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this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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chapotraphouse
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I'm assuming this is muscle pain.
When you lie down, some muscles elongate and others shorten. The pain is a (usually minor) dysfunction where they are tight in their original position and have difficulty releasing, but now have additional tension or compression. You may notice them get less painful after a few minutes of slowly letting them relax. When you sleep, they usually relax even more.
Pain in your back muscles can be caused by many things but the most common are low core strength, bad posture, and a tight psoas from sitting all day. All of these tend to respond really well to PT and exercise.
What usually happens is I lie down, feel a point in my back that hurts, adjust so it doesn't, somewhere else hurts, repeats forever. But by like 8am or w/e it's like oh no im comfortable i could sleep all day
the only time i've slept good in the last 10 years was when we got a new mattress but like within a year it's obviously worn and yea we can't be spending 2000 dollars every couple years (also my partner doesn't notice a problem). mattress toppers don't help
Try sleeping with a pillow between your legs
Oh dang if it bothers you all night you've got some more severe dysfunction. If it is a new bed that helps then you presumably feel relief from greater firmness. Are the mattress toppers firmer than the bed or softer foam?
Though really, a physiotherapist will be the best kind of person to talk to, still assuming it's muscular. You'd want to identify which muscles are causing the pain and then do exercises and stretches that will help them be less tight. Tightness can come from compression or tension, so the exercises to do will vary by muscle.
Some examples. If your psoas is tight, it will be tight in compression and need to be elongated. If your lower back muscles are doing extra work because your lower abdominals are weak, you'll want to do core strengthening exercises. If your upper back and neck hurt, it may be from slouching, which usually calls for strengthening your upper back (pull ups, presses, pull downs, etc). A PT will be able to guide you in propee form and better identify the issues.
In the meantime, have you tried heat on your back? Like a heating pad? This can often relax muscles. Also, do you massage your back? This can actually make things worse.
What?! Nooo! But massages are so nice when back hurtie :sob