Lately when I wake up in the morning, my back will be quite sore. Just lying on my back is painful, but if I turn to the side I’m usually fine. Strangely, after I get up and walk around, it doesn’t hurt anymore. When I go to lie down later, like when going to sleep, it’s fine. It just hurts in the morning when I wake up. I’m not…getting old, am I??
Well yes technically you are getting old.
Seriously - and without a cite - I saw my doctor about this very problem not 2 weeks ago. He mentioned that when we sleep we are actually taller (slightly) and our discs relax therefore stretch slightly.When you wake you can have some discomfort from your body weight pushing back down on your spine. And yes, I would think this happens more when you get older 
And yes, some things about getting old just plain suck.
I had this problem and a new mattress solved it.
Nothing strange about this at all.
To simplify, you have two types of muscles. Those you use to lift stuff with (the big muscles) and the ‘always-on’ muscles’ (many tiny muscles). Your always-on muscles’ are in charge of keeping the skeleton in position - and they are always on the job (faithful little minions they are).
Back pain is usually caused by strained muscles. Normally, the cause is either doing some kind of work you don’t ususally do (like heavy lifting=back pain) or, as likely in your case, a slight ‘misalignment’ of the discs. When your discs are misaligned/stretched the always-on muscles will kick into overgear to try to correct the situation so they’ll get overworked and tired. (The kind of sudden back pain when we lift too heavy is essentially the same thing, except that the muscles almost burn out, followed by serious pain for days).
You feel some pain when you wake up simply because your mucles are stiff from doing too much work the day before followed by a period of reduced activity while you’re sleeping. When you move around you soften them up. It’s perfectly normal. I’m fairly certain there’s nothing more to it, but as always, visit your doctor if you feel any uneasiness from this.
The cure: 2 walks a 30 minutes per day, and maybe doing a little thinking about your posture (if it gets painful during the day, try not to lay down as this will only make things worse, take a walk instead). I would also advise you to see a chiropractor if this bothers you. If you haven’t done any different kind of labor lately, it’s likely that you have a few disc misalignments in your back, which a good chiropractor will take care of for you in 2-3 sessions (you can check this out for yourself by running a finger along each side of your spine/backbone, pressing lightly - any overworked muscles will feel a little bit painful as you press on them).
A new mattress may also help, try to find one recommended for people having problems with their back.
I had exactly the same problem and was convinced it was just one of the things one should expect with getting older. It took me a couple of out-of-town business trips to realize that I never had the problem in a strange bed. A new firm, pillow-top style mattress and boxspring fixed me up instantly. Haven’t had even a twinge since. Before investing in any costly medical tests or buying a new mattress and boxspring, I suggest you try sleeping in an hotel bed and see how you feel in the morning.
I forgot to mention, this has happened in multiple beds, so I don’t think the mattress is the problem. Maybe I’ll make an appointment with the college health center and see what they say.
I’ve sometimes run into a problem when I take Valerian to help me sleep. I sleep so deeply I don’t move and night. Same thing happens when I take Robaxacet - I sleep so deeply that I don’t move at all and wake up with a sore back. Tossing and turning around is natural and keeps you from cramping up.
Are you finding it’s worse when you sleep really well/deeply?
Same thing happens to me when I’m drinking a lot. Don’t move when sleeping and wake up with a sore back. I did buy a good ($300.00) mattress a couple of years ago and it helped alot with normal sleep though.
Take the advice given to get a new mattress. If you can’t afford it, try putting a board under yours, or put the mattress on the floor.
Also, watever your favoirte method of relaxing is now, change it. If you spend a couple hours in the same position in a Lazy Boy recliner, your back will get stiff. Ditto for a couch. Mix it up, change positions during the evening.
Also, if you have recently changed your belt or bluejeans, and are wearing the same ones every day, alternate with a new pair. A too tight pair will stess the back, as will a too-loose one that requires a tight belt. Wide belts tend to create tender spots.
I have found that flipping my mattress every few months helps, along with those “egg foam” pads.
Well, the only advice anyone can give you is to eliminate the obvious variables:
Overweight?
Inactive?
Don’t stretch?
Practice poor posture?
Poor lifting techniques
Weak ab muscles?
Weak hamstrings?
Weak back muscles?
These are all variables that must be eliminated. Just one variable can lead to back pain.
Back pain can get progressively worse, because…pain leads to inactivity, further weakening the area and supporting area. In lieue of pain, fear of back pain causes folks to shy away from stretches, exercises, etc.
Seek help. Chriopracters: Be careful. Seek physical therapy referal from your primary care doc.
Hi Yumblie,
Having the same problem these last days. What was the solution to yours?
Thanks!
I had this at one time, what I found is it started when I flipped the mattress. I flipped it back again and all was good.
What a blast from the past! I solved this problem by always sleeping on my side. Unless I manage to roll onto my back during sleep or I’m particularly inactive the preceding day, usually no back problems in the morning.
Thanks a lot for the info,
I tried last night sleeping on my stomach with a pillow (placed between mattress and body) only on half of left side of my body and it helps. Is it strange that suddenly backs started to hurt with no apparently reason??? I will still visit a chiropractor for an alignment as I really not feel 100%. I will post an update later.
Definitely visit a chiropractor (a genuine physical therapist, not a woo-quack, natch.) Fixing alignment issues early can potentially prevent major problems in the future.
Regarding pillows, the advice I was given by my doctor is to sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees, that seemed to help a lot. (YMMV of course.) And definitely bring up the mattress issue with him/her, a bad mattress can definitely create or exacerbate back problems.
Probably best if you don’t ask your doctor about whether or not zombies have back problems.
New mattress fixed my problems also. lycemail, how old is yours?
About 10 days now but really strange as I was on a trip and slept on the same mattress for 14 days and then day 15 and 16 my back was killing me.
Came back home and since then I have been waking up in the morning with pain (which goes away as the day goes by). I’m thing and active, hope is just a sleeping position but still very strange how suddenly body changes with no apparently reason.
Is it right at the base of your spine? Does it come and go? If so it may be worth trying to eliminate all FLOUR products. I always laughed at the hippys who talked about gluten intolerance but i recently figured out that the back pain (exactly as you described) and other joint pain i had was directly correlated to if an how much what i ate… it is worth a try. It never bothered me until I was an adult about 25 years old then it just set in and the doctor tried to tell me it was pre-arthritis or another said it was just normal joint pain from carrying around kids (i have 5) but when i cut out wheat it disappearred and now if i eat something with wheat sure enough next few days i am sore