Demystify Pain

Do you wake up with pain? Do you experience recurring pain that has been going on for several years? Do you have crippling pain that occurs two or more times per year, or perhaps per month? Do you have a dull ache that never seems to go away? If your answer is yes to one or more of these questions then this month’s health tips is dedicated to you.

Although there are millions of remedies for pain, the remedy may be useless or even harmful without the proper diagnosis. Even if most of the pain assessment and treatment plans are effective at alleviating some of the pain, there is still something missing, especially if the pain does not go away. The causative factor has always been there, hidden, yet in plain view every night as we sleep.

SLEEP POSTURE

The Missing Link to Our Pain Scenario

You've had a long day and finally, after everything has been taken care of; you can retire to a nice, warm, and comfortable bed, where everything feels good and safe, and then go to sleep. In your bed, it does not matter how you look, behave, or position yourself. You can let it all hang loose and rest without being judged or observed by anyone, except perhaps your spouse or significant other.

Now you're in bed, tired and sleepy, but it is difficult to sleep. The events and dialogues from the day keep processing through your mind, and it becomes hard to turn off your world. You may turn to one side, then to the other side, and then, perhaps on your stomach. Then suddenly, without awareness, everything starts to fade into slumber.

You wake up the next morning after 7 to 8 hours of sleep and notice a dull headache that wasn't there last night. Your energy doesn't seem replenished, but you get out of bed, struggling very slowly to straighten out your creaky achy back, that also was not present last night. After the first ten minutes, it becomes a little easier to move. You take a long hot shower and finally the body seems halfway decent and more comfortable to move, except for one or two little aches that are left. You silently wonder what went wrong and mumble to yourself, "Oh, it must be old age." Sound familiar?

It is quite that easy for pain to appear. The above scenario is very common and occurs, not only with adults, but with children as well. If you do not sleep on your back and your sleep posture pattern repeats itself night after night, year after year, sooner or later the above scenario can and does occur.

DON’T SLEEP ON YOUR SIDES OR STOMACH

I believe that seventy to ninety percent of all non-traumatic structural pain results from how we sleep. The fact that we wake up, or are awakened from sleep, with pain is a sure clue.

Who would assume that one can get injured while sleeping? Yet this is in fact what does occur. One third of our 24-hour day is spent in bed. Most people average about 6 to 8 hours of sleep per night, and an overwhelming majority of people may sleep on their sides or stomach or a combination of the two postures.

The worst posture is sleeping on one's stomach. The side posture is not as contorting but can potentially cause much injury. So why is it so bad to sleep on our sides or stomach? Isn't sleeping in the fetal position suppose to be good?

By natural design, we are not meant to sleep on our jaw, rib cage, shoulder and hip joint, which are highly unstable and distort us out of proper alignment. The shoulder and hip joint is a ball and socket joint and is not structured to absorb lateral pressure.

The rib cage protects several internal organs and is designed to expand and contract with respiration. Sleeping on the side of the rib cage distorts its symmetry and adds stress to the sternum and spine. The jaw is structured to handle circular up and down movements of chewing and speaking but not lateral pressure from sleeping on the side of our face.

However, our back is firm and symmetrical. It provides us with the stable base we need when in a prone position. Our shoulder blades and buttocks are like the four corner legs of a table that evenly support and stabilize the back. The back of the head has no moving parts and the elbows and heels add to spinal stabilization.

Sleeping half on the side and half on the stomach can create a combination of the above conditions. It is one of the major causes of non-congenital scoliosis (lateral and rotating curvature of the spine). A partially deviated spine can easily go out of proper alignment and cause pain when:

a) Doing a simple movement, such as picking something up

b) Walking

c) Sitting for a prolonged period

d) Performing repetitive movement at work or at home

e) Exposure to wind, cold, heat, or damp.

f) Mental and emotional stress.

Any of these actions can often be the "straw that broke the camel's back."

So take my advise and try to sleep more on your back and life can be a little better because of it.