Have you been up most of the night because of your back pain? Are you desperate for a decent night of sleep? Back pain can cause you to have insomnia. Many patients I have were suffering from this problem. Many patients I personally have treated used to try everything and had bought many products, in the hope they could be comfortable enough to sleep. They were actually praying to be able to sleep, but they could not because their sleep was interrupted because of their back. Some told me they felt like "Goldilocks" because they slept in all the beds in their house. Patients have also told me they had been sleeping on their couches or in their recliners for years, instead of sleeping in their beds. Sadly, they had not been able sleep with their spouses, for years, because of their back pain.
It is not unusual for people to sleep on the floor or put a board under mattress. They will buy body-pillows to prop up their legs or place between their knees. They try all types of pillows: memory pillows, contour pillows or even expensive down pillows. It could drive a spouse crazy because back pain sufferers often lay awake at night channel-surfing and ordering products from infomercials. They might buy sleeping aids, inversion tables, Ginsu knives, diet programs, and exercise programs, just to list a few. And it is understandable, as they are really ordering the promise of the hope to get better. It is a never-ending cycle with back pain and not sleeping. Many try heating pads, electric blankets, and soothing music.
Being a couch potato, improper posture and sitting, leaning and peering at a computer screen can be examples of causes of back pain. Pregnancy, with the extra mid section weight, is another reason. The same problem comes with being overweight. Having to carry a child perched on your hip or continually carrying a heavy purse on the shoulder, or to one side, will cause biomechanical changes and will cause back pain. There can be temporary reasons for back, but it can be a symptom of a more serious problem.
There are temporary reasons for back pain. An example is a pregnant woman. Her back pain can be because of so much extra weight around her mid- section during the day. The same thing can happen from being overweight. Other reasons could be improper carrying to one side, anything from a heavy purse to a child riding on the hip, improper sitting, sitting while leaning and peering at a computer screen. The list goes on, because of our more sedentary lives.
If you have suffered through long and agonizing, sleepless nights due your back pain, you know just how miserable this can be. If back pain is affecting your life and keeping you awake at night, you should see a doctor and find out what exactly is causing your pain. If you see your medical doctor, he or she will most likely prescribe pain medications and muscle relaxants. If your pain continues and you return to a medial doctor, then you most likely will be sent out for physical therapy. Then if your pain continues, you will be directed to finally have X-rays or an MRI to look into an actual diagnosis, or cause, of your pain.
If your pain continues, surgery may be recommended. After surgery, some patients are very disappointed because they still have pain and some of the previous symptoms. I call this process a "medical pipeline".
If there is post-surgery pain, they may have to go under the care of a pain specialist. Some surgeries are successful and the symptoms are gone, others might last for two to five years or less, and some are not successful - failed surgery syndrome - at all.
