Early Morning Back Pain: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
Waking up with a sore back is a very common complaint. Early morning back pain can happen to anyone, but mostly, its victims are professionals and students who spend most of their time sitting before a computer screen. Such pain is often caused by a sedentary lifestyle, nutritional deficiencies, and congenital diseases. In this blog, we have discussed such causes in detail as well as various approaches and treatment techniques to cure back pain.
What are the causes of lower back pain in the early morning?
Poor quality sleep
Most often, poor sleep is the main culprit behind you waking up with a sore back. Poor quality sleep increases muscle tension and decreases micro-pauses in muscle activity. Also, sleeping on a mattress that does not keep the spine straight leads to middle back pain in the morning.
Ligament Strain
The ligaments and muscles that surround the spinal cord firmly hold it in place to prevent extreme bending or twisting movements. A ligament strain is an injury to a ligament in which the fibers are stretched or torn. The most common cause of a ligament strain is overuse, repetitive motion, or an injury.
Awkward postures
Awkward movements and postures strain the muscles and joints of the spine and consequently lead to back pain. For example, adopting a very haunched sitting position while using computers can cause lower back pain in early morning.
Underlying medical problems
Several medical conditions such as kidney stones or kidney infections, sleep disorders, infection of the spine can also give rise to back pain. In addition, several structural problems such as bulging or ruptured disks, Sciatica, Arthritis, and Osteoporosis may result in back pain.
When should you see the specialist?
Usually, back pain develops due to overuse or a minor injury and can be cured with some exercise and painkiller medications. But sometimes, it is caused due to other underlying conditions, and it may need immediate medical attention. It is time to talk to a specialist if you have the following symptoms along with back pain in the morning:
- Very severe pain that doesn’t go away with rest
- Weakness, numbness, or tingling in the legs
- Fever and weight loss
- Loss of sensation in the legs
- Loss of bowel or bladder function
Early morning back pain Treatment
Non-surgical treatment
OTC Medications and pain-relieving injections
Typically, doctors prescribe over-the-counter medications for pain management. The doctor may also administer steroid injections to the pain site as a temporary solution.
Massage
Light massages in circular motions work phenomenally in alleviating upper back pain. Massage reduces stress and improves blood circulation in the back. In addition, heat and ice therapy can also help in relieving back pain.
Lifestyle Changes
Lifestyle changes such as a nutrition-rich diet and yoga practice may improve overall body condition, making you flexible, fit, and stronger. In addition, recent researches emphasize the importance of exercising, over-improving bone and muscle health.
Surgical treatment
Doctors usually rely on medications and therapies for spinal healing, but if the spine does not respond well to medications, the doctor prefers surgery as the most sustainable spinal treatment.
Discectomy
It is done to relieve pinched nerves due to herniated disc or bulging disc. It is a minimally invasive surgery done through a microscopic incision on the lower back. The surgeon removes some part of the disc to relieve compression on the nerve roots.
Kyphoplasty
Surgeons perform kyphoplasty to relieve pain caused due to vertebral compression fractures in osteoporotic patients. The surgery typically involves inserting a small balloon and bone cement into the fractured vertebrae.
Artificial disc replacement
An artificial disc replacement is a surgery for lower back pain that replaces the damaged or degenerated disc in your spine with an artificial disc. The artificial disc replacement is typically done as an endoscopic or microscopic rocedure and can reduce or eliminate pain from a damaged or degenerated disc.
Lumbar decompression
Lumbar decompression treats back pain by removing the extra or excess bone between two vertebrae in the spine. Lumbar decompression aims to relieve pressure on the spinal cord, reduce muscle spasms, and improve flexibility.
Dr. Tushar Ubale is one of the experienced and best-known back pain specialists. He explains everything you need to know about back pain so that you can seek the right treatment in time. To this date, he has treated several complicated spine cases with the latest medical approaches and skills. So if you are referring to a patient with back pain in Mumbai, contact us today.