Experiencing nocturnal lower lumbar back pain

Bones, joints and muscles
1

I am a 19 year old white male college student. I weigh approximately 180lbs and am 70 inches tall. The only medical conditions I have ever had were asthma as a child, and pollen allergies (still active). I am on no medications, and am overall a healthy young adult. 

Ever since I was 14, I have been experiencing nighttime lower back pain. Here are some characteristics of the pain:

- ONLY appears when I am laying down for a prolonged amount of time

- Pain level varies from mattress to mattress

- Pain is fairly consistent (experience it most days of the week)

- The pain does not particularly spread anywhere, although I have had numbing and tingling in my hands a handful of times since age 14

- The pain goes away after getting up and moving around

- The pain is not a sharp pain, it is very consistent, and usually takes about 1-3 hours to slowly build up to a moderate pain level

- The pain has only existed in my lower lumbar spine (L1-L5) and nowhere else

- One thing that separates this pain from other types of pain is, when I take a deep breath while the pain persists, the pain gets a lot worse (no breathing, moderate pain - deep breath, severe pain)

Please, if anyone can give me something that can alleviate this pain or help me get somewhat closere to a diagnosis, it would be greatly appreciated. All of my doctor's and chiropractors have all not helped one bit (doctor told me to go to a chiro, chiro told me I just have stiffness).

I have tried flipping mattresses, getting a new mattress, sleeping on the floor, sleeping on firm mattresses, sleeping on tempurpedics, pretty much every sleeping/pillow position even comprehendable by a human being, and everything else every other forum post suggested. 

Thank you

2

Don't give up continue to seek out the cause of your pain. Any doc taken a X-ray or MRI .➡️That could be the key to your back pain. Many docs dismiss back pain disc issues many other issues due to youth. Never take a non diagnosis. Stick with your mission to find the source of the pain for proper treatment. 😊👍

3

Ah, I knew I missed something. The chiropractor I went to told me I simply had a few minor subluxations, but nothing else. He performed a thermo scan, as well as a full X-Ray of my spine. Again, his diagnosis was "back stiffness" or whatever that means. 

4

Ask for a diagnosis from a spine specialist? Or ask what is meant by back stiffness. Could be muscle tendon or disc bone🔙

5

I would ask the dr for a referral for an MRI scan of the lumbar verterbrae if not the whole spine in order to establih the cause of your signs and symptoms.

 

6

Well, I haven't tried this, so I might as well. Thank you for your help!

7

Going to try a full MRI scan, as well as another diagnosis from a different spinal care physician. Thank you for your help!

8

❤️Information is power, information doesn't always translate into knowledge but at least you have the basic facts in front of you. It is important to be aware of all the treatments available. 😀

9

It sounds like you have gotten good advice from everyone but if you don't have any success try seeing a rhuemotologist! I'm sure I sound like a broken record but your condition sounds like ankylosing spondylitis to me but then again I have AS so it's the only thing I know to compare anything with! The night time pain that clears up during the day sounds so similar to me. They have self quizzes online to see if it's possible you have it. You can also have your doctor run a blood test to see if you test positive for the HLA-B27 gene! 80% of people with the gene develop AS or something like that! I had the same issues as you at night since I was 17yrs old and it took until I was 35yrs old before I figured out I had AS. It only gets worse over time so get tested! It might turn out you don't and your problem is something simpler! Good luck!