Waking Up with Lower Back Pain: Causes and Prevention

It’s very common for people to wake up in the morning and notice that they had have lower back pain, and this is usually felt when moving from the lying-down position to a standing position. For most people, the symptoms of lower back pain will subside after moving around for a while in the morning.

On the other hand, some people experience lower back pain more persistently than others, and stress, some underlying medical condition, or simple poor posture can cause this.

Causes of lower back pain in the morning

If you notice that you have lower back pain almost every morning, it could be that your sleeping position is the chief cause. When your body is in a poor sleeping posture, that can cause pressure to be exerted on your spine, and it can also cause pressure to be exerted on your joints.

People who sleep on their stomachs experience lower back pain more regularly than others. Try sleeping on your side, or possibly on your back while placing a pillow under your knees. If your only comfortable sleeping position is laying on your stomach, try placing a pillow under your lower abdomen to take the pressure off your back. 

It’s fairly common for women undergoing pregnancy to experience lower back pain, and this can happen as early as eight weeks into pregnancy. It’s more common to notice this back pain after the fifth month of pregnancy, but whenever it happens, it will cause a significant strain on the lower back muscles. You can overcome this somewhat by stretching your legs and using your legs to stand up, rather than exerting a strain on your back.

A surprising number of people experience lower back pain simply because they have an old, ineffective mattress. A study which was conducted showed that replacing mattresses that were 10 years old universally improved the quality of sleep, and reduced the symptoms of lower back pain. 

Disc degeneration can happen as a natural consequence of aging, because of the wear and tear exerted on your body, and it results in a deterioration of the spinal discs between your vertebrae. This can cause some intense pain in the morning, and about the only treatment for it is to have steroid injections for pain relief.

Treatments for lower back pain

To alleviate any lower back pain you normally feel in the morning, you can do some stretches before you get out of bed. One good stretch begins with lying on your back and reaching your arms high over your head, while reaching your feet out in the opposite direction.

Then bring your knees close to your chest and hold it, until you feel your lower back stretching. Once you get out of bed, put your feet on the ground shoulder-width apart, and reach your arms upward, and then to each side so that you experience a good comprehensive stretch.

Another exercise which works for many people is to perform a ‘plank’. To do this, you should start facedown on the floor and curl your toes, while keeping your elbows and forearms in line with your wrists. As you lift yourself off the floor, push into your upper back while keeping your chin tucked into your neck.

Knee bends are another stretch you can do to minimize the effects of lower back pain, and in order to do this, you should squat down in the same position you would use to sit in a chair. Keep your knees bent at a 90° degree angle, and exhale on your way down, then inhale as you assume a standing position.

It will also help you if you get regular exercise throughout the day, and one of the best exercises for most people is simple walking. Almost anything that gets you up and moving around will be good exercise, though, and it will help to keep your back strong and pain-free.