Can't Ease Your Back Pain? Change The Way You Position Your Body At Night

If you wake up with excruciating back pain every morning or after naps, you might blame it on your mattress. Although some mattresses can be very uncomfortable to lie on, your pain may actually come from the way you position your body during the night. Here are tips to relieve your back pain at night, and what you can do, if they don't solve your back pain.

How Should You Position Your Body?

If you tend to sleep with your body curled into a ball or lie with your chin tucked into your chest, you could be inadvertently harming your back and spine. Even in the supine, or lying down position, your head, neck, shoulders, back, and hips should line up with each other. The proper body alignment not only keeps stress off the bones of your spine, it also protects the muscles in your abdomen, neck, and shoulders from inflammation and injury.

When you lie down at night, place a pillow behind your back to keep you in the right position. You can also support your hips by inserting a soft pillow between your knees. The pillow prevents your hips from rolling forward during the night.

Also, use a head pillow that supports the soft curves of your neck and shoulders. Your pillow should allow you to relax your head without placing strain on the muscles and bones in these tissues. You may need to try out a few pillows, until you find one that works best for you.

If your back pain doesn't go away or increases, see a chiropractor for additional help.

What Else Can You Do?

A chiropractor is a specialist who can examine your back for misalignment . Your spine can move out of the proper alignment over time. The misalignment may come from sleeping in the wrong position, or it can develop from poor posture, heavy lifting, and foot problems. People who suffer from foot pain may limp or hunch over when they walk. These issues can eventually cause pain in the spinal bones and muscles that support them.

A chiropractor may readjust your spine, to see if it relieves your pain. Depending on the severity of your back pain, you may need ongoing treatment to keep your spinal bones in place. A chiropractor will discuss your treatment in greater detail during your appointment.

To find more solutions for your back pain, contact a chiropractor for an assessment.