Help - Waking up with Back Pain

tik tok on 21/12/2023 - 10:57

For about a month now, every morning I wake up with a lot of pain around my shoulder blades which goes away after about an hour of waking up.

I am a side sleeper. I've slept on a TEMPUR (TRADITIONAL 23) mattress for about 8 years or so, regularly turned the mattress every 6 months (even though there is no need for it). That is the mattress most people use for back pains, so I don't think the mattress is the problem. I've switched to sleeping on a generic gel topper mattress as well for a few nights and felt no difference.

The interwebs suggest sleeping on the back helps. But it seems bloody impossible to change a habit of a few decades. Regardless, I have come up with solutions/contraptions which will not let me turn when I lie on my back. Result is a very very disturbed sleep/no sleep at all - but very little, almost negligible pain when waking up. So the solution seems to be to learn to sleep on my back.

I did a few exercises for rhomboids and lower traps (as thats where most of my pain is) by looking at videos on youtube but there is no great improvement in the pain I feel. I got a massage and the lady seemed to think my lower traps were 'agitated' I am scheduled to see a physio early next year. Meanwhile, wanted to find out if others might have suggestions around this? Or on how a side sleeper could learn to sleep on back?

Health & Beauty

Comments

  • boomramada on 21/12/2023 - 11:02
    +9

    Go see a physio first.

  • Caped Baldy on 21/12/2023 - 11:08
    +1

    Stop using tik tok in bed.

  • Protractor on 21/12/2023 - 11:14
    +2

    What did your GP say?
    Have you ruled out a structural issue,past injury impact or spinal growth of some sort?

    Also borrow or buy a recliner and try sleeping in it .

    • boomramada on 21/12/2023 - 12:17

      What did your GP say?

      Go and see a physio.

  • try2bhelpful on 21/12/2023 - 11:40
    +1

    Best to talk to the Physio. See if it might be related to your pillow and how it supports the neck and head.

  • Karl from ausbeds on 21/12/2023 - 11:49
    +7

    Hi, I have a mattress factory. I fit people to mattresses everyday for about 13 years.. I don't think you should rule out the mattress being the culprit. The reason being, the mattress you are on decides the alignment you are in during sleep. It decides the position you are in for 30% of your life. The fact that the pain only exists after you have been laying on your mattress for 8 hours is a pretty strong indicator that it's the mattress.

    Your statement

    "That is the mattress most people use for back pains, so I don't think the mattress is the problem."

    In my opinion is not accurate. The reason I believe this is because

    a.You've had it for 8 years - there doesn't need to be visible signs of dipping in a mattress before it softens in the middle. Push the mattress where your feet are, then push the mattress where your butt is. If the feet area is firmer the the butt area, it may be the cause. If it's much softer in the butt area, it's definitely the cause.

    b. Tempur is the mattress most people use for back pain is not the right angle to be looking at this from. The mattress you need if you have a bad back is the same whether you have a bad back or not. The only difference is, if you have a good back, it may not be as important to make sure it fits you perfectly. The best mattress for you is the one that fits. to get the one that fits, you will need to find someone experienced that can help you find the one that fits. Finding a mattress that fits isn't like choosing your perfect gaming pc. It's more like getting a suit fitted than anything else I can think of.

    Saying a tempur is good for bad backs is the same as saying, If I order an armani suit it will fit me. It's not the case, you still have to have the armani fitted to you, the brand is less important than the fit. The fit is the most important thing here. Also, tempur is memory foam, many people don't like memory foam. Some do, but it's a personal preference.

    Softening in the middle of a mattress causes your spine to "hammock". That is, it bends your spine as if laying in a hammock. This is fine for 15mins, but for 8 hours it can cause all sorts of issues. The mattress can "feel" nice, but if your spine is dipping in the middle, it's putting you out of alignment.

    It's a very common thing to happen. Check the middle of your bed.

  • Dollar General on 21/12/2023 - 11:54
    +3

    When I wake up in the morning, there’s a part of my body that’s throbbing, but it’s not my back

  • dtc on 21/12/2023 - 12:27
    +2

    Try sleeping with a pillow between your knees. Might not do anything but can help.

    However if its your shoulder blade area then its probably something to do with hunching over (a laptop or phone?) or sitting in the wrong position. Have you recently changed jobs/desk set up/couch?

    • ihbh on 21/12/2023 - 14:48

      The OP said his shoulder was throbbing. You're answering the commenter above.

      • dtc on 21/12/2023 - 15:27

        I’m answering the OP, hence my whole paragraph about shoulder pain ….

        The pillow between the legs is also recommended for neck pain. The neck being quite close to the shoulders

        • ihbh on 21/12/2023 - 17:38

          Sorry, should have added /s.

  • garetz on 21/12/2023 - 12:50

    All mattresses have a limited lifespan, look at the warranty provided as a guide, obviously its a general guide.

    If you are overweight then the mattress might last less than it otherwise would. The heavier you are the more likely the mattress will sag.

    Same thing happened to me on the 10th year of the mattress, you dont really notice it until it becomes a glaring issue.

  • AustriaBargain on 21/12/2023 - 12:54

    Is your mattress too soft? Or pillow the wrong height twisting your spine too much?

  • FezMonkey on 21/12/2023 - 13:24

    I get something similar, in my case it's because when I sleep on my side I put both hands near my head so it makes my shoulders curve inwards.
    I should be trying to lie straighter with my top arm on my side but it's less comfortable.

    Do you do this too?

  • brad1-8tsi on 21/12/2023 - 13:37

    At a minimum, providing you haven't an underlying medical issue, increase your core strength. It fixed my back pain issues.

    My partner is a very experienced yoga & pilates teacher and "work on your core" is one of her mantras.

  • freefall101 on 21/12/2023 - 13:55

    Welcome to getting old. Go see a physio.

  • Subere on 21/12/2023 - 15:31
    +1

    *Osteo

    • bargaino on 21/12/2023 - 18:58
      • "Osteopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. In most countries, practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained" - wikipedia
      • Subere on 21/12/2023 - 19:48
        +1

        Yet there were Uni degrees in Australia in multiple universities up until recently.

        Years ago I went to physio but they didn't resolve my issue. An Osteo fixed it right away. A proper Osteo will always look at your body, posture, base and core and work on these. Physio will treat the symptoms not the root cause.
        Most Osteos now are physio trained but to beyond a normal physio.

        My Osteo explained it best to me when I asked what's the difference.

        If you have bald tyres rhe physio will change your tyres. The Osteo will figure out why your tyres are bald and give you a wheel alignment/balance etc.

        • poboy on 22/12/2023 - 06:56
          +1

          Yeah, agree. Of course it always depends on your practitioner, but I'd go to an Osteopath rather than a Physio, unless I was after rehab.

  • TheGhost on 21/12/2023 - 16:03

    Don’t sleep

  • singlemalt72 on 22/12/2023 - 09:20

    Stop waking up then! Problem solved.

  • randombrick on 22/12/2023 - 18:37
    +1

    Pillow height!! I am side sleeper and had similar problems but not extreme. Recently, I added some height to my pillow (added a layer of foam) and I have seen significant improvement.

    Not saying that may the case for you but suggest looking at the pillow also as a possible culprit.

  • ky1975 on 03/01/2024 - 15:30

    I went through a phase of similar back pain some time ago, waking up with excruciating pain, not every day, but around once a month.
    I experimented with various exercises to strengthen my back, and surprisingly, what eventually worked was spending an hour on my knees once a week.
    I can't recall how long I kept up with this routine, but one day, the pain just disappeared.

    I would start with 15 minutes or less and increasing the time up to 1hr, of course you can kneel more than once a week, but take it easy.

  • casho on 16/01/2024 - 15:03

    I get back pain if I sit too often. If you work in a sitting job, try standing up for the morning

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