Keeping up with modern life’s demands has increased the human body’s toll. Work, leisure, and rest are no longer maintained separately. Instead, modern Americans have blurred the lines between them all, spending countless hours hunched over computers, scrolling through phones at bedtime, and engaging in activities that strain our bodies. When combined with poor sleeping posture, these habits can increase the risk of back pain and damage, diminishing your quality of life.
While a comfortable mattress and supportive pillows are essential for a good night’s sleep, they’re often not enough to combat the effects of poor posture. Here, we will explore some of the many ways chiropractic care helps to restore healthy postural habits while alleviating back pain from suboptimal sleeping habits for a night of quality sleep and relaxation.
The Relationship Between Sleep and Spine
Sleep is an essential step in the body’s rejuvenation process. During sleep, muscles relax, tissues heal, and the spine rests and realigns after a long day of supporting the body vertically. When these natural rejuvenation processes are disrupted by poor sleeping posture, more stress and pressure can be put on the spine, muscles, and ligaments, increasing your risk of other health issues such as:
Muscular imbalances: Sleeping in awkward or unnatural positions can cause stretching or shortening of the muscles, creating imbalances that contribute to increased back pain. Sleeping positions such as the fetal position can shorten hip flexor muscles and tighten the chest and shoulder muscles, leading to increased pain and discomfort in the lower back and hips upon waking.
Spinal Misalignment: Sleeping on too many or too few pillows or on a mattress that’s too firm or soft can contribute to spinal misalignments over time. Inadequate conditions can cause your spine to bend and curve into unnatural positions, interfering with nerve function and cousin radiating pain and other symptoms.
Disc Herniation: Prolonged pressure on one side of the spine, particularly during side-sleeping, can cause vertebral discs to bulge or herniate. Disc herniation can cause a significant amount of pain in itself as it puts pressure on surrounding nerves and muscles; however, it can also lead to a variety of other symptoms, such as sciatica, muscle tension, and mobility issues.
Common Factors Disrupting The Natural Spine
Several factors can come into play when setting yourself up for a good night’s rest. While it is often tempting to jump right into bed and doze off after a long day, taking the time to identify factors contributing to back pain and making proper adjustments can help you get the most out of your sleep, ensuring a higher quality of rest and rejuvenation. Everyday bedtime habits that contribute to back pain include:
Sleeping in the Fetal Position: While a seemingly comfortable and secure sleeping position, the fetal position can harm the spine by over-flexing the vertebral column and straining the neck and hip muscles. Sleeping in the fetal position can also create tension and pain in the chest areas as the thoracic and abdominal areas are compressed, making it difficult to breathe.
Stomach Sleeping: Stomach sleepers are more prone to developing spinal issues as this position arches the back, strains the neck, and puts excessive downward pressure on the spine’s curves. Over time, it can lead to stiffness and tension in the neck, shoulders, and arms as they rotate their heads to breathe while face-down.
Mattress Softness: A soft mattress isn’t always a good thing. Mattresses that lack adequate support can cause the spine to sag or bow, misaligning the spinal vertebrae and causing back pain.
Excessive or Minimal Pillows: Too many pillows can elevate the head too high, causing forward bending and strain in the neck and upper back. On the other hand, insufficient pillows can cause the neck to bend backward out of alignment with the spine, causing increased stiffness and tension in the upper body and lower back.
Correcting Sleep-Related Postural Issues With Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care offers a holistic approach to relieving and addressing back pain caused by poor sleeping posture. As experts in musculoskeletal health and function, chiropractors focus on spinal alignment and its relationship to the central nervous system. Through thorough evaluations of a patient’s medical history, range-of-motion assessments, and imaging, chiropractors can determine the best route for fast, easy, and effective treatment.
When addressing postural issues, chiropractors often utilize a variety of techniques that meet patients’ needs. Spinal adjustments correct misalignments and relieve nerve pressure, reducing muscle tension and improving mobility. Soft tissue therapy addresses muscle imbalances and relieves points of tension, such as hip-flexor tightness from sleeping in the fetal position. Chiropractors also provide postural guidance for waking and sleeping and offer ergonomic recommendations to ensure healthy habits and sustained improvement.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care in Addressing Sleeping Posture
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of poor sleeping posture is crucial for seeking appropriate care and experiencing the full benefits of chiropractic intervention. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive approach to addressing these issues, providing a range of benefits that extend beyond simply alleviating immediate discomfort. Consulting a chiropractor can reduce pain and stiffness, increase range of motion, enhance sleep quality, and improve overall well-being.
Chiropractors take a holistic approach, focusing on targeted areas to promote overall bodily health and function. By addressing the root causes of discomfort stemming from poor sleep posture, chiropractic treatment facilitates more restful and restorative sleep, which is essential for optimal health. Quality sleep, in turn, plays a vital role in improving cognitive function, managing stress levels, bolstering the immune system, and allowing the body to heal and repair itself. Chiropractic treatment focuses on spinal health and correcting imbalances caused by sleep posture, chiropractic care initiates a cascade of positive effects throughout the entire body, maximizing the benefits of treatment and contributing to a significantly improved quality of life.
Rest and Rejuvenate With Governor’s Park Chiropractic
Comfort in the short term doesn’t always translate to long-term health. Addressing your sleeping habits now can lead to healthier practices and ensure lasting comfort and spinal health. Whether you’re battling the effects of sleeping in the fetal position or are recovering from a night on a way-too-soft hotel mattress, chiropractic care helps you to optimize your spinal health and unlock a good night’s sleep.
At Governor’s Park Chiropractic, we believe proper spinal alignment is paramount for overall well-being. Led by Dr. Ferdowsian, our experienced chiropractic team offers comprehensive evaluations and personalized treatment plans to address sleep-related back pain and postural issues. We can help you to identify and correct your sleeping habits to get ahead of your spinal health and take the first step toward a healthier, more comfortable, and well-rested you. For more information or to schedule an appointment at three locations in Denver, Lone Tree, or Wheat Ridge, Colorado, visit our booking page or call (303) 831-1122.
Governor's Park Chiropractic is the Colorado chiropractor team dedicated to helping individuals get out of pain and achieve better health. Offering a range of services and treatment options to meet the specific needs of each patient.