Why does my lower back hurt when i lay down

The last thing you want to experience when trying to go to sleep is back pain in bed. You toss and turn and just can’t find the right spot to get comfortable.

If you have lower back pain when lying down flat, you need immediate relief. The first step is to determine what is causing your pain.

Here are some reasons you may be experiencing lower back pain when lying down.

Pulled Muscle

Your spine is surrounded by muscles. Those muscles work hard all day to keep you moving and balanced. If one of them becomes strained or injured, it can cause you pain when you lie down.

Do you know who chooses your doctor when you are hurt on the job? Here are the facts.

A pulled muscle can result from lifting objects incorrectly. You should also never twist your body while holding a heavy object.

Often times these types of injuries occur at work with improper training or equipment.

Here is information on how to properly lift heavy objects.

Arthritis Pain

Back pain while lying flat can be caused by arthritis. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a specific type of arthritis that affects the spine. It is where the vertebrae become inflamed.

This is quite painful and over time may even lead to disability. Right now the cause of AS is unknown, but it does often run in the same family. There is no cure, but the symptoms can be treated with medication.

Lower Back Pain When Lying Down – Degenerative Disc Disease

Another culprit of lower back pain is degenerative disc disease or DDD. It is also one of the most common.

DDD is caused by the wear and tear on the spinal disc. The overwhelming symptom is lower back pain in the lumbar spine region, even though the pain can shoot to other areas of the body.

While there is some breakdown to the spinal discs over time, an injury or accident can also cause it or make it worse.

Treatment for Lower Back Pain

If your lower back pain was caused by a fall or injury, especially if it also includes weakness or tingling, you should call your doctor right away.

If you have back pain while lying flat, you can try using an ice pack. Most people start with a heating pad, but that can actually make any inflammation worse.

The cold reduces the inflammation, and that will help reduce the pain.

If you think you need chiropractic care after a work injury, here is where to find a chiropractor in New York.

You should also try to keep moving during the day. Stretching and movement help keep the back and spine from feeling locked up.

You can also use over-the-counter pain medication to relieve the immediate discomfort.

When It Wasn’t Your Fault

Having lower back pain when lying down flat, can just be a reaction to merely overdoing it or even getting older. But sometimes it is the result of an injury or accident that was caused by someone else.

Call (888) 549-6974 find an experienced doctor near you for back pain.

NEW:  Telemedicine appointments are now available in the safety and comfort of your home.

Call (888) 549-6974 to schedule your virtual consultation or fill out the form below.

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Why Your Lower Back Muscles Get Stiff When Lying Down

As I mentioned above, some people with back pain feel OK during the day when moving around, and they only get lower back pain when lying in bed at night.

Why is this?

There are a few reasons why your back might hurt worse when you lay down at night:

During the day, when you're moving around, your heart is circulating blood to the muscles, nerves, and discs in your back providing the nutrients and oxygen they need to stay healthy. Additionally, your joints and muscles are moving and changing positions frequently.

However, when you lay down at night, your back doesn't get as much blood flow and oxygen. Your joints and muscles are staying in the same position, thus allowing your muscles to stiffen up.  Your joint surfaces have a static pressure on them.

Furthermore, the discs in your lower back have a poor blood supply under normal circumstances, so they rely on movement to get the nutrients and oxygen that they need.

Learn more about that in the post "Can Herniated  Discs Heal By Themselves Without Surgery?"

Why Does Low Oxygen Cause Back Pain?

If you recall all the way back to high school or college biology class, human cells use oxygen to turn food into energy.

Without giving you unpleasant flashbacks by explaining the full process of glyocolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, the simple explanations is that you CAN create energy without oxygen, but it's much less efficient to do so and it creates a bi-product of lactic acid - the same chemical that causes you to "feel the burn" in your muscles after a hard workout.

Now, if you're trying to relax, the last thing you want is to "feel the burn" in your back muscles.

So how can you keep your lower back muscles from stiffening up when lying down?

1. Be active during the day.  Regular physical activity makes changes in the cell that improve blood flow at rest, as well as make your muscles more efficient at producing energy.

2. Don't smoke.  Smoking substantially reduces how much oxygen is available to ALL of your body's cells, not just your lower back.

3. Stretch before bedtime.  Particularly the lower back and hip flexor muscles.

Need Stretches For Lower Back Pain?

Check out these posts:

11 Lower Back Pain Stretches

Yoga For Back Pain

7 Chair Yoga Poses For Neck Pain & Back Pain

Or you can Request An Appointment with one of our Specialist Physical Therapists

What Else Can I Do If My Lower Back Hurts When I Lay Down At Night?

It's no myth that you brain has A LOT to do with how much pain you experience.

When you're busy during the day your brain is focused on other things, even if joints, discs, and/or muscle in your back are in less-than-optimal health.

However, when you lie down at night in a quite bedroom and your brain doesn't have any other "distractions" it starts to focus more on the signals coming from your muscle, and it may even start to worry about those signals.

"What do they mean?"

"Are they harmful?"

"Is my back pain going to get worse?"

"Am I going to have trouble sleeping again tonight?"

Depending on how long you've been dealing with back pain, how many other stressful things are happening in your life, or if you just naturally tend to worry about things, you might even start having thoughts like:

"How long is the pain going to last?" -or-

"Is my back ever going to stop hurting, or am I just going to have to deal with it for the rest of my life?" -or-

"Am I going to need back surgery?"

None of these thoughts are helpful for you getting a good night's sleep, and in fact:

There a lot of research showing that the more you worry about back pain, the more it hurts.

This can become a viscous cycle:

1. The more your back hurts the more you worry, and
2. The more you worry, the more your back hurts.

So How Do You Break The Pain-Worry Cycle?

1. You can try these 5 mindfulness strategies

2. You can download our Free Back Pain Guide, which has tips to help you sleep more comfortably, free mindfulness resources, plus other tips.

3. Try Prosper Wellness CBD.

Prosper Wellness Full-Spectrum CBD is great fore relieving anxiety, reducing pain, and helping sleep.

Need More Help For Lower Back Pain?

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