Are you tired of the back pain at night that won’t let you sleep? Cheer up! As we will give you some of the best advice to treat your back and have a sound sleep with a herniated disc.
One of the leading causes of back pain may be a herniated disc. If you are someone living with a herniated disc, it can be devastating as it immensely affects your daily life routine. Moreover, this constant pain has distorted your sleeping patterns, not letting you sleep the whole night.
You are terrified from hearing about the surgery as being the last option. You are likely wondering if there can be a holistic solution, as there is! Let’s have a read to know further.
Why Does Herniated Disc Hurt More At Night?
With a herniated disc, you may not be able to find relief. Whether you are sitting or laying, neither of the position is going to help. Deliberately, at night if you have an important meeting in the morning, you won’t have a good night’s sleep.
Moreover, sleeping with a herniated disc is a whole other issue. Because at night your discs swell up, which is pretty normal.
Due to this swelling, the nerve endings become overly sensitive. Also, it has irritations; thus, you may experience pain while moving with the herniated disc at night.
Furthermore, often you may sleep at one position, eventually putting the pressure at one point for a prolonged time.
However, the stress factor is involved equally as well. Most of the time, the problem may be all in your head, and you may be stressing about it. Try to remain calm while looking out for the best solutions.
Related Article: How To Sit With Herniated Disc?
Does Laying Down Help Herniated Disc?
If you live with a herniated disc, laying down can be a bit of a nightmare to you. However, you don’t have to worry about the most suitable positions; you can have a goodnight’s sleep.
If you want to lay down without feeling any back pain, you have to ensure your back has a proper alignment. If your back, neck, and legs are aligned, then your suffering may be resolved. Meanwhile, you can try out the following sleeping positions to ease your situation.
- Fetal Position: If you have been suffering from a herniated disc, try to sleep on your side in a fetal position. You have to roll over onto your side and curl your knees toward your chest. However, remember to switch sides to prevent any discomfort.
- Pillow Under Abdomen: Laying over the stomach is fatal for back pain. If you are ever lying on your stomach, then you don’t have to switch your position. You can simply place a pillow under your lower abdomen. This will deliberately remove a lot of pressure.
- Pillow under your knees: If you are one of those having herniated discs and prefer to lay on their back, then you don’t have to fear. You can simply place a pillow under your knees to keep your spine neutral and without any pressure.
While choosing out the perfect position, make sure you don’t disturb the natural alignment of the spinal cord. Moreover, sleeping on your back is the most optimal position for maintaining your spine’s curvature.
Although these positions won’t diminish your back pain, however, you won’t be damaging the disc further.
Related Article: Ergonomic Recliner for Tailbone
What Would Be The Worst Sleeping Position For Herniated Disc?
Did you know according to the spinal health association sleeping on your stomach is the worst position. This is mainly due to the exceptional strain on muscles, ligaments, and vertebrae. Moreover, it is also associated with the arch in the lower back, giving you severe pain and a bad posture.
If you ever find yourself sleeping on your stomach daily, try to adjust your habits and improve your sleeping habits. However, if you are habitual, then try to place a pillow under your hips. Besides, it will help to minimize the pressure on your spinal cord.
Furthermore, any position that tends to alter your natural curvature is, in fact, the worst sleeping position for you. Choose carefully how you lay or sleep. Sleeping on a Ergonomic recliner also helps to get rid from lower back & disc pain.
How Can I Heal A Herniated Disc Naturally?
If you are suffering from a herniated disc, then you have to find a way to deal with it. Ultimately, you must be definitely thinking about how you can heal it naturally. In most of the scenarios, surgery is not required. Although many treatment options are available, however, the best way may be the one that works well for your condition.
1) Don’t Slouch And Sit Up Straight
Our mothers have been saying this for decades that don’t slouch and sit back straight; otherwise, you will ruin your back. However, mom really does know best, and she was right. Whether you believe it or not but a bad posture will definitely worsen your herniated disc.
Pay a visit to your chiropractor; he will guide you on the best possible methods for improving your posture. And try to use ergonomic chair for sitting purpose.
2) Heat And Cold Therapy
Using the old-school method, you can apply heat or cold therapy to the lower back to relieve muscle tensions. Heat will help to loosen the muscles which have initially been causing spasms. In contrast, the cold will decrease the temperature and produce an analgesic effect.
Meanwhile, you can apply cold and hot pressure through the following steps:
- With a heating pad or hot compress, apply mild pressure to the herniated area. Be careful as to avoid any thermal injury. Make sure to do this before exercise.
- With a cold pack, try to apply gentle pressure at the points you have pain. However, try to use it after exercising for pain relief.
The amount of heat and type of application will solely depend upon your own preferences. Try several options and see what works best for you.
3) Physical Activities
While it may sound inflexible to you, mild physical activity can relieve you if you have a herniated disc. As you perform some physical activity, endorphins are released. These endorphins can reduce the perception of pain and elevate your mood.
Most of the people with herniated discs can tolerate a mild form of physical activities like:
- Walking
- Cycling
- Hydrotherapy
You can also contact a trainer. A trainer will guide you with some of the suitable low-impact aerobic exercises for you. Trainers can help you as they are expert in their field, and they know how to deal with a particular condition.
Again, what you choose depends upon what works best for you. If the pain persists, you must contact your physician.
4) Take Good Nutrition
A wise man says that if you have good nutrition, you can tackle every disease. For treating a herniated disc, it is important to keep track of your nutrition. A healthy diet, exercise, plenty of water intake will help to keep you well.
For having a healthy back, start having nutrition-rich of protein and collagen. To have the best form of protein, try to go for all-natural products. With collagen, your body will have immense healing power. Moreover, this healing power will repair the damaged disc and tissue as well.
You can have collagen or protein in the form of fresh foods or supplements. However, bone broth is considered to be the must-have for a herniated disc. You can have a homemade or frozen broth, whatever you prefer, as it will eventually help you in healing.
5) Do Therapy Regularly
When you visit your physician, he must have recommended you some relaxants and physical therapies. A physical therapist will conduct your physical therapy. The therapist will consider your condition and your doctor’s notes side by side.
Therapy may include massage, heat & cold therapy, stimulation, stretching, and many more. Moreover, your therapist will also provide you with a daily regime to follow at your home. After doing regular therapy, many people can see visible changes in their body.
6) Chiropractic Care
Still not sure how to take care of a herniated disc? With chiropractic care, of course! You can improve your back pain by seeing your local chiropractor. They are experts and can identify and treat your condition.
First of all, the chiropractor will consider visual imageries like ultrasounds or MRI. After completion of the visual stage, he will then set a specific treatment plan for you.
These plans are specific to every person, as every person’s condition is different from the other.
Secondly, your chiropractor will try to realign the vertebrae and discs by performing series of spinal adjustments. Further, the chiropractor will apply a different kind of techniques as:
- Ultrasound: They may use waves to give heat deep into the tissues. This will relieve your muscle spasms.
- Heat and Cold Therapy: With using heat and cold therapy, the inflammation and swelling will be reduced.
- Chiropractic Massage: Moreover, the chiropractors may perform specific chiropractic massages to give you complete relief. Also try Brookstone Massage Chairs for airbag massage at home.
Conclusion
Summing up, living with a herniated disc may not be easy for you. Life may seem miserable sometimes, but with the proper preventions, you can manage it through. With the help of some of the best sleeping positions, now you can have your good night’s sleep for sure.
Lastly, you can’t cure herniated disc entirely, but you can prevent further damage. Make sure if your problem persists and the pain gets severe, do consult your physician. Get well soon!