Lower back pain

I became 30, about 16 months ago now, so I was wondering when the back pain would start.

I moved in with my girlfriend about a month ago, and we've bought a new mattress.

She's having the best nights sleep she's ever had, whilst I wake up at half 4 every morning with lower back pain. I pop a couple of paracetamol and manage to get back to sleep about half hour after, but it's bloody annoying. And 10 minutes after waking up, I'm right as rain again.

I've bought a mattress topper which has improved it a little. We can't return the mattress as one of us has binned the receipt (probably me to be fair).

Any suggestions? What do others who suffer from back pain during the night do?

 

I get it and sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees, that helps me !

 

I hurt my back climbing a tree when I was 14 and for the next 10 years I had to have a very firm bed - at my mum's I had a door under the mattress. It still comes and goes 50 years on. The only advice I would give about mattresses is; the firmer the better. Definitely avoid airbeds.

 

Could it be S.I. pain, the tightening up of your joint between the spine and hips. Is the pain on one side only?
Anyroadon, Google s.i. pain and see if that guides you.
There are stretching exercises you can do ... look at youtube !!!

 

I suffer with chronic back spasms from playing cricket for 30 odd years.

As people have said a hard mattress will be better, stay clear of memory foam, they’re shït and actually aggravate it more.

A tip to loosen it off before bed is to get a couple of thick paper back books and then lay flat on your back with them underneath your lower back to create an arch. Do 3-4 x 1 minute reps on it. It will stretch your lumbar region and loosen up muscle tension.

Ive dealt with this now for over 25 years. I just know how to manage the outbreaks which are generally about 1 every 6-8 weeks.

 

My advice would be to marry your fiancée and your back will be able to enjoy the rest that only a wedding ring can bring.

 

We sold mattresses for years and I can tell you these fad mattresses that get delivered in a box are utter garbage, you'll all have seen the adverts on telly where it shows you the mattress being tested and put through rigorous tests, well, I visited the factory where some of their stock is made and that just does not happen.
I would always advise customers with back/hip problems to buy a high quality traditional mattress medium/firm, if you spend less than £300 for a mattress you're asking for problems sooner rather than later.
Just a further bit of advice, the large well known companies are not the best for advice or after sales service, they'll talk you into spending large amounts of money for not necessarily the mattress you require, use a local family business with a long standing good reputation for the best results.

 

If you're sure it's the mattress I'd buy another as soon as you can go and test them out again. My mattress is rubbish but I've sort of got used to it!

 

What's your opinion on memory foam mattresses for people with back trouble? Would you agree with above comment that they're not worth the money? Thanks

 

Did a 3 week rehab course with physios and the Royal Navy PTI's in 2017, mine is skeletal, bottom 3 disks have in their words got no juice in them ( after they seen my mri scan) they are totally flattened probably due to my years in the army carrying 60 plus pounds of kit on my back, if its skeletal then do at least 20 minutes of stretching a day, but you need to exercise ( no impact) to build up muscle strength, rowing machine/ bike etc, its important to exercise it keeps your joints in a word lubed up, if you dont do a thing then it will get worse, i would avoid seeing a chiropractor, they dont see whats going on inside you and fold you up like a deckchair without having a clue whats happening, they base their treatment on what you tell them, not what they can see ( mri) oh one final thing, I lnow its boring but drink loads of water

 

time to rebuild perfecta beds ;-)

 

As some have said avoid large companies, especially Bensons, bunch of cowboys

 

Ah, yeah it is only one side. I'll look at that, cheers.

 

I have been on 6 tramadol a day for years with problems with lower back, the only advice I was given that has actually helped is to take up walking on a regular basis , it doesn"t cure the problem but I can walk miles without any discomfort , its relaxing or trying to sleep that gives me major problems, but hey ho its not life threatening

 

Thanks for the advice all.

Its a pocket sprung, medium firm mattress. Admittedly, it wasn't overly expensive, but wasn't bottom of the range either. It was from IKEA.

I think by the sounds, more exercise will do me some good! I'd just started running again, but maybe long walks are better.

Cheers.

 

Sleep in the spare bed.

 

About 10 years ago, I had a bad car accident (not my fault I hasten to add) with whiplash and back pains caused by the seatbelt. I was on painkillers and physiotherapy for over 18 months for the back pains and was doing back exercises for years afterwards. Some of the exercises helped, some didn't. I'm not sure which exercises will help you or not archey, best to seek proper help there, but..... those that helped me were 1) Stretching the back muscles by doing forward and backward "arches" 2) situps - but do them slowly up and down

 

evening archery pardon the pun but I feel your pain

on your side of the bed underneath the cotton sheet you lay on get a towel or an old duvet and layer it underneath that will give you a lot more support. Have it directly under where your lower back is have it say from middle back and so it ends at your knees. After having emergency back surgery for a ruptured disc this was a brilliant tip from the surgeon. Your good lady will sleep happily on her side of the bed and depending on how you get on you can add more layers trial and error underneath the sheet at your side.

till this day I have an old duvet folded in half directly under the cotton sheet and this helps so much with sleeping

plenty of walking is really good and core exercises such as planks. Google some yoga or Pilates videos again all good. Basically keep moving or rigamortis will set in !!

good luck pal worst thing in world is having a bad back !!

 

I follow a group called GMB. They just sent out an email today called "How's your back feeling?" and it might be worth a look - I've copied and pasted below. I've done a few of their online programmes but they have a wealth of free online material that is also recommended.


"Ah, the spine: It's a super intricate and complex structure that helps our bodies stay upright, and allows us to move in countless ways.

...but it can also be kind of an asshole.

Something like 80% of people will experience back pain at some point in their lives, and probably 100% of people know what it's like to have a stiff back or neck (even just for a day or two). For such an amazing structure, there sure is a lot that can go wrong with the spine. And it sucks.

If any of this sounds familiar, we've got some resources to help you out:

• All about your spine (and how to keep it healthy)
• How to manage back pain
• Daily back stretching routine
• Advanced spinal flexibility for backbending and forward bending

A finicky back doesn't have to mean you can't make progress toward your goals. These resources can help.

Thanks for being part of the GMB Posse."

 

I've had a couple of nights on the sofa bed, but it's very cold downstairs