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If you are finding that back and neck pain is keeping you awake at night, the way you sleep might be contributing to it. Here are some helpful tips to encourage a better night’s sleep...
Sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck, and spine to maintain a neutral position. You’re not forcing any extra curves into your back, and is ideal for fighting acid reflux. If the head is elevated, your stomach will be below your esophagus so acid or food can’t come back up.
Side-sleeping is great for overall health—it reduces snoring and keeps your spine elongated. If you suffer from acid reflux, this is the next best thing to sleeping on your back.
If you're suffering from uncomfortable back or neck pain, you could be sleeping in a position which is detrimental to your spine and overall health. The following positions are to be avoided.
When you snooze with your knees pulled up high and chin tucked into your chest, you may feel it in the morning, especially if you have an arthritic back or joints. This curved position also restricts diaphragmatic breathing.
Sleeping on your stomach makes it difficult to maintain a neutral position with your spine. It puts pressure on joints and muscles, which can irritate nerves and lead to pain, numbness, and tingling. Think about the soreness you’d feel if you kept your neck turned to one side for 15 minutes during the day. In this position you have your head to one side for hours at a time. You won’t necessarily feel it the next day, but you may soon start to ache.
Swear you don’t move at all at night?
Think again. While you generally spend the most time in the position you fall asleep in, even those who barely have to make their beds in the morning move 2 to 4 times an hour, which may add up to 20 or more tosses and turns a night!
Here are some helpful tips to get a better night's sleep and help your spine.
Do you respect your Spine like you do your teeth? Do you brush your teeth every day? Maybe once, maybe twice per day? Either way you are aware that your teeth require cleaning on a regular basis, otherwise they may discolour, build up tartar, fall out, need a filling and so on. It’s not just brushing them that keeps them healthy though, you must watch what you eat and drink, whether you smoke or even chew gum. These are external factors that we as individuals control and if pointed out, we must address. If someone went to the dentist and presented with generally good, healthy teeth then the dentist would advise they keep brushing well and look after what they have. If by the time they visit in six months for a check up and they are discoloured, needing work then the individual has clearly neglected them. On the other hand, if a patient presented with a fairly bad set of teeth and was required to have a scale and polish along with an extraction or further treatment then they would be advised and treated accordingly. So, this person comes back three months later and has actually brushed twice a day for this time and they are still in one hell of a mess!! The patient says to the dentist . .Well I’ve brushed like you said and you still need to take out three teeth!! What’s going on? It turns out the patient has been drinking four cans of fizzy drinks per day, multiple bars of chocolate and sweets on a daily basis and smokes 15 cigarettes a day. This scenario shows the importance of the patient understanding what happens to the body and treatment doesn’t simply fix everything. You as the patient must take responsibility between treatments or appointments and lead a healthy lifestyle in more ways than one. Treatments are very effective and can aid in recovery but you must understand what the body requires to function at a healthy and sensible level. In my professional opinion the teeth and spine are the most common areas with regards to pain complaints that we see across the nation and the world for that matter. Both require attention on a daily basis, both require regular checkups or treatment, nutritional education and how you live your life every second is vital to their function. If you neglect one or more of these points then you increase the risk of problems in the given region. The spine depends on mobility, function, free moving joints, relaxed muscles, free flowing nervous system. Without these, the spine will not be happy and let you know about it!! That’s why you are probably sat here now reading this..... People generally don’t just wake up with back pain or tooth ache, there is usually a logical reason for why this has presented. If we can be more aware of these factors then we can all live a longer and healthier life and enjoy the good things! Take care of yourself, educate yourself and respect the body you have been given . . . . . EVERYDAY!!!
Babies can be heavy and difficult to lift from newborn until years old, thus causing stress and tension on our neck, back, shoulders and wrists. The sheer number of times you are required to lift or move your child in one day is staggering and that is why it is essential that these movements are carried out in the safest and most sensible way possible . . . . . .every time! Cot/bed Try and get your baby as close to you as possible, support the neck with one hand and the lower back with the other and then SLOWLY lift until your back is straight. Avoid sharp, abrupt lifting as this can easily damage your back. Floor/Stroller Get onto your one knee and as close to the baby as possible, support the neck and lower back, slowly bring the baby close to your chest. Again, slowly push off with you placed or supporting leg and extend to a standing position. Avoid bending down at the waist and lifting quickly. Feeding Avoid rushing whilst feeding as a starting point. Try not to lean over from a position that is obviously a little too far away from the baby. Always sit on a chair as close to the baby as possible and feed from this position. Bottle/Breastfeeding Typically carried out leaning forward, no support under the baby and in any chair you are close to. This causes stress on the neck, back, shoulder, wrist and elbow. Lean against the back of a comfortable the chair, with your neck in line and not slouched forward. This will reduce the stress placed on your spine which is vital as feeding can last for some time. Also, place a pillow under the baby so the shoulder, wrist and elbow are now supported. These may seem very obvious when reading the tips, although we often forget to do the basics on a daily basis!!!
As a society we generally sit down way too much! Whether it is due to our job, hobby, relaxing time or even sleeping, we all sit down more than we should. Unfortunately, the implications of leading a sedentary lifestyle in and out of work can lead to more serious outcomes if not addressed asap. If you are a typical 'office worker' and work 35-40 hours per week and sit at the desk all day then you will generally not get up much in your normal day, apart from lunch and toilet breaks. If done over a prolonged period of time , then this can lead to physical symptoms and sometimes more serious conditions.
Before we talk about a condition known most commonly as a 'slipped Disc', it is important to know where and what it actually is.
The discs lie between the vertebra in the spinal column, which span from the base of your skull down to the small of your back. The discs are gelatinous in nature and consist of an inner (nucleus pulposus) and outer layer (Annulus Fibrosis). They act as shock absorbers to the spine, enabling the body to carry out normal everyday activities with function and ease.
When a disc is herniated, prolapsed or 'slipped' then this basically means that the inner layer has been compromised. When the back is placed under extreme pressure or force, the gel-like layer can protrude outwards and tear. Depending on the severity of the tear and the cause, the gel then leaks out and can press on a nerve at that level of the spine. This dictates the area by which the person will feel the symptoms. The lowest disc being the L5/S1 is the most commonly damaged region and accounts for approximately 95% of disc herniations. The lower the disc, the more pressure is placed upon it, hence why the L5/S1 is the most commonly affected.
A typical example of a patient presenting to the clinic with a slipped disc, would be:
33 year old female office worker that works 40 hours per week sat at a desk with a generally bad posture. Whilst doing a kettle bell class in the evening she bent down to pick up the kettle bell and felt her back go. Pain was a severe 8/10 and now refers from the lower back on the right, down into the gluteal muscles, hamstring and into the toes. Bending forward brings on the pain and daily activities are a struggle.
This is a typical presentation of a herniated disc. There may also be weakness in the lower limb muscles, sensation changes, numbness and sometimes people may complain of changes in their bowel and bladder movements.
The main causes for a disc complaint in the lower back are age, trauma, posture, obesity and smoking, with the most common age group between 20-40. Although extreme or heavy pressure on the spine usually causes a damaged disc, it can also be caused something innocuous, such as bending down to pick a pen up. If the spine has been damaged through constant postural problems or previous trauma then the disc may simply be waiting to tear no matter what the cause.
Chiropractors are well trained diagnostic musculoskeletal specialists. They focus on diagnosis, treatment and management of the most common conditions that we suffer from everyday. With regards to the disc injury, the Chiropractor would take a full history of the presenting complaint, examine the patient thoroughly and explain their findings. Following this, treatment may be provided straight away or additional advice such as ice or exercises may be given. Over the period of a given number of treatments the Chiropractor would use their expertise in spinal manipulation to ease the pain and restriction in the spine , thus reducing the inflammation around the injured region.
Every Chiropractor has a slightly different approach to a patient and may use varied manual techniques when treating a condition, but there is one constant . . . . . . we are here to help, diagnose, treat, manage and advise. Be proactive and treat the spine before you treat the pain!
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by patients every week is 'So do I use heat or ice for my neck pain?'
The answer is ice!!!
Here are some of the amazing benefits of receiving chiropractic treatment… You might be thinking that you don’t need chiropractic care because you are not experiencing pain in your back or neck. But you don’t need to be in pain to get adjusted. Pain is the body’s way of indicating there is a problem, but […]
If you are finding that back and neck pain is keeping you awake at night, the way you sleep might be contributing to it. Here are some helpful tips to encourage a better night’s sleep… The best: Sleeping on your back Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux. Sleeping on your back […]
Do you respect your Spine like you do your teeth? Do you brush your teeth every day? Maybe once, maybe twice per day? Either way you are aware that your teeth require cleaning on a regular basis, otherwise they may discolour, build up tartar, fall out, need a filling and so on. It’s not just […]
Babies can be heavy and difficult to lift from newborn until years old, thus causing stress and tension on our neck, back, shoulders and wrists. The sheer number of times you are required to lift or move your child in one day is staggering and that is why it is essential that these movements are […]
As a society we generally sit down way too much! Whether it is due to our job, hobby, relaxing time or even sleeping, we all sit down more than we should. Unfortunately, the implications of leading a sedentary lifestyle in and out of work can lead to more serious outcomes if not addressed asap. If […]
Before we talk about a condition known most commonly as a ‘slipped Disc’, it is important to know where and what it actually is. The discs lie between the vertebra in the spinal column, which span from the base of your skull down to the small of your back. The discs are gelatinous in nature […]
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by patients every week is ‘So do I use heat or ice for my neck pain?’ The answer is ice!!! Why ice? With any injury, sprain or strain where a joint or muscle has been stressed to the extreme and causes pain and dysfunction, then ice […]
The primary healthcare practitioner uses manual therapies such as manipulation of the spine and extremity joints, soft tissue work, acupuncture, stretching and strengthening exercises, rehabilitation and postural and lifestyle advice.
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