Health Solutions Live

Nighttime back pain is a specific kind of lower back pain that may point to a serious problem with your spine. If you’ve never previously experienced pain in your lower back area, it’s possible that you will.

Between 60% and 80% of the American population goes through some form of lower back pain during their life. This is the second most common reason why people pay a visit to their doctor. But as weakening as back pain can be, most cases of it are manageable, and people oftentimes notice improvement within a few weeks.

A crucial point in that improvement is getting an appropriate amount of rest. However, there are many people who suffer from back pain that are unable to get the rest they need because they’re not able to get relief for their pain when they attempt to sleep.

What Exactly Is Nighttime Back Pain?

Most people who suffer from back pain are capable of adjusting the way they sleep to get relief from the pain they experience during the day. But with nighttime back pain (also known as nocturnal back pain) the pain does not stop when a person lies down, no matter how much they may toss and turn. For some, the pain actually becomes worse. And for others, the pain doesn’t even begin until they lie down.

A person can go through a whole day with little to no pain. But at night that same person may find it nearly impossible to get a full nights rest. In a study published in the journal Spine in 2005 the researchers noted that 44% of people treated at a back pain clinic in the UK complained of pain at night. And 42% of those people said the pain was present every night.

Some people in this study who suffered from nocturnal pain reported waking up as often as six times each night, with the average being 2.5 times a night.

What Are Its Causes?

The main cause of nighttime back pain isn’t always clear. Amidst other things, back pain can be caused by any of the following:

• Spine movement problems or other mechanical issues, the most common usually being disc degeneration.
• Injuries like fractures, sprains or more severe injuries such as a fall or a car accident.
• Certain diseases and conditions, such as scoliosis or spinal stenosis. Conditions such as endometriosis, kidney stones, pregnancy and various forms of arthritis can also lead to back pain.

Someone who experiences one of these problems could or could not have back pain and nocturnal back pain. Many of the participants with nighttime pain in the back pain clinic study suffered from disc degeneration.

Sometimes the cause of back pain may not be determined.

Is This a Sign of Something More Serious?

Guidelines for uncovering serious spinal health issue list a number of “red flags.” A red flag can be a symptom or condition that lets a doctor know of the possibility of a serious problem. Nocturnal back pain is one of those signs.

Nighttime back pain can be a sign of spinal tumors. It may be a primary tumor (one that originates in the spine,) or it may be a metastatic tumor (one that is a result of cancer that started somewhere else in the body and then spread to the spine.)

Nocturnal back pain is also a symptom of spinal bone infection and a condition called ankylosing spondylitis (AS,) a condition that damages the spine and can cause it to fuse in a fixed and immobile position.

It’s important to keep in mind that even though nighttime back pain is a usual symptom of these conditions its presence doesn’t necessarily mean you have one of them. In fact, it’s uncommon that a person has nocturnal back pain caused by an infection, tumor, or AS. In the study in the UK, for example, no critical spinal disease was found in any of the subjects who had nighttime back pain. In a different study, only 0.66% of patients being examined for lower back pain in a primary care setting were found to have cancer.

Other “red flags” can include:

• Fever
• Spots warm to the touch
• Back pain that spreads down one or both legs
• New problems with bowel or bladder control
• History of cancer
• History of trauma
• History of a suppressed immune system
• Pain or throbbing in your abdomen
• Unexplained weight loss

Any of these red flags associated with back pain, particularly if there is more than one or if you have a history of cancer, is another reason to get in touch with your doctor for further evaluation. It’s also important to contact the doctor if your back pain is the result of a recent injury.

REFERENCE: (2010) Night Back Pain: Causes and Treatment Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/nightime-back-pain?ecd=wnl_fit_070210