When Beyonce came out with the catchy pop tune, “Flawless,” it was impossible to escape teenage girls and Instagram models alike chanting the anthem, “I woke up like this!” Of course, Beyonce was not talking about waking up with an aching back. Experiencing pain as your first sensation of the day is neither glamourous nor #flawless. Welcome to adulthood, where the risk of injury in your sleep is all too real, and the sensations of aches and pains are inevitable. So, why does your back ache in the morning? We have a few ideas and insights that may help you target the cause of this common ailment. Read on to learn about four reasons why your back hurts in the morning and why you may be chanting your own agonizing version of #iwokeuplikethis. 

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 25% of adults have reported acute low back pain (LBP) in the past three months. That is one-quarter of our entire adult population that is suffering from back pain! The good news is that acute back pain is often defined as lasting less than four weeks, so it is not necessarily a permanent condition. The bad news is that almost 14% of insured patients who sought low back pain care were prescribed opiates, despite an overall lack of evidence to support their efficacy. Opiates are extremely addictive and can cause much more harm overall than a backache.

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Treating Pain Without Pharmaceuticals

If you are among the mass population living with symptoms of morning backaches and pains, you may want to consider some alternative care treatments, such as Yoga Physical Therapy and/or Photobiomodulation Therapy. If you are in the greater Boston Metro area, contact LCG Boston to schedule an in-home or virtual session. We have many options to fit your unique needs. If you would like to personally troubleshoot the source of your back pain, we have listed four common causes below.

Common Causes of Back Pain

1. OLD OR POOR-QUALITY MATTRESS

Mattresses are not designed to last forever. In fact, the average lifespan of a mattress should not exceed seven to ten years, and that is pushing it. Aside from age, additional signs of a bad mattress are sagging, deep grooves or indentations, stains and smells that cannot be removed, bed bug infestations, lumps or bumps, allergens or asthma, squeaks and creaks, and aches or discomfort.

Luckily, mattresses are much less expensive than they once were. On top of that, many companies have shifted to the bed-in-a-box model to add to the convenience. In many cases, gone are the days of hiring a moving company to haul your mattress up the stairs to your apartment or room. New technology has enabled a vacuum packing system where an entire mattress can arrive at your doorstep via post. Check out this Zinus mattress on Amazon! For less than $300 (including shipping), you can have a brand new memory foam mattress delivered to your door! These mattresses are designed to sit on a platform, so you can eliminate the expense and hassle of purchasing a box spring. So, go ahead and #treatyoself. 

2. POOR POSTURE WHEN SLEEPING

We get it; it is hard to control your body when you are… well… sleeping. Unfortunately, the way you sleep may impact how you feel when you wake up. Luckily, there are ways to mitigate your posture when you lay down so that you can help your odds of sleeping with proper alignment.

If you are a side (fetal position) sleeper, be sure to place a pillow between your knees when you lay down. This will take the pressure off of your hip joints and sacrum because your knees will be aligned with your hip sockets. If you try it, you will feel an immediate difference and improvement. If you like to sleep on your back, consider placing a pillow underneath your knees. This will neutralize the curvature of your lower spine and increase blood flow to your back. If you prefer to sleep on your stomach, place a thin pillow underneath your stomach to prevent your lower back from collapsing on itself.

Voila! Sometimes all it takes is a pillow in the right place to change your whole life. (You’re welcome.)

3. OSTEOMALACIA (AKA VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY)

Vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium. Because of this, a deficiency may be a precursor to arthritis, osteoporosis, or rickets. As you can imagine, this may be the culprit of agonizing and debilitating back pain. Luckily, the solution here is simple! You can take vitamin D supplements, get more sunshine, and incorporate more vitamin D rich foods into your diet. These include salmon, tuna, egg yolks, and mushrooms.

4. LACK OF MOVEMENT AND EXERCISE DURING THE DAY

Like the Beastie Boys say, get your “body movin’!” If you are sedentary all day long, specifically if you are glued to a phone or computer all day, you will not get much blood flow to your spine. “Now, let me get some action from the back section!” Because if you don’t, you may wake up thinking, “hello, nasty.” (See what we did there?)

We get it. We are in the middle of a pandemic and have been told to stay home. This means that screen time has gone through the roof for most of us. For your health, safety, and sanity, make sure that doesn’t translate to staying still on the couch all day long. The change from a brick and mortar workplace to a home office (read: sofa or recliner) may also mean a change from a swanky, ergonomic office chair to slouching in your pajamas all day. This has an inevitable and negative impact on your posture, quality of sleep, and overall health. Make sure to take a break at least every hour to move around. Do some yoga (Cat-Cow is great for the spine) or take a walk.

If you are interested in meeting with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy to discuss any back pain you may be experiencing, you can book an appointment here!