Upper-mid Back Pain Only After Sleeping

[quiXilver]

For about 6 weeks I have been experiencing mid back pain when I wake up in the morning.  The pain is so bad, I cannot go back to sleep, and NO position change helps.  I must get out of bed and start walking around or sit in a chair for the pain to start going away.  After an hour or two, the pain basically disappears.  The pain seems to be emanating from my spine, and tensing up the back muscles nearest the spine.  

I have been seeing a chiropractor/massage therapist for about 4 weeks now, and it has not helped, because the pain is only after I sleep!

I am 23 years old. I help my dad deliver produce 2 times a week in the morning, and I am also a full time sales associate at Sears selling electronics (which I'm on my feet all day.)  That may cause a little lower back pain, but it goes away when I'm not working.

I have used a contour pillow, slept in all different kinds of positions (back and both sides), I always sleep with a full body pillow, and nothing has seemed to help.

I would appreciate any suggestions, thanks!

[sunny_9_8_7]

TRY THIS SIMPLE SOLUTION. IT WORKED FOR ME....
I am writing this in June 2016. I remember reading through these pages in sheer panic back in 2010 when I began to have the same problems described by most people posting here. I solved my problem with a very simple solution. I feel guilty and selfish about not having bothered to post back. But better late than never.
So here is the simple solution that worked for me. It was recommended to me by my yoga-instructor who did the diagnosis and recommendation simply over an email. START SLEEPING WITHOUT A PILLOW. After about 4 days I no longer woke up after a few hours of sleeping flat. The lingering pain in the upper back took 6-12 months to complete go away. But by the end of 2011 my problem was history. The yoga instructor who gave me the simple solution said it was simply because of bad slouching posture when working at a computer, which I do. For the past 7 years I have been using a standing desk. I try hard to not slouch and I don't read heavy books while holding them in my hands and standing. Try this and let me know how it turns out.

[billyburger]

I am so grateful for this forum. Out of nowhere, 5 nights ago I started experiencing many of the same symptoms listed above: horrible mid/upper back pain, can't roll over, can barely move, can't take a full breath (a very panic-inducing feeling). And like many of the people here, after less than an hour of getting up and walking around, I would feel fine. The first 2 mornings of pain were more like aches so I attributed to possibly sleeping in a bad position (not true). The 3rd and 4th mornings I was awakened at 4am-5am to debilitating pain, so I changed beds. Did not help!

Yesterday I came across this forum and right away I did a few rounds of cobra stretches on the floor (lumbar extensions). Also, I tried out sleeping on my back with a pillow under my knees. Note that I am a life-long side sleeper, so this is very different for me. I did also take 1 ibuprofen because I was still feeling a little achey from the night before.

This morning I was able to sleep until the alarm went off, 95% pain free! I will keep doing these things and may also look into adding vitamin D supplements – my last checkup indicated I was on the low end. Hope these notes help someone else, and thanks again for all the info thus far!

About me: female, 40s, normal weight, moderately active, no health issues

[billyburger]

I am so grateful for this forum. Out of nowhere, 5 nights ago I started experiencing many of the same symptoms listed above: horrible mid/upper back pain, can't roll over, can barely move, can't take a full breath (a very panic-inducing feeling). And like many of the people here, after less than an hour of getting up and walking around, I would feel fine. The first 2 mornings of pain were more like aches so I attributed to possibly sleeping in a bad position (not true). The 3rd and 4th mornings I was awakened at 4am-5am to debilitating pain, so I changed beds. Did not help!

Yesterday I came across this forum and right away I did a few rounds of cobra stretches on the floor (lumbar extensions). Also, I tried out sleeping on my back with a pillow under my knees. Note that I am a life-long side sleeper, so this is very different for me. I did also take 1 ibuprofen because I was still feeling a little achey from the night before.

This morning I was able to sleep until the alarm went off, 95% pain free! I will keep doing these things and may also look into adding vitamin D supplements – my last checkup indicated I was on the low end. Hope these notes help someone else, and thanks again for all the info thus far!

About me: female, 40s, normal weight, moderately active, no health issues

[jaego]

Hello everybody. I researched this same topic probably two years ago now, as I was having the same pain in my mid back every morning before I got up. Would wake me up and persist no matter which position I tried. Then I would get up and walk around and it would be gone. So either here or somewhere else I read that somebody else had tried doing flexibility exercises on an swiss ball. So I started doing backwards stretches over a swiss ball at the gym, three times a week after my free weight workouts. The result: a few weeks later the pain was completely gone and never returned (I work out three times a week religiously and likewise did these stretches three times a week over this period). Then, about four weeks ago I had to have an emergency appendectomy and was in the hospital for a week. It has now been about a month since the surgery and I have not been able to go back to the gym or do anything in the past month. The result: about two weeks ago the back pain returned and is once again waking me up every morning. I'm hoping to be able to go back to the gym in the next week or so, and will begin a modified version of these stretches (not touching the floor completely) as soon as I do.

Here is a youtube link of the type of stretches that I am referring to. Of course, when I first started, it took a week or two before I could touch the floor completely (palms flat on the floor) and I still position myself near a wall or something that can assist me if I fatigue, as I have worked my way up to about four sets (5-6 minutes each). That said, I think these stretches can work for anybody if you position your mid-back properly over the ball, even if you can only do an assisted version with 50% range of motion or something. Anyway, with the recurrence of my back pain, just saw this msg board again and figured I would share my experience. The link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twdaYIBr27I

fyi - I'm 35, male, quite fit

[charlieavent]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for your post. I'm a 28 yr old female, fit and healthy and my pain came on immediately after an appendectomy over 18 months ago now. I've not had a night where my back does hurt after 4-5 hours asleep. Good to know it's not just me! Have had multiple MRIs, physio sessions, acupuncture and nothing seems to work.

Did you do anything else to help the back pain post surgery?

Thanks!

[icantthinkofagoodnickname]

MY SOLUTION! I also had pain in my upper left back after sleeping, and it wouldn't go away until I got up, walked around, or sat in a chair. Nothing I read on here worked, I found my own solution. To stop this from happening, I just lay on my side (either side) with my arm out, and elbow bent. Do not lay on your arm, you will still have the pain. If I lay on my back or stomach, I still wake up with these terrible pains, but as long as I lay on my side with my arm out and elbow bent, the pain is not there at all when I wake up. This was a very simple yet life changing discovery for me, and I hope it will help someone else.

[abf85]

Hi all.
Exact same issue, Im just as relieved to find others in the same situation working towards a solution.
30 year old, 6' male 180 lbs. Healthy.

Ive tried the trigger point release and it seemed to make the pain worse lol. I dont know if I was using too much pressure or if I targeted the wrong muscles around the spine that are more sensitive and fragile but it made the situation worse.

Im assuming in my case its not a magnesium or vitamin d deficiency as I supplement both. It may be related to acid reflux and nerve triggering as that is a bit of an issue for me, especially at night when horizontal.

Luckily I do have an adjustable bed, and starting tonight I will try sleeping with the top half slightly raised, with the head being about 8" higher as suggested by another member. Ill share my results.

My guess is that this does have something to do with a nerve or nerves being triggered and resulting in specific muscles in the affected area tightening up and as a result shortening. When we sleep, regardless of the firmness of the matress, out back and spine is being decompressed and stretched. It seems to me that these smaller muscles around the spinethen get stretched too much from laying down and thats whats causing the pain. This could be why the slight elevation helps as it prevents "over stretching" and decompression. If this is the case, then we still need to get the root cause of the issue, which Im assuming is related to triggered nerve(s).

Lets keep this thread going and help one another reach a solution!