Tips For Managing Morning Back Pain

Even if you don't suffer from many aches and pains throughout the bulk of the day, you might find that your back is stiff and painful when you climb out of bed in the morning. Whether you're dealing with ankylosing spondylitis or some other back condition, the mornings may be a challenge for you — even if your back doesn't really bother you throughout the rest of the day. If morning back pain is disrupting your life, make sure that you schedule an appointment with a chiropractor to determine the precise cause of the issue. Additionally, here are some tips that you can employ to reduce this pain in the morning.

Give Yourself Time To Get Up

One of the worst things that you can do for morning back pain is to set your alarm as late as possible, and then rise out of bed quickly. When you take this approach, your sore back will plague your morning tasks, potentially making them a challenge. A better strategy is to give yourself some extra time to get out of bed. For example, if you currently have your alarm set for 6:30 a.m., adjust it to 6:15 a.m. When the alarm goes off, you can take a few minutes to move around in bed. Shift your body to the left and the right, bend your legs, and otherwise move around. You'll often find that this small bit of movement before your feet hit the floor can reduce your discomfort.

Do Some Movement

Moving in bed is one thing, but you should also plan to give yourself time for exercising after you rise. You shouldn't do anything too vigorous, as these actions may worsen your pain. Instead, some simple stretching — perhaps some easy yoga poses — or even walking back and forth from one end of your house to the other can loosen the tight muscles that may be contributing to your pain. The key is to make your movements gentle; anything vigorous may worsen your back pain.

Avoid Morning Stress

You're working to loosen up your back muscles to alleviate your discomfort, so it's a good idea to avoid stressful situations. Stress causes your muscles to tighten, and may therefore undo any progress you're making with your movement and stretches. Determine what stressful situations you often encounter in the morning. Rushing can be stressful for many people, so preparing the night before by laying out your clothing and making your lunch, for example, can lessen this stress. If you've made these changes but are still experiencing pain, be sure to see your chiropractor.