Low Back Pain & Sciatica – Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

When you are suffering from either Low Back Pain or Sciatica, the last thing you want to be doing is laying awake for hours with only the pain for company! Unfortunately that’s how it is for many people, especially in the early days when there is still a high degree of inflammation present which is contributing to the pain.

However, it does not always need to be that way. I shall address this very frustrating issue of sleep, or lack of it, to try and help you gain a good nights rest and to also try and avoid you falling into the trap of thinking you need to replace your bed. Although this can sometimes be the case, it rarely is.

More often than not, if you are struggling to have a good nights sleep, it is likely to be a consequence of either what you have been doing before you went to bed or the position you have been sleeping in while you are in bed which is the problem. I shall be discussing the latter here.

It’s difficult to go into great detail, as a lot depends upon what is actually causing you to have low back pain or sciatica in the first place. Nevertheless, there are typically two postures or activities which will tend to aggravate your pain, those being Extension based activities (e.g. leaning backwards) and Flexion based activities (e.g. leaning forwards).

If, when you go to bed, you tend to lie on your stomach and it is extension based activities which aggravate your pain, it is likely your pain is going to be aggravated further during the night, as lying on your stomach encourages extension. Under these circumstances, I would suggest you try lying on your back of a night (I would encourage you to place a pillow or two under your knees however, as if you keep your legs straight this could also aggravate your pain).

Alternatively, if it is flexion based activities which aggravate your pain and you are lying on you back of a night, this could also lead to a poor nights sleep. This is due to lying on your back encouraging flexion (this is not strictly true, as there are exceptions to the rule. However, for now, we shall take it as true). Under these circumstances, I would suggest you try lying on your front of a night (this time, you may wish to place a small pillow underneath your stomach). Either of these should help you get a better night’s sleep.

HOWEVER, if your pain is still quite sensitive, neither of these positions may be very comfortable. When this is the case, I would encourage you to try lying on your side (whichever side you find the easiest) BUT ensure that your top leg is bent slightly at the hip and knee and also supported by a pillow or two. By doing this, it enables your top leg to remain parallel with the bed therefore preventing your leg from dropping down.

It is this ‘dropping down’ action of the top leg which tends to have a twisting / stretching effect on your lower back and sciatic nerve and will undoubtedly aggravate your pain.

As I mentioned earlier, the sleeping position is just one potential factor which can aggravate your pain at night, but it is a very important one & if you can get this right, a good night’s sleep will not be too far away!