Sleep elongates the spine. On the left is a spine before bed rest; on the right is the same spine after bed rest:
Notice the discs bulging more on the right, as well as how the spine is longer. This is why we’re taller in the morning.
That elongation also means a lessening of our spine’s natural curve. The spine on the right is straighter.
The spine ends up with less curvature. It flattens out. The pink line is straighter than the red line.
This primarily happens at the lower back. (Which is why the upper back isn’t the problem here.)
We don’t need to elongate our spine to change our curvature.
We can voluntarily do it. You may have heard the terms anterior and posterior pelvic tilt.
- Posterior = lower back flattens
- Anterior = lower back’s curve gets more pronounced
When we sit is the most common time we flatten our lower back, albeit unintentionally:
What’s important to appreciate here is our lower back naturally has some forward curve to it. A curve is its neutral.
Where a flattening means the low back is curving backward some. We call this lumbar flexion.
That is, a straight lower back is a flexed lower back.
So when someone is having lower back pain in the morning or more towards the beginning of their days -when their back has straightened out / when their low back is flexed– they probably have already been flexing their back too much / too often.
They wake up with a slightly flexed spine to begin with. If the back is already sensitive to this, you’re probably regularly bending the back a good deal. Such as how, and how much, you sit. Or hanging out in a posterior pelvic tilt too often. Or laying down too much.
-> Might seem farfetched, but people who work from home can pull this off. Software developers / programmers being a common example in my clientele.
A lack of compression actually causes astronauts lower back pain, since they don’t have gravity to pull their spine down.
This is often why, in these low back morning pain people, the back will feel better as the day goes on. The back compresses some, lessening how much it flexes. It regains some of its curve, putting it back towards neutral.
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Stephanie
February 17, 2018
What are your thoughts on the j spine shape? https://www.progressivespine.com/is-a-j-shaped-spine-the-end-of-back-pain/
b-reddy
February 20, 2018
There’s no one best spine shape. Each person’s neutral is going to vary. Point of my post though was some curve is natural. Exactly how much, that’s going to be individual. Personally, I never both with “we need to get you X amount of degrees of extension range of motion.” Or “you need to have a posture where your lower back is curved X amount.” That’s a bumpy road to travel down.
In terms of Goklahe’s experience:
1) Pregnant women commonly have an excessive lower back arch. All the weight in the belly pulls the lower spine forward = excessive arch. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was examining her own spine in relation to all those cultures she visited. Where, relative to her spine, they probably did seem flat, or “j-shaped.” Because,
2) In, for example, American society, tons of people have flat spines i.e. non-S shaped. Namely, older people: https://b-reddy.org/2014/08/12/why-grandma-shouldnt-deadlift/
The most prevalent mistake in personal training, and physical therapy (though it’s not quite as bad as personal training), is generalizing one’s own experience with weight-loss, pain, etc. to everybody else’s. It’s a very common mistake, and very hard one to avoid. Sometimes it works, but it mostly doesn’t.
Joe D
February 17, 2018
Spot on, Sir! I’ve got a L5/S1 that flares up on occasion, this time badly, and my Physiatrist explained the morning pain exactly how you did.
b-reddy
February 20, 2018
Nice!
Tomas Krajicek
February 22, 2018
What is your source of the MRI scan used in this article? Thank you for answer. Nice job. Tom from Czech republic
b-reddy
February 23, 2018
Hey Tom,
Discuss that more here: https://b-reddy.org/2013/10/18/reversing-an-arthritic-spine-degenerative-disc-disease-spinal-stenosis-how-to-decompress-your-spine/
Specifically this: https://f3e7694c-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/daniellbelavy/home/Belavy2011Spine.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cqyy0q0bVzzt4dmRjSX0NjvzXylOIswkr9-j6keshOOeOYi2U3fVzr4xqVuEzIG6fi9iLIMvIf1coDJhab-m2cklNU-wAgmb8sPAPnr1MAZfDev24LWxKBr3ChuB-e9V5r-f4N8H9axMkKJGcaw6vKCstn29FrvTsOkfijhw2uLHU-En7kOmbnWU0ZqKGVfjEwir4A9KQyuIDNF4sKaOQhtZbmgJDhpQpXYevofAHAPPlrp-vI%3D&attredirects=1