You spend a third of your life sleeping. That means this is a valuable time to take care of your body to help reduce pain in your back and hips. We have some tips on how to reduce back and hip pain when sleeping. You can always count on the team at IMPACT Physical Therapy & Sports Recovery to help you with back support for sleeping and other remedies for your physical discomforts. We have several Illinois locations, including Chicago and Oak Lawn, that can help you be your most healthy self.
If you need back support for sleeping, it helps to understand how you generally sleep every night. We have information for back sleepers, side sleepers, and stomach sleepers here:
The most important factor in reducing lower back pain when sleeping is pillow placement. If you’re a back sleeper, we suggest putting a pillow under your knees to support your legs and hips as you sleep. This helps to put your pelvis and spine in alignment, as well as alleviate pressure in the lower back. This makes it more likely that you’ll wake up the next morning refreshed and free of pain.
The alignment of your legs is also important when you sleep on your side. We suggest pulling up your legs toward your chest a little bit. Place a pillow between your knees to lift one of them. When you adjust your knees and use a pillow, your spine, pelvis, and hips will be aligned. This helps reduce hip pain when sleeping.
This is a sleeping position we don’t recommend. Sleeping on your stomach can increase lower back and hip pain, as well as putting a lot of pressure through your neck and cervical spine. As a result, we suggest switching to sleeping on your back or side, which is easier said than done. If you have to sleep on your stomach, it can oftentimes be helpful to place a pillow under your hips and lower abdomen to offload the pressure through your lower spine.
IMPACT Physical Therapy & Sports Recovery can help you with back support for sleeping and other activities. Our clinicians have the necessary expertise to guide you to address your body’s needs. Contact us to start a conversation and take the first step in your wellness journey. From Norridge to Champaign, our team is located across the state of Illinois.
