bringing nutrition and blood flow to the tissues in your spine when you move. This is why it’s important to build in behaviors and habits, like a gentle mobility routine, into an intentional nighttime wind-down routine, says Dr. Today, there’s a lack of separation between work and home for many due to COVID-19, so it’s easy for people to go right from the computer to bed. These fixes mean a person can still sleep in their preferred position, but they’re not putting as much stress on the tissues in their spine throughout the night. Similarly, stomach sleepers can put a small pillow under their stomach to help create a neutral spine. If that’s causing pain, place a pillow or two underneath the knees, which helps with low back pressure, and/or place a little towel roll underneath the arch of the low back to support that gap. If you sleep on your back, you might get an arch in your back in that position. Props like a pillow or rolled-up towel can also be helpful, says Dr. If you’re a stomach sleeper and you have neck pain, try using a skinnier pillow so your neck is not turned back as much, or if you’re using two pillows, use only one. You could even place a pillow next to your back so if you move from your side to your back in the middle of the night, you’d have a gentle reminder to stay on your side, adds Dr. If you’re sleeping on your back and that’s not working out, try sleeping on your side, says Dr. Stomach sleepers usually prefer a thin pillow so their neck isn’t contorted, while back and side sleepers can tolerate a thicker pillow as long as their spine stays neutral. Pillows should also help you achieve a neutral spine, adds Dr. This position might feel good for the low back in people whose spines bend forward, but it could cause discomfort for others. If you’re lying on your stomach in a soft bed, that could extend your back. This compresses the discs, and that can make disc pain worse. But if you’re lying flat on your back on a soft mattress, your lumbar spine might bend forward like you’re looking down, which is called “flexion,” says Dr. This may be beneficial for someone who needs extra support. If you’re lying flat on a hard mattress, your spine may be neutral, with no bending or twisting. Your body will react to mattresses in different ways. If you’re sleeping on a sagging mattress and you’re starting to have problems sleeping, rotating the mattress or getting a mattress topper could help. Some people prefer a firmer mattress, while others prefer something with more moldability, like a foam mattress, but generally, you want a mattress that’s in good condition, says Dr. Kelly Grimes, a physical therapist with Columbia University Irving Medical Center, about what causes sleep-related back pain and what you can do to prevent it. ![]() Clark Smith, a neck and back pain medicine specialist with NewYork-Presbyterian Och Spine, and Dr. Disrupted daily routines and anxiety about the pandemic have fueled insomnia, while working from home without proper office equipment has caused more people to experience back and neck aches and pains. The COVID-19 pandemic has only made matters worse. Back pain can make it harder to get a good night’s sleep, while some research shows that insufficient sleep can exacerbate pain in addition to causing other health problems, from impaired focus to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While various factors contribute to back pain, how you sleep - from your sleep position to the pillow or mattress you choose - can be a cause. Most people - up to eight out of 10 - will have at least one episode of back pain during their lives. Back pain is one of the most common types of pain reported in the United States.
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