Back pain can disrupt sleep. Inversely, poor sleeping posture can exasperate back pain creating a vicious cycle. Sleep is important for our overall health and everyone is vulnerable to back pain. Around 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point in their lives. Thirty-seven percent of people also report that back pain interferes with their ability to sleep. We will go over ways to improve sleep posture.
Sleeping on a side is the most popular sleep position. It can put strain on the side of the neck and spine though. To improve this position, draw your knees up towards your chest just a bit. Then sleep with a pillow between your knees. Also, try to keep your head positioned in the middle of the pillow to avoid having your head propped up too high.
Belly sleeping is generally not recommended for back pain as it interferes with the natural curvature of the spine the most. However, if this is how you most comfortably sleep, there are ways to improve this position. One is to put a slim pillow under your lower abdomen, this will help keep the spine in a more natural curve. A slim pillow under your shins could also help with leg support.
Back sleeping is an easy fix. Just place a pillow under your knees to help maintain the natural curve of the spine.
Back pain and sleep issues are connected. Try these positions to see if they help ease back pain. Remember, we are here to help. We can sit down with you and figure out what may be causing your back pain. From there we can create a program to help alleviate it and strategize to prevent it from happening again.
