Waking Up with Pain? Use These 4 Tips To Help
2 CommentsWaking up with pain and soreness is quite common, especially because when we sleep, we maintain relatively similar positions for 6-10 hours with minimal movement. I have heard many patients say that they wake up with low back pain or neck pain in the morning. For some patients, that pain goes away throughout the day. However, other people experience lingering pain that lasts for most of the day. Here are four recommendations for people who wake up in chronic pain.
1) Get on a morning stretching routine
For most people, I highly suggest getting into a morning exercise routine. Set your alarm for twenty minutes earlier in the morning and commit to performing low back and neck stretches. Though this is easier said than done, if you make this part of your daily routine and it helps take away your pain, then you are not going to want to stop performing these activities. If you have a desk job, performing stretching in the morning allows you to improve your flexibility and posture as you prepare to sit for the majority of the day. On the contrary, if you have job demands such as frequent lifting or repetitive manual tasks, stretching in the morning can help loosen your muscles and improve your mobility.
2) Keep a journal and write down your pain patterns
If you wake up in pain, it may be a good idea to keep a log/journal describing your pain. This can include severity of pain (use a scale from 0-10), description of the pain (sharp, dull, achy), and where exactly your pain is located. If you attend a physical therapy appointment after keeping this journal, it will allow your physical therapist to pinpoint your pain patterns and provide stretches that can help you. Maintain this journal as you perform exercises at home or attend physical therapy so you can track your progress.
3) Set yourself up for success the remainder of the day
Think about what makes your pain better and what makes your pain worse. How can you plan ahead so that pain doesn’t worsen throughout the day? This can include making sure that you are maintaining your posture, committing to performing stretches once per hour, or finding time to fit in a walk or other cardiovascular exercise throughout the day.
4) Plan to see a physical therapist
Experiencing pain in the morning is no fun, and there is potential for long-term damage to your joints. Physical therapists can help improve your posture, adjust your sleeping positions, provide advice on your ergonomic set up at your workstation, and manage your pain.
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Physical therapy is usually the thing you are told to do after medication, x-rays or surgery. The best way to fix your pain is to start where you normally finish – with physical therapy at Athletico.
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2 Comments
Lexi J.
I received a weighted blanket for my birthday but do not consistently use it since i have found its weight aggravates my mild nighttime hip pain, as well as my shoulders (due to the weight of needing to reposition it at times.) Additionally I question whether it is good to lie in unchanged positions for hours—concerns about formation of dvts. I havent had those since a 1991 surgery but don’t want to create unnecessary fertile ground for any now. Before getting out of bed, even during the night, I faithfully do some “aerial” leg stimulating moves and arm/shoulder stretches and activating before hitting the floor. Although the weighted blankets the rage right now, in my case, I question benefit v. risk.
Michael Glynn, DPT
Hi Lexi, thanks for reading. If your weighted blanket is increasing your hip and shoulder pain, I would stay away from using it. Additionally, DVTs are usually caused after a recent surgery due to prolonged bed rest. As long as you are exercising during the day and not laying in the same position for hours during the day, then I would not worry about a DVT developing.