The reason why your lower back hurts when you sleep on your back is because of stiff muscles
The reason why your lower back hurts when you sleep on your back is because you sleep in a bad posture. The reason why you have a bad posture even when you sleep is because your muscles retain the memory of your bad posture.
If you can maintain proper posture in bed, you will not experience pain. To restore proper posture, it is necessary to know the type of distortion in your body and stretch the muscles that cause the distortion.
This is the most important point: improper stretching and training will not only not improve your condition, but may even make it worse.
This will loosen the muscles that are working hard to maintain poor posture, preparing you for Step 3 of your training.
- I haven't changed my bed or pillows yet.
- The mattress is of the right firmness
- A doctor has diagnosed that there is nothing wrong with you
Why lying on your back hurts
If you are experiencing back pain even though you have not made any changes to your environment or habits, it is the result of the following three steps.
The incorrect use of your body that you continue to do without realizing it can lead to hunched backs and arched lower backs, which results in you being stuck in a distorted posture.
To lie on your back on a flat mattress, you have to correct your hunched posture. People who cannot maintain proper posture in bed tend to sleep with their pillows elevated because they are trying to maintain their usual hunched posture in bed.
When you try to lie flat on your back, your body tries to stretch and contract. The muscles that have been stiffened to maintain the incorrect posture are unable to respond flexibly, causing pain.
Posture that causes back pain
Muscles that are normally contracted will try to return to their original length, but muscles that are stiff in a contracted state cannot stretch, which causes pain.
Why do we sleep on mattresses or futons? Sleeping on the floor can cause pain, and there are two reasons for this.
・You will not be able to maintain your body curves. ・Your weight will be concentrated on one part of your body.
Bedding is a tool that solves these two problems.
Our skeleton has a natural correct position and an ideal way of curvature. This is called anatomically correct posture . Even if you normally have good posture, in order to maintain anatomically correct posture while sleeping, you need to fill the gap between the floor and your body to an appropriate extent. The reason a bed that is too soft is considered bad for your body is because it disrupts anatomically correct posture.
The moderately soft material also increases the contact area between the floor and the body, distributing the weight of the waist, which is the heaviest part of the body, and preventing pain.
Therefore, the ideal mattress is one with the right firmness that allows you to maintain anatomically correct posture.
You can only expect results if you have a flexible body. If you lie down with stiff muscles, there will be a larger gap, which will cause more pain.
- The mattress has deteriorated and the part that supports your lower back has become hollowed out.
- The mattress is too soft
Apart from this case, the quickest way to resolve the issue is to first make your body more flexible by stretching.
How to reduce strain on your lower back
Check the type of distortion
The correct position of the pelvis is determined by the angle at which the pelvis tilts forward and backward. The correct position of the pelvis is when the line connecting the front and back of the pelvis is at an angle of 10 to 12 degrees.
To check, check whether the difference in height between the white circle and the red circle is between 0 and 3.5 cm.
The white circle in front of the pelvis is called the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS), and the red circle at the back of the pelvis is called the posterior superior iliac spine (PSIS).
Stretching to correct distortion
Stretch the rectus femoris, the muscle in the front of your thigh.
You can stretch just by bending your knees, but if your upper body is facing forward, your pelvis will bend and the effect will be reduced. Twisting your upper body will maximize the effect.
It's more effective if you look as directly behind you as possible. Try doing this for both legs.
- Bend your right knee and place your foot next to your hips.
- Bend your left knee.
- Twist your upper body to the left.
- Place your hands on the floor and turn your head as far back as you can.
- Stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.
It will temporarily relieve the pain, but it is not a cure for the pain, so it is likely that the pain will recur or move to a different location.
The purpose of placing the towel is to change the shape of the surface of the futon. By filling in the gaps between your body and the futon that are created because your body is stiff, you can prevent pain.
The important thing to note here is that the towel only changes the shape of the futon, not your body.
The cause of pain when sleeping is that the muscles are too stiff to assume a sleeping position, and the pain occurs when there is a gap between the futon and the body for a long period of time, putting strain on the muscles.
Therefore, even if you use a towel, not only will muscle tension remain, but the possibility of pain recurring remains. Furthermore, the unevenness created by the towel will help your body maintain poor posture during the day. For example, if you have a habit of standing with your back arched, you will continue to arch your back while you sleep. Maintaining muscle tension for 24 hours is likely to cause pain in different areas.
In response to the question, "Will the pain improve if I lay a towel down?", the answer is, "It will lead to temporary relief, but there is a risk of the pain returning, and the pain may occur in a different location than before."
