Lower back pain is a tricky customer. Back pain of any sort is difficult to bear, but the lower back pain worsens when lying down or sitting. Sometimes the fixes to lower back pain are as simple as switching sleeping positions or changing your mattress.
Other times, you could be suffering from a serious medical condition and might have to visit the doctor.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the causes of lower back pain and see some reasons why lower back pain is worse when lying down or sitting. Moreover, we will also take a look at some treatments you can try to get rid of your lower back pain.
Causes:
Video: YouTube/Precision Wellbeing Group
Lower back pain while lying down or sitting doesn’t always amount to some serious problem. If it only happens on certain occasions or stays for an hour or two and goes away after you wake up, it probably needs no serious attention.
However, if you feel continuous pain all night long and it is affecting your day-to-day life, you might want to check up. Here are some common and some not-so-common causes of lower back pain:
Muscle Sprain
If you recently moved some heavy furniture around the house or operated some heavy machinery that required a lot of effort, you might have sprained your back muscles.
Sprain is when the muscles stretch more than they should. This pain usually lasts a couple of days and goes away when the muscles relax.
Ankylosing Spondylitis:
Also known as it is a rare form of arthritis that causes inflammation in your lower back and your neck as well. The inflammation can be chronic or occasional, but it is very painful and gets worse at night.
 Degenerative Disc Disease:
A very common cause of lower back pain among the elderly is degenerative disc disease. As we age, our spinal discs and vertebrae in the spine start to deteriorate.
This can lead to an increase in lower back pain when you lie down or sit in a chair.
 Spine Osteoarthritis:
Another common cause among the elderly due to wear and tear on the spine and its joints. The vertebrae can start to grind against one another, which can lead to pain.
If you suffer from this, the pain will get worse when you sit idle for long periods. When you sleep, it will worsen, and you might feel the true blunt when you try and get up in the morning.
 Spinal Tumor:
A spinal tumor is quite a rare condition where a tumor can grow on your spine, causing pain all over the back. When you lie down or sit, it puts pressure on your spine, which pressures the tumor and worsens the pain.
Symptoms:
If your lower back pain continues even after rest and trying some OTC medication, it’s time to go and see a doctor and disinfect your home against COVID-19. The pain usually classifies into two types; Acute Pain and Chronic Pain. Acute pain mostly happens due to some sprain, and chronic pain happens due to something more serious.
If you have any of the following symptoms, no matter if your pain is acute or chronic, you should visit a doctor.
- The pain originated due to a serious injury.
- Pain is getting worse day by day.
- The pain is extending to your knees and legs.
- The lower back is getting warm, or you are feeling a fever.
- You start feeling numbness or weakness in your legs and lower body.
Depending on your symptoms and immediate condition, a doctor might prescribe some painkillers or refer you to a specialist.
We suggest you follow the directions and get a complete checkup instead of trying to suffice with painkillers or muscle relaxers.
Diagnosis:
When you visit your doctor, be sure to bring your previous medical records if you suffer from any serious medical conditions like cancer.
If this is not the first time you are facing lower back pain issues, mention that to the doctor too.
In short, the more you help the doctor, the better diagnosis they will be able to make.
The first thing a doctor will do is a physical examination, and depending on the information you provide the doctor might order one or more of the following medical tests:
Neuro Test:
A test to check the strength of your muscles. This test will help the doctor determine if the pain is due to a problem in the nervous system.
MRI/CT Scan:
If your neuro test is clear, a doctor might call for an MRI or CT scan to check for any signs of fracture or internal infection.
An MRI will also help rule out the possibilities of cancer or tumor growth on the spine.
 Blood Test:
Your doctor might order a full blood check if you have other symptoms like fever and weakness in your body.
A blood test will also help reveal any possibilities of arthritis and cancerous infections.
Treatment:
The treatment will depend on your doctor’s diagnosis. It could be as simple as changing your sleeping position or mattress.
If your symptoms are mild, the doctor will suggest physical therapy or a few sessions with the chiropractor.
If there are some serious problems, you might even have to go through surgery.
So, to get the best treatment, cooperate with the doctor so they can make the right diagnosis and get you set up for the right treatment.
Conclusion:
Our bodies were made to move and not rest all day long. The best way to keep these unwanted pains away from our body is to keep moving, integrate exercises and yoga into our lifestyle.
We can’t change our luck, so some unlucky injury is unavoidable, but we can make sure we don’t go lazy and ruin our body’s health. So, get stretching and, hopefully, you can avoid lower back pain.