Five Sleeping Positions to Relieve Your Back Pain

Woman sleeping in bed.

We have heard from BackShield customers who have slept on their BackShields. They have reported their first full nights of pain-free sleep in years.

Sleep is absolutely essential for good health. It is the body’s natural period of rest when it heals itself.

But what about when you wake up with back pain that wasn’t there before you went to bed? Did you sleep “wrong”?
Is that even possible?

Or maybe back pain is preventing you from getting a good night’s rest.

The simple answer is yes.

Just like driving long distances or working long hours at a desk, sleep is a time when, for the most part, our bodies are sedentary. That makes it even more important to keep our posture in good spinal alignment. So here are five sleeping positions to relieve back pain.

PILLOW BETWEEN THE KNEES

This is a big one for you side sleepers out there.

Side sleeping puts an unnatural curve and pressure on the lower back and hips. Placing a pillow between your knees helps to support your lower body by positioning your legs, hips, knees, and spine in proper alignment and will help avoid pain.

FETAL POSITION

Curling up in the fetal position can not only be comforting on an emotional level but can have some physical benefits as well.

By curling the torso, the vertebra (the space between the discs of the spine) opens up and aid in spinal decompression.

You can place a pillow between your knees in this position to take the pressure off the hips and prevent stress on the sacroiliac joint or SI joint.

PILLOW UNDER THE BELLY

If you are a stomach sleeper, you really should consider changing to a different position.

Stomach sleepers put quite a bit of stress on their necks because unless you sleep on a massage table, you have to turn your head to avoid having a face full of pillow.

However, if you absolutely cannot sleep any other way, put a pillow under your belly so your lower back isn’t put in a position of hyperextension during your slumber.

PILLOW UNDER THE KNEES

Sleeping on your back is probably the healthiest position for your spine while sleeping.

However, this causes most people’s feet to rotate outward, which results in the upper legs pulling the spine out of alignment.

Placing a firm, oblong-shaped pillow behind the knees will help keep your legs aligned with your hips. It will also take the stress off of the lower back and hips.

RECLINED POSITION

You can sleep on your back in a slightly reclined position to create an angle between the thigh and the trunk. This can help to reduce stress or pressure on the spine.

We have heard from BackShield customers who have slept on their BackShields. They have reported their first full nights of pain-free sleep in years. The BackShield shape will naturally create this reclined position when you lay on it.

Just as in sitting, when we sleep it is important that our backs get the proper support. Our back health is not something we can ignore for years without consequence. Poor treatment of the back will eventually catch up to us, as we at BackShield have found out. The resulting pain from lack of back care can be debilitating and reduce the quality of our lives.

Our mission at BackShield is to build products and spread the word about how to have better back health. Check out BackShield.com and our other blog for more tips for a better back!