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Terrible lower back pain at night in bed. What to do?
My lower back aches when I sleep at night in bed. I have to sometimes roll out of bed and support myself to stand up in the mornings. Within an hour or two of being out of bed the pain is gone. When I sleep in a recliner there isn't any pain. Ive went through xray, physical therapy, MRI, and now I'm doing pain management. I got 6 injections yesterday. If the pain was gone after the injections they would move to the next step. Eventually a radiofrequency ablation. After the injections I had to fill out a paper on how my pain was on a scale from 0 to 10. I told them and everybody leading up to pain management I dont have pain during the day. The injections had to show pain improvement to let them know they are in the right spot to proceed on. If they would of just read the charts from the previous steps i had to go through. ... Has anybody had these back issues and what have you done????
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Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, @josho. Ouch. Having difficulty when you get out of bed and try to support yourself in the mornings, not to mention trying to get some sleep and being in pain, sound terribly unpleasant.
What observation did the medical professionals make from what you shared about not experiencing lower back pain sleeping in a recliner and not having pain anymore an hour or two after being out of bed?
They are saying that sleeping in a recliner is taking the pressure off. As is leaning on a counter, which I catch myself doing that a lot first thing in the morning, And the pressure is relieved once I start to move and bend and start my regular day. This information actually came from one of my physical therapists. She made the most sense of everyone. Yes its very unpleasant sleeping. I camp a lot and its very painful sleeping. If I could only fit my recliner into my camper... LOL
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2 Reactions@josho
After you had the shots was your pain that 1st night any better?
If so, then they should be able to go ahead with the ablation, if not then they know the particular nerves that got the shots are probably not the problem.
What did your MRI show?
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1 ReactionSounds to me like you may need a new bed.
I’d look into the Gokhale Primal Posture Method’s guidance for lying in bed.
Good Day,
I too struggle with night pain that is less in the day. Movement helps but I also discovered that when I wake up in pain, I can drink about ten good swallows of water and move or stand and walk with some support like you mentioned, and it gets my bowels moving. Once that happens the pain subsides. I do take a PPI with that water due to previous ulcer issues but the water is what helps the most. Wishing you relief and some decent sleep.
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2 ReactionsI am 62 years old, I had L1 -L5 fusion surgery in October 2025. I have severe spinal osteoporosis. I was doing well the first 2 months. Then in January I started having unbearable pain. Had an MRI and CT. Found out that the 2 bottom / L5 screws are coming loose. Not adhering well because of osteoporosis. My surgeon says it’s only been 4 months and I need to give it some time. I’m in so much pain so I am now seeing a spinal specialist pain mgmt Dr. I’m taking Morphine and Tizanidine daily just to be functional. I have had one of 2 medial branch procedures. Next one is April 7, I’m hoping that it will work as well as the 1st one. I had about 8 pain free hours. If 2nd one is successful then at the end of April I’ll be able to do RFA. I’m hopeful to be pain free so I can live my life!
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1 ReactionSorry to hear about your situation. My fundamental issue is that I have congenital narrowing in my spine, and have had 3 surgeries since 2002; now facing a 4th because a disc is compromised L 3-4 and I am leaning often, which is causing scoliosis above L-3-4. Consequently, I am facing fusion of L 3-4 and L 2-3; above my previous solid fusion of L 4-5. I am 76 and in basically good health, with normal weight.
I must turn over slowly in bed, for many months; and typically, I have localized pain in spine area near kidney and hip on Left side as soon as I stand. The pain when rising from bed can last until Noon before it subsides enough for me to straighten up and feel comfortable enough to walk. PT will not help, and Chiropractic is out of the question. Often dull pain surfaces in my lower back if I stand too long. I just want to be fix the problem, be rid of the pain and be able to walk as long as I like. I am likely done with skiing and golf.
My surgeon is dual qualified in Neurology and Orthopedics. He's knowledgeable, and straight-forward; which is what I prefer as opposed to someone whose approach is ambivalent about the treatment options or their confidence in the OR theatre. He is supposed to get back with me on plans...
Remember, everyone's physiology is different, as is their health and treatment history. Please keep that in mind as you look for solutions, and set expectations.
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3 Reactions@shirleyhibb26
I would consider having another opinion on the screws.
I am not a Dr. so this is my opion and experiances
To my knowledge they do not reattach.
If they are not producing symptoms they can probably be monitored but if they are causing syptoms I'm pretty sure the only thing to do is removal.
My wife had a Dr. put a screw in a bad place and it loosened right away.
He said don't worry about it but he was the same quack that ruined her back.
The surgeon she has now that did her revision said there was no way that it should be left in loose.
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1 ReactionI hope it goes good today. good luck.
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