Many sciatica sufferers have difficulty sleeping at night, but getting a good night’s sleep is essential to helping your body heal. It allows your body the opportunity to recover.
With our extensive experience, our team of Semaphore chiropractors has learned there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. For people who suffer from sciatica, a trial-and-error approach is typically a necessary part of the process.
With that in mind, our team at Vitality Semaphore has put together seven tips to help you get a better night’s sleep. Though they might not all work for your situation, you’ll likely find relief from at least a few!
The Seven Steps to Better Sleep
Tip 1: Spinal alignment is essential for all of us, but especially if you suffer from sciatica. If you’re a side sleeper, try positioning a pillow between your knees. This helps to improve the alignment of the lower back and the pelvis and prevents twisting while you’re sleeping.
Tip 2: If you’re a back sleeper, try placing a pillow underneath your knees. Gently elevating your knees is a great way to decrease tension in the sciatic nerve and often provides great relief.
Tip 3: Continuing with advice for our back sleepers, try a lumbar support roll. A rolled-up towel can be perfect for this. Maintaining a healthy lumbar lordosis or lumbar curve can also provide great relief for many sciatica sufferers.
Tip 4: If you’re a stomach sleeper, it’s time to make changes. Stomach sleeping is known to increase neck pain, back pain and sciatica, so it’s important to break the habit. Try sleeping on your side, with the aid of a pillow, or on your back with lumbar support, as mentioned previously.
Tip 5: Invest in a good mattress. Our best recommendation is a mattress that is a medium to firm mattress. Soft mattresses won’t support your spine, and they often increase back pain and sciatica
When choosing a mattress, buy one from a retailer with a good return policy of at least 30 to 60 days. There is no way to know for sure how a mattress will fit you after trying it out for five or 10 minutes in the store or making a blind purchase because you saw it advertised on social media. That is a recipe for disaster.
Tip 6: Do simple, gentle exercises before bed. Foam rolling, self-massage and even gentle yoga are great ways to prepare your spine for a good night’s sleep.
Tip 7: Try a long, hot shower before going to bed. The heat is a great way to relax the muscles, but heat also releases endorphins. These hormones help to decrease some of the stress, anxiety and pain that often goes along with sciatica.
Say Goodbye to Your Sciatica
If you try all of these tips and you’re still getting a terrible night’s sleep, it’s probably time to visit a chiropractor. We’ve helped hundreds of patients say goodbye to sciatica through our practice, and we’d love to help you, too!
Call our office to schedule an appointment at (08) 8242 1581, and we’ll help you find the root cause of your sciatica, give you relief and help you get a good night’s sleep!