Waking up with horrific backache the last week or so

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I thought it might be because I have a much firmer mattress than I was used to. I put some folded fluffy quilts under the mattress cover hoping this would make the mattress seem softer - like my old pillow top. Didn't help one bit. My backache goes away eventually one I am up and moving about, but when I have it, it is like having electric jolts in my back until it resolves.
 

I always wake up and go to bed with a back ache, a bad one, so I hope yours gets better. My whole spine is crap, but I have three fractured vertebrae between my shoulder blades and the minute it get up-agony.

Have you been to the doctor to determine the cause?
 
debodun said:
I thought it might be because I have a much firmer mattress than I was used to. I put some folded fluffy quilts under the mattress cover hoping this would make the mattress seem softer - like my old pillow top. Didn't help one bit. My backache goes away eventually one I am up and moving about, but when I have it, it is like having electric jolts in my back until it resolves.
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sounds like muscle spasms, I have them often because I have herniated discs in my lumbar region.. .. my discs became herniated ultimately due to a lot of heavy lifting some years ago.. so I would imagine your lower back muscles are protesting now because of the whole load of lifting over the last few weeks..

You need to be very careful...because your back may go into a serious spasm meaning you''ll be unable to walk due to the pain, until the back muscles relax which is extremely painful and can sometimes take days.

If you;re finding it worse in the mornings as you get out of bed, try the Alexander technique before you get out of bed.. it really does help...It was recommended to me by my physiotherapist years ago...

Before sitting up out of bed in the morning, lie flat on your back head resting on the pillow... legs straight and flat on the bed , arms flat by your sides ( you can do this on the sofa during the day if you feel the need ) ..gently draw your knees up together, feet flat on the bed, and sway your knees gently to the left as far as you can..hold for the count of 5.. and back up together to the middle again feet still flat on the bed.

Then with both knees together swing your legs gently to the right, count to 5 and back to the middle.
Do this 5 times each side , before laying on your side, and swinging your legs gently out of your bed slowly before the rest of your body follows.. always take your time getting out of bed when you have back pain...
 
helenbacque said:
Another stretching exercise that helps me: Lie flat on back, head on pillow. Clasp hands behind knee, pull to your chest and hold while stretching other leg flat. Hold for a few seconds and then reverse with other leg.

Also, if you are a side sleeper, sleep with pillow between your knees.
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I forgot to mention that..I always sleep with a pillow between my knees. It's a firm-ish rectangular cushion about half the size of a regular bed pillow... I've used it so long I just don't even think about it now.. but I do notice if for any reason I don't have it in place between my knees, the weight of my left leg on my right leg, actually pulls the muscles in my lower back
 
debodun said:
I thought it might be because I have a much firmer mattress than I was used to. I put some folded fluffy quilts under the mattress cover hoping this would make the mattress seem softer - like my old pillow top. Didn't help one bit. My backache goes away eventually one I am up and moving about, but when I have it, it is like having electric jolts in my back until it resolves.
Click to expand...
Sorry you're going through this! I used to have issues a year or so ago. I would get into bed with no backache and wake up in the morning with a backache. After a while, I figured it was the mattress, so I bought this 4 inch mattress topping from Amazon. I've been sleeping like a baby (most of the time) ever since. No back problems.

Two other issues it might be -
1) If you pulled a muscle in the back (for whatever reason) and this takes about 10 days or so to heal. Taking a Tylenol or anti-inflammatory has helped me in the past.

2) Kidney infection - I've had that in the past, and found out that the back pain was from a kidney infection. But that was rare.

These are my thoughts. Good luck and I hope you feel better!
 
debodun said:
I thought it might be because I have a much firmer mattress than I was used to. I put some folded fluffy quilts under the mattress cover hoping this would make the mattress seem softer - like my old pillow top. Didn't help one bit. My backache goes away eventually one I am up and moving about, but when I have it, it is like having electric jolts in my back until it resolves.
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If you've done an excessive amount of lifting/carrying, during your recent move, there's a good chance that you may have dislocated a vertebrae, or pinched a spinal disk. You might see if there is a decent chiropractor nearby, and schedule a visit. For such injuries, it has been my experience that a Chiropractor can be of far more help than a PCP "pill pusher".

If your new mattress seems to be too firm, consider getting a memory foam topper. Our mattress is quite firm, and I used to wake up during the night with some back/hip pain. We put a 3" topper, from Walmart, on it, 2 or 3 years ago, and now I usually get a full nights sleep.
 
So sorry Deb. Backaches are no joke. I hope you can find a solution. I realized a few years ago that regardless of the fact that my bed is comfortable, I'd wake up with tightness and low grade aching on whatever side I slept on. Also sleeping on my stomach or back caused me to have low back pain. Add to that my A-fib sometimes got worse when I laid down. So I stopped sleeping in the bed and have slept in my recliner for a few years. Problems solved.
 
palides2021 said:
Sorry you're going through this! I used to have issues a year or so ago. I would get into bed with no backache and wake up in the morning with a backache. After a while, I figured it was the mattress, so I bought this 4 inch mattress topping from Amazon. I've been sleeping like a baby (most of the time) ever since. No back problems.

Two other issues it might be -
1) If you pulled a muscle in the back (for whatever reason) and this takes about 10 days or so to heal. Taking a Tylenol or anti-inflammatory has helped me in the past.

2) Kidney infection - I've had that in the past, and found out that the back pain was from a kidney infection. But that was rare.

These are my thoughts. Good luck and I hope you feel better!
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Sleeping like a baby? Hmm, so you wake up crying several times a night, needing a bottle, and a diaper change? 😂😂😂. Why people always use that comparison is so strange to me.
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
So sorry Deb. Backaches are no joke. I hope you can find a solution. I realized a few years ago that regardless of the fact that my bed is comfortable, I'd wake up with tightness and low grade aching on whatever side I slept on. Also sleeping on my stomach or back caused me to have low back pain. Add to that my A-fib sometimes got worse when I laid down. So I stopped sleeping in the bed and have slept in my recliner for a few years. Problems solved.
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I have found that as well, the problem with the A-fib
 
helenbacque said:
Another stretching exercise that helps me: Lie flat on back, head on pillow. Clasp hands behind knee, pull to your chest and hold while stretching other leg flat. Hold for a few seconds and then reverse with other leg.

Also, if you are a side sleeper, sleep with pillow between your knees.
Click to expand...
My doctor prescribed the pillow between the knee back in the mid 90s and it works. I can't sleep without one!
 
I had the same problem 20 years ago & I'd be up most of the night, every night because when I got up & walked around, the pain went away.
I posted before about the Tempur Pedic bed. It really worked. I rarely have back pain & when I do, it's hardly noticeable.
 
I'm not bragging and I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but I have absolutely no back problems at all. I'm not sure but I think my secret is doing floor exercises 5 days/week and then having a brisk walk in the hallways 5 days/week. I'm a strong believer in the "use it or lose it" way of life. I'm 75 years old; in case you are wondering; no longer a "spring chicken" but certainly not yet "over the hill."
 
win231 said:
I had the same problem 20 years ago & I'd be up most of the night, every night because when I got up & walked around, the pain went away.
I posted before about the Tempur Pedic bed. It really worked. I rarely have back pain & when I do, it's hardly noticeable.
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OTOH I bought a really good quality Tempur mattress when I was first diagnosed with the herniated discs.. made absolutely no difference to me at all.. in fact tbh I got so hot in it, I was tossing and turning more and that really caused more pain with my back.

I've since bought a different brand of Tempur mattress, and it's still the same.. so even tho' this mattress is only 2 years old.. I'm going to buy myself a regular non tempur mattress to replace it...
 


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