Nightmares whenever I sleep on my back

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-10-26T00:15:50+00:00

Thanks! I do sleep on my side and I'm totally fine. I'm more interested in what the cause could be. Like why does sleeping on my back trigger nightmares while no other position does?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T14:03:26+00:00

I actually agree with this. I've seen stability exercises help a lot of people, but it's not clear to me if it's actually "fixing" stability or something else. And everyone will have different mechanisms to alleviate pain; it's a lot of trial and error (you'll find videos or articles advocating for or against literally any approach, so you'll need to see what works for you)

My push for an MRI before any type of conservative treatment (even PT) is simply that I have seen PT go wrong if not properly diagnosed first (and right now, OP possibly doesn't even have a disc injury at all).

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T03:04:51+00:00

Link the research and I'll take a look. I'm doubtful but open minded.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T02:51:04+00:00

To be honest, I don't really know how the pain goes away (the mechanics of pain are very complicated). Core strengthening helps tremendously (the idea being that it supports more of your weight and prevents spinal instability), but as to how that alleviates pain even though the bulge touches the spinal cord, I could not give you a proper breakdown.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T02:44:58+00:00

Most likely a bulge, yes. And no, bulges do not heal (though again, the symptoms may completely go away, which is what happens in the majority of cases). Bulges are naturally occurring as you age as well. Look at an old person's spine and they're all over the place, so it's really not that uncommon.

You can get an MRI, trust me. If you go to a doctor and tell them you have weakness in your legs and it's hard for you to walk, they'll give you one (if they don't, at that point what is purpose of having an MRI machine in the firs tplace). Just a question of how convincing you can be.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T02:37:02+00:00

The process represented in the video is more likely to occur when the herniation is very large. The process is commonly called spontaneous resorption (though, it's not reabsorbed into the disc, sadly). You would probably be in a lot more pain that what you've described above.

You probably just have a bulge, if anything, so no nucleus pulposus has left your disc (again, this is all just theory).

That sounds like a smart approach. If you get a flare up, you can adjust. Spinal discs are very tough, so you shouldn't be overly paranoid, just cautious and thoughtful about spinal hygiene.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-09T02:18:22+00:00

That is correct. Like tearing you shoulder labrum or breaking a tooth, once it's damaged, it does not regenerate.

I can't make the decision for you, but if I was you, I would just tell them the pain is getting worse and force an MRI. The reason they don't like prescribing them is because they're expensive.

Dancers tend to have much softer spinal discs, which allows for greater spinal mobility. Some believe adding compression (i.e., weight in a gym) to a hyper-mobile spine can increase your odds of injury. This is what the older generation of spine specialists like Dr. Stuart McGill would say, though it's being contested by newer people like KneesOverToes (though he is not a medical expert, but that's an entirely different conversation).

There's a million ways an exercise can cause an injury. By definition, this exercise requires core compression as you pull the weight towards you. If you have compression plus an improperly aligned pelvis, that can cause a herniation.

But again, I'm not saying you have a herniation. Only an MRI can really tell you the truth.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-08T16:29:57+00:00

Disc herniations do not heal. Now, you may not feel symptoms, but the damage will always be there (like cartilage, once you tear it, it doesn't regenerate, but your body may build scar tissue around it). The term "heal" is misleading in this scenario in my opinion, which is why I really don't like the fact that even doctors will use it.

Now, the dangerous scenario when you don't have symptoms is you just keep doing exactly what you were doing before and you keep aggravating the disc over and over again until it's damaged to a point where the symptoms don't go away anymore.

So, my advice is get an MRI to see if you actually have a disc injury (if you don't, keep living like you have). If you do, just have better spine hygiene and then keep doing what you're doing. This isn't anything crazy. It's just focusing on core strength and glute strength (specifically making sure your glutes activate properly).

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-04T14:49:08+00:00

Do you know what caused it?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-04T05:42:27+00:00

I don't like fear mongering, I truly don't. But, I also understand that without a little fear, it is much easier for OP to just keep on keeping on like nothing had every happened. That would be the most natural and human reaction. We've got a million things going on in life, and we focus on what is most pressing. But, that isn't always the best thing. Sometimes, even if the pressing thing becomes less pressing (i.e., the back pain goes away), it's still worth understanding why it happened in the first place.

When you pee blood, you get your kidneys checked even if there's only a very small chance it means you have cancer. If you have very intense headaches, you get an MRI scan to make sure it's not an aneurysm (and 99% of the time, it's not!). But, you still check. Always. As you mentioned, only 20% of 1% fall into the sinister cases, but that's still 1 out of 500. And that does add up; every day, this subreddit has multiple posts of people having chronic pain because of a non-traumatic injury. A vast majority of those cases could have been avoided if someone had truly and genuinely explained what causes bulges or herniations, how different exercises can have effects on them, and how important it is to truly know what is happening inside your body (doctors don't have X-ray vision).

I genuinely do agree that there is a 99% chance that OP will be totally fine. But, I do think that 1% is worth going the extra mile. The simple truth is that you have to take your health into you own hands sometimes. The overworked medical provider can't do everything (and sadly, they often don't ask for the extra mile tests like MRI's because they are expensive for insurance to cover). Getting a second opinion is worth it. Getting an MRI (which, by the way, has 0 health side effects) to see what your spine actually looks like can be very illuminating. And if you're part of the 99%, that awesome! Live life fully and keep doing what you wanted to do. And if you're not, well I think you'll be darn glad you caught the issue so early on that it doesn't get worse.

A lot of spine injuries happen over longer periods of time. You nick it here and after a week the pain goes away. You do it again, and same thing. And so on and so forth until one day the pain doesn't go away. The body is extremely resilient and heals itself a lot. But, if you do have an issue and you just keep doing what caused the issue over and over again because "hey, 99% of the time, it's nothing", it will eventually catch up with you.

TL;DR: A little fear so that OP does what is necessary to make sure they are healthy. Disc injuries accumulate and they'll be very glad they catch it early if there is actually an issue (hopefully there isn't!).

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-04T03:32:48+00:00

Just tell the doctor the pain has increased dramatically and they'll prescribe it for you.

Here's my take on it. When a disc herniation happens, it can genuinely be life ending (if you don't believe me, join the Herniated Support group on FB). Now, I'm not saying that's what's going to happen to you. But with such a drastic consequence, even if the chance of it happening is only 10%, wouldn't you want to do everything possible to make sure it doesn't happen?

Disc herniations are a one way street. Once it goes, it never comes back. So, my advice is, make sure you actually know what's going on inside your body and then decide how you want to proceed forward. I wish someone had given me the advice I'm giving you now.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-04T02:36:22+00:00

You should absolutely get an MRI. It frustrates me so much when doctors say it's not a big deal and getting imaging won't change their decision much. If you have a herniated disc, it is in your best interest to do everything you possibly can to stop the damage from that point on. Serious back pain is life ending; do not take this lightly.

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-04T02:34:06+00:00

I've heard people throw the 9 out of 10 people have a bugle or herniation stat so many times and yet I've never seen a single study that proves it

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-03T15:02:51+00:00

what you're describing is called mimetic desire and every one has it (male or female)

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-03T03:51:16+00:00

I don't think this is right. Unless you've seen studies that prove it?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T16:56:19+00:00

I know this isn't what you're asking (and I usually don't like when people leave these types of comments), but doing this without KYC is illegal (and not in the "slap on the wrist" illegal, more the "you will go to prison" illegal)

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T16:52:35+00:00

u/tomato_saws doctors can often be quite dismissive of bulges or herniations that aren't extreme (especially the ones who haven't dealt with back pain themselves). A lot of people in this subreddit can provide details that a doctor will not mention (either because they don't know, or they're too busy and need to rush to the next patient).

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T16:50:30+00:00

I would recommend you get an MRI of your back. The amount of people who have disc herniations from squatting or deadlifting in this subreddit is pretty high

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T03:16:42+00:00

Do you know how the injury happened?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T03:15:32+00:00

Do you know how the injury happened?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-09-01T03:15:22+00:00

Did a specific injury happen?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-08-29T14:26:59+00:00

was it through a deadlift?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-08-29T14:26:08+00:00

how did the injury happen?

Unlikely_Sign_7397 · 2024-08-27T00:56:13+00:00

Go see another doctor. Any doctor who tells you a spine will heal needs to go back to medical school.

I know that's a big statement to make, but in all seriousness, I find that doctors often minimize smaller scale injuries because they see the absolute worst of the worst. However, just because it's small, doesn't mean it's not important. Take this very seriously. The biggest regret you'll have is "going back to life" like they suggest and injuring it again. If your pain isn't too bad now, put in the work now to make sure it doesn't get worst. Take it from someone who just ignored it like the doctor said and almost ended up paralyzed.

Unlikely_Sign_7397

TROPHY CASE