3 Little-Known Tips for Sleeping with Sciatica

Sciatica symptoms don’t take time off to accommodate your sleep schedule. The burning sensation in your calf or throbbing pain in your foot can jolt you awake at any hour—if you’re lucky enough to fall asleep.

To help you find relief—and regain control of your sleep schedule—here are 3 little-known tips for sleeping with sciatica:

1. Elevate your knees

Your sciatica flares up when 1 of the 5 sciatic nerve roots in your lower back is compressed or irritated. Sleeping with your knees elevated may alleviate your symptoms by minimizing the pressure your lumbar discs place on your nerve roots.

Watch Video: What Is Your Sciatic Nerve and Why Does It Hurt So Much?

Interested? Here’s how to do it:

• Lie flat on your back—keep your heels and buttocks in contact with the bed and bend your knees slightly towards the ceiling.
• Slide a pillow between your bed and your knees for support. Slowly add additional pillows until you find a comfortable knee position.
• Don’t despair if you don’t find relief after a few days; no single sleep position works for everyone. Keep experimenting and you may find that a different position minimizes your sciatic pain and allows you to sleep through the night.

2. Enjoy a bath before bed

A warm bath can help you sleep by encouraging the release of pain-fighting endorphins and relaxing the muscles around your sciatic nerve roots.

• Some people with sciatica find it’s easiest to fall asleep immediately after a bath, while others like to read a book or knit after a soak. There is no right or wrong way—but as part of practicing good sleep hygiene try to follow the same schedule every night.
• The temperature of your water should be warm and pleasant, not hot. Hot water can make it difficult to fall asleep by raising your body temperature.
• If a nightly soak isn’t for you, there are plenty of other heat therapy options. Try applying a hot water bottle to your lower back/buttock or consider sleeping with an adhesive back wrap that provides continuous, low-level heat.

3. Consider ditching your mattress

Some people find that sleeping on the floor relieves their sciatica symptoms—though experts disagree over the potential merits and drawbacks.

Here are a few pointers if you want to give it a try:

• For sanitary reasons, avoid sleeping directly on the floor, instead try a yoga mat or large beach towel.
• Don’t give up after one night—you may struggle to adjust to the firmness of the ground. Give it a week, and if your symptoms remain unchanged—or you still can’t sleep because you miss your mattress—retire your yoga mat or towel.
• You might find that sleeping on a firm surface alleviates your sciatic pain, but, for a variety of reasons, you may not like sleeping on the floor. If this is the case, consider purchasing a firm mattress or removing the box spring from under your bed.

I hope all of the above advice will help you find relief from your sciatica symptoms and enjoy a more restful night’s sleep.  Call ABChiropractic Family & Wellness in St. Charles MO at 636-916-0660 to schedule your first life changing appointment.  Dr. Mario Awwad specializes in Sciatica and Low back pain.  

The Latest Cause of Neck Pain: Pokémon Go

The popular smartphone game Pokémon Go has people—young people, in particular—spending hours looking at their phone, which is putting them at risk for neck pain. Learn what you can do to prevent neck problems from playing Pokémon Go. 

Pokémon Go is everywhere—this smartphone game is so popular that people are pouring out onto the streets and into their neighborhoods for hours on end while trying to "catch 'em all."

The game is being lauded for its health benefits as players spend hours and walk miles in search of Pokémon to capture. 

But if you’re looking down at your phone the whole time you’re playing, you’re putting your health at risk in other ways. Specifically, you may be at risk for text neck.

What is text neck?

Text neck is posture in which the neck is bent forward and down as someone looks at their handheld phone or device. If this posture is held for an extended amount of time, it can strain the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the neck, causing pain and stiffness.

More alarmingly, chronic text neck may lead to premature degeneration in the cervical spine, bone spurs, and muscle deformity. This is especially alarming for young people’s spines. Their spines are still growing and developing, and experts aren’t sure what impact this can have over the course of years or decades.

How to play Pokémon Go injury-free

If you or someone you love is playing Pokémon Go a lot, these tips can help prevent text neck and the problems it can cause:

• Hold your phone at a higher angle.
  
  The higher you can hold it while playing, the less strain you’re putting on your neck.
• Take breaks.
  
  After you catch a Pokémon, take a short break to put the phone down and arch your neck and shoulders back. If you’re at a Pokéstop or Gym, take a break every 15 to 20 minutes. 
• Stretch your neck.
  
  Tuck your chin down, then slowly raise it upward. Then swivel your head over one shoulder, then the other.
  In addition to text neck, Pokémon Go players are in danger of tripping and falling by walking while looking their phones. Don’t get so wrapped up in the game that you’re not watching where you’re going, especially on busy streets or sidewalks. 
  Finally, seriously hard-core players may be putting themselves at risk for shin splints if they’re walking much more than usual. Check out this article about recognizing and treating shin splints on our sister site Sports-health.
  Call ABChiropractic Family & Wellness today at 636-916-0660.  We are located in St Charles, MO (63303), conveniently off of highway 70 and 94.  We will be glad to schedule an appointment to discuss your health concerns.