Up to 80% of adults in the U.S. will experience some type of back pain throughout the course of their lifetimes. Back pain is extremely common, yet in many cases, it can be hard to pinpoint the source of your pain exactly. Due to this, many people experience pain in their backs without understanding the true root cause and may do things to exacerbate their symptoms. 

If you’re experiencing back pain that gets worse during the nighttime, you may benefit from reflecting on some of your daily activities that could be to blame. Some people find when they do a few of these things listed below during the day, their nighttime pain can often feel worse.

3 things you could be doing during the day that can make your back pain worse during the night

• Experiencing excessive stress — We all experience stress on a daily basis, but some of us may experience it more than others. For those who do, it’s important to know that stress and anxiety have very direct links to back pain and acute exacerbation. Oftentimes, anxiety can make pain worse which creates more stress, and then it becomes a detrimental cycle. Doing whatever you can to eliminate or reduce stressful factors in your life could potentially lessen some of your chronic back pain during the night.

• Smoking — If you’re a smoker, smoking may actually be making your back pain worse during the night. It may temporarily relieve pain, but over an extended period of regular smoking, your pain can get worse. It can deprive oxygenated blood to joints, muscles, and tissue, including those in the back which can result in chronic back pain. Research shows that smokers are times more likely than the average person to experience lower back pain.

• Not being active enough — If you don’t get enough physical activity in during the day, this could be a major factor influencing your sleepless nights with back pain. Sitting still usually only makes symptoms worse. Make sure to integrate regular movement into your daily routine to help keep muscles loose and strong, promote flexibility and range of motion, and reduce pressure on the spine.

Rehab Access Physical Therapy can help you take the right steps toward alleviating back pain

At Rehab Access Physical Therapy, we want to do the most we can to help you get the sleep you need. With the help of various strength-building and stress-relieving exercises and the encouragement of movement, your back pain at night can be reduced as much as possible. Our physical therapists are specially trained in helping you work toward recovery. We can address and treat your pain. This way, you can improve your quality of life and live more comfortably doing your daily activities.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.