Low Back Pain Or Sciatica in the Morning?

I'm sure you are familiar with it. You wake up in the morning, go to get out of bed BUT are stopped in your tracks by the pain and stiffness in your lower back or sciatic nerve. It can then take a few minutes or much longer to straighten up and become more mobile again... Why is your back so stiff and painful in the morning?

Well, contrary to popular belief, it is more than likely NOT due to the bed/mattress you are sleeping on! That's right, I believe this is a myth well worth busting, as it may save you a fortune by avoiding the unnecessary replacement of your current bed.

There are also those that may say you are stiff and painful first thing in the morning due to the fact you have moved relatively little for the previous few hours. Although I would agree that there is an element of truth in this last statement, once again I do not believe it is likely to be the main cause.

So why is your back so stiff and painful in the morning?

More often than not, it is not due to the bed itself, but rather the position you are sleeping in or what you have been doing the few hours before retiring to bed which is the problem... it is the former which I am going to be discussing with this article.

So what is the best position for me to sleep in then?

The best position for you to adopt would primarily depend upon what is the cause of your low back/sciatic pain. However, as a rule of thumb, the most comfortable position to sleep in is usually side lying (either side) with your bottom leg fairly straight and your top leg bent at the knee and supported by a couple of pillows, so that this top leg is more or less parallel with the bed.

By sleeping in this position, keeping the bottom leg straight is encouraging your lower back to be in a neutral position. Yet with the top leg being supported by pillows, it is preventing it from dropping 'across & down' and therefore twisting your low back and stretching your sciatic nerve in the process.

If you were to lay on your side but forget to support your top leg, this would just place a twisting stress upon the lower back which would be maintained for several hours while you were asleep. Therefore it should come as no surprise that your low back or sciatic nerve may be stiff and painful first thing when you wake up.

As I alluded to above, there are other positions which could be more beneficial, but this depends upon the cause of your pain, but side lying with pillows supporting your top leg is usually a good comfortable position to get in no matter what your diagnosis.

It is also important to realise that it may not necessarily be your sleeping position which is the problem, but rather the things you are doing to your lower back or sciatic nerve before going to bed. If you try different sleeping positions, including the one given here and yet you are still having difficulty sleeping, it is likely what you are doing before going to bed is also a problem. This will need to be assessed before thinking of replacing your bed.