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Other/Mixed Something Different, Sleeping on the Floor

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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after my herniation nothing helped my back as much as sleeping on the floor. Now, I don't need to but whenever it gets wonky that's sure to help. Yet on hardwood it's very tough on the hip and scapula bones, etc. Plus there's no chance of getting my wife to sleep there :)
 
" Wahrlich, wer wenig besitzt, wird umso weniger besessen: gelobt sei die kleine Armut!"
" Truly, who possesses little gets possessed less: praise the little poverty!"
Nietzsche - Thus spoke Zarathustra

@Harald Motz , one of my favourite books and authors. Ich habe Nietzsches Zarathustra auf Deutsch gelesen. Aber ich habe alles vergessen.
 
Anecdotal evidence suggests that both those who are older and those who'd categorize themselves as having a bad back do better on a softer - not soft, just softer - mattress.

-S-
 
I've read somewhere that you are supposed to sleep on your back, because it's the best for health.

If one has untreated sleep apnea, it's best not to do so because it will increase the amount/severity of apneas. (Of course, the healthiest thing to do is to go get treated for it). Not sure how else it might impact things.
 
Anecdotal evidence suggests that both those who are older and those who'd categorize themselves as having a bad back do better on a softer - not soft, just softer - mattress.

-S-
much depends on the type of back injury I would assume.
 
much depends on the type of back injury I would assume.
I think the bottom line here is "your mileage may vary" so I would agree with that statement, Rif. Reading about this subject is inconclusive. I am reminded more often than I wish about what my back will and won't tolerate.

-S-
 
As long as I stay in muscular balance, so that my spine stays in structural balance, I am pretty much good to go these days. BUT if I let that balance go south( i.e too much flexion vs extension strength and or too much ab tension) then the old "familiar" pain starts to say "hello".
easy to remedy thank goodness, but a constant reminder to stay balanced.
 
My issue, at least to the extent I understand it, is that a lot of the tendons and ligaments of my lower spine are overstretched. There's not a lot to be done about it, so the plan is muscular strength and mindful posture. If, e.g., I sit without a lumbar support, or if I do too much spinal flexion, I'll get woken up in the middle of the night with leg cramps due to nerve pressure. If it's really bad, it'll happen during the day. Fortunately, I know what I need to do and I do it, but part of that for me is careful sleeping posture, because the other side of the coin is that my lumbar is also arthritic, and if I get myself too far into extension for too long, I don't have disc pressure but I'm stiff as a board, e.g., if I bench press and don't maximally glute flex at the same time, when I get up from the bench, I can barely bend over enough to touch my knees.

Worth noting, in giving my little history here, that I was in no hurry after my back injury to start stretching my lower back. I waited until the 9 year mark, give or take, before I did any lower back stretching - before that, it was all strengthening, and a lot of being really stiff in my lumbar but being happy that I was relieving the nerve pressure. (Back injury's 20th anniversary will be this Fall, and there's family history, too - my father wore a back brace, basically a big back cast, for a while as a teenager to deal with back issues although I never completely understood what his issues were.)

I'm not complaining, just explaining my particulars - having a mattress (where this discussion started) that's the right combination of soft and hard makes a difference to me. That, plus a firm pillow (I use an old sofa cushion in a pillow case) for under my knees when I'm sleeping on my back or between my knees when I'm sleeping on my side, plus a very thin pillow under my head, and I'm good to go. I still sleep a lot on my back, something I never did before my back injury, because after it happened, being on my back with a big pillow under my knees was the only position I could be in, period, for quite a while.

Remind me not to spell all that out in writing too often - pretty frightening to look at it. :)

-S-
 
My back locks up if I sleep on a soft mattress or flat on my back. On my side or on my stomach with some support to keep my head lined up well relative to my spine.

When I was much younger I slept in a sleeping bag for about 5 months straight - no problems, very restful as I recall.
 
When I have severe pain in my lower back; lying on the floor, spike strip under my back an feet elevated 90 degree angle helps. Sometimes it's the only position to get sleep, when back is bad.
 
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