tension in torso, losing sleep
Discussion
I cannot relax at bed time. My torso feels like it's under constant tension. If I lie on my back there is always a space between the small of my back and the mattress, as if my torso is sprung upwards. Feels like all the muscles between my ribs, front and back, are 'switched on' all the time.
I get to sleep OK but after two or three hours I wake up feeling like a wound-up spring. Once I've woken up I always get more or less straight back to sleep but after that first wakeup the rest of the night is broken into bits by the need to keep shifting my body position, and what relief I get is a diminishing returns thing. Sometimes I simply have to get up to ease the tension. Once I'm up and doing during the day the problem is nowhere near as bad.
Have replaced the mattress several times, current £2k one is the most comfy we've ever had but unless I am absolutely knackered the same thing happens every night.
I've had this problem for as long as I can remember and have finally reached the point where I'm going to go to the quacks to see if there are any tablets I can take for it, which really is the last resort for me as I hate taking drugs of any sort. It drives me mad that the resting position for everyone else is just the opposite for me.
Has anybody heard of this, or what it might be?
I get to sleep OK but after two or three hours I wake up feeling like a wound-up spring. Once I've woken up I always get more or less straight back to sleep but after that first wakeup the rest of the night is broken into bits by the need to keep shifting my body position, and what relief I get is a diminishing returns thing. Sometimes I simply have to get up to ease the tension. Once I'm up and doing during the day the problem is nowhere near as bad.
Have replaced the mattress several times, current £2k one is the most comfy we've ever had but unless I am absolutely knackered the same thing happens every night.
I've had this problem for as long as I can remember and have finally reached the point where I'm going to go to the quacks to see if there are any tablets I can take for it, which really is the last resort for me as I hate taking drugs of any sort. It drives me mad that the resting position for everyone else is just the opposite for me.
Has anybody heard of this, or what it might be?
First question: Is there any pain as such anywhere, or is it just an uncomfortable feeling?
Where is the feeling - by that I mean, around the periphery of your body, i.e. the muscular / under the skin area, or deeper inside?
Describe the feeling? Is it sharp, dull, and does it radiate to any other areas?
Does it change, get better or worse with breathing and movement?
Is there any pain / numbness / pins and needles in your arms, neck, and jaw?
Any headaches with it?
How long has it been going on for?
Has it got worse / better / stayed the same since you first noticed it?
What's your medical / operative / drug history?
Where is the feeling - by that I mean, around the periphery of your body, i.e. the muscular / under the skin area, or deeper inside?
Describe the feeling? Is it sharp, dull, and does it radiate to any other areas?
Does it change, get better or worse with breathing and movement?
Is there any pain / numbness / pins and needles in your arms, neck, and jaw?
Any headaches with it?
How long has it been going on for?
Has it got worse / better / stayed the same since you first noticed it?
What's your medical / operative / drug history?
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
First question: Is there any pain as such anywhere, or is it just an uncomfortable feeling?
It's discomfort rather than pain, but enough to wake me up!
Where is the feeling - by that I mean, around the periphery of your body, i.e. the muscular / under the skin area, or deeper inside?
Definitely inside, feels like it's the muscles between my ribs front and back.
Describe the feeling? Is it sharp, dull, and does it radiate to any other areas?
Dull, constant, no migration to other areas.
Does it change, get better or worse with breathing and movement?
No, it's constant and at more or less the same level
Is there any pain / numbness / pins and needles in your arms, neck, and jaw?
No.
Any headaches with it?
No.
How long has it been going on for?
Hard to be exact, but more than ten years.
Has it got worse / better / stayed the same since you first noticed it?
Probably getting slightly worse, or I'm getting less tolerant! I really want to sort it now.
What's your medical / operative / drug history?
Clear, I've never had any major medical problems, don't do drugs, have the occasional drink, never to excess, will be 60 this year. Am aware of the fact that I 'hold myself up' all day, never walk 'loosely', always tensioning my body just walking along, sounds weird but movement doesn't seem to come naturally to me. I'm reasonably fit though, play tennis a couple of times a week right through the year and do a light half hour gym circuit every couple of days.
It's discomfort rather than pain, but enough to wake me up!
Where is the feeling - by that I mean, around the periphery of your body, i.e. the muscular / under the skin area, or deeper inside?
Definitely inside, feels like it's the muscles between my ribs front and back.
Describe the feeling? Is it sharp, dull, and does it radiate to any other areas?
Dull, constant, no migration to other areas.
Does it change, get better or worse with breathing and movement?
No, it's constant and at more or less the same level
Is there any pain / numbness / pins and needles in your arms, neck, and jaw?
No.
Any headaches with it?
No.
How long has it been going on for?
Hard to be exact, but more than ten years.
Has it got worse / better / stayed the same since you first noticed it?
Probably getting slightly worse, or I'm getting less tolerant! I really want to sort it now.
What's your medical / operative / drug history?
Clear, I've never had any major medical problems, don't do drugs, have the occasional drink, never to excess, will be 60 this year. Am aware of the fact that I 'hold myself up' all day, never walk 'loosely', always tensioning my body just walking along, sounds weird but movement doesn't seem to come naturally to me. I'm reasonably fit though, play tennis a couple of times a week right through the year and do a light half hour gym circuit every couple of days.
Thanks for the answers - questions were based around whether I might have to tell you to call 999 or get to A&E asap really! I'm a student Paramedic right now, so fairly dangerous with a little bit of knowledge, lol 
Seriously though, I wanted to discuss the obvious things that we would look for, regarding any serious issues like Cardiovascular or Neurological - seems ok so far after what you've explained - that said, I am just a random on an internet site, so don't take my word for anything, and if you do feel uncomfortable, for Christ sake go and see a GP...or if it does suddenly get worse, don't be afraid to dial 999 immediately, ok? Promise?
It's a strange one, and one you DO need to see a GP for as soon as possible I would say. It sounds (I am speculating) muscular or neuro-muscular from your description, but then again your musculo-skeletal system around your torso is around the outside, as you might know. Inside is full of vital organs, and pain in here is clearly something that requires fairly immediate attention. However, in your case, as you say it's a 10 year old complaint, it's possibly not something that warrants an emergency reaction.
BUT just to rule out some other immediate concerns - have you had your blood pressure checked recently, do you have any respiritory issues (like asthma, COPD, etc.), do you smoke, have you had your cholesterol level checked, and your blood glucose level checked, do you have diabetes, and what is your family history with regard to cardiovascular issues? For example, has anyone in your family had problems with high blood pressure, angina, high cholesterol, heart disease (and heart attacks, heart by-pass operations, cardiomyopathy or hypertrophy) and I think also very importantly at your age - any history of abdominal aortic aneyurism?
Seriously though, I wanted to discuss the obvious things that we would look for, regarding any serious issues like Cardiovascular or Neurological - seems ok so far after what you've explained - that said, I am just a random on an internet site, so don't take my word for anything, and if you do feel uncomfortable, for Christ sake go and see a GP...or if it does suddenly get worse, don't be afraid to dial 999 immediately, ok? Promise?
It's a strange one, and one you DO need to see a GP for as soon as possible I would say. It sounds (I am speculating) muscular or neuro-muscular from your description, but then again your musculo-skeletal system around your torso is around the outside, as you might know. Inside is full of vital organs, and pain in here is clearly something that requires fairly immediate attention. However, in your case, as you say it's a 10 year old complaint, it's possibly not something that warrants an emergency reaction.
BUT just to rule out some other immediate concerns - have you had your blood pressure checked recently, do you have any respiritory issues (like asthma, COPD, etc.), do you smoke, have you had your cholesterol level checked, and your blood glucose level checked, do you have diabetes, and what is your family history with regard to cardiovascular issues? For example, has anyone in your family had problems with high blood pressure, angina, high cholesterol, heart disease (and heart attacks, heart by-pass operations, cardiomyopathy or hypertrophy) and I think also very importantly at your age - any history of abdominal aortic aneyurism?
None of that, good health seems to run in my family, my Mum is still running around like a spring chicken at age 90, albeit with high BP. Father died some while ago in mid-70s from cancer-related complications. I give blood on a regular basis and nothing untoward has come up there. Non-smoker.
It's not organ-related, just feels like muscular tension than I can't switch off. I'm thinking/hoping that relaxants will sort it, hate the idea of taking tablets but can't see any other way round it.
Thanks for taking the trouble to think about this and reply, I appreciate it very much.
It's not organ-related, just feels like muscular tension than I can't switch off. I'm thinking/hoping that relaxants will sort it, hate the idea of taking tablets but can't see any other way round it.
Thanks for taking the trouble to think about this and reply, I appreciate it very much.
Thanks both, I will try the docs, have been thinking about another go at pilates also, tried it a few years back without much result. If when lying flat I press my lower back down into the mattress using my abdo muscles the pain stops immediately, but of course I can't keep that up all night! And not automatically in my sleep either.
I'm no doctor but that sounds like a posture related problem to me, pssobily anterior pelvic tilt:
http://www.swolept.com/posts/fixing-anterior-pelvi...
Does your posture when standing resemble any in the link above?
http://www.swolept.com/posts/fixing-anterior-pelvi...
Does your posture when standing resemble any in the link above?
I spend all day sat down in the office other than breaks etc and I feel like I'm on a constant battle to try and negate the effects of it.
I do a fair bit of cycling too and have recently bought some books on building core strength up in a bid to get my posture back to normal and help me out in day to day life and on the bike.
I have a similar issue to you, I just cannot sleep on my back. 5 minutes on my back in bed and my mid to upper back is uncomfortable, so I sleep on my side.
This is along with a niggling knee / quad problem and tight foot arch on my right leg aswel so I have my fair share of ailments!
I do a fair bit of cycling too and have recently bought some books on building core strength up in a bid to get my posture back to normal and help me out in day to day life and on the bike.
I have a similar issue to you, I just cannot sleep on my back. 5 minutes on my back in bed and my mid to upper back is uncomfortable, so I sleep on my side.
This is along with a niggling knee / quad problem and tight foot arch on my right leg aswel so I have my fair share of ailments!
Blackpuddin said:
Thanks both, I will try the docs, have been thinking about another go at pilates also, tried it a few years back without much result. If when lying flat I press my lower back down into the mattress using my abdo muscles the pain stops immediately, but of course I can't keep that up all night! And not automatically in my sleep either.
Obviously as has been suggested above, GP is the way to go.As a side option (not an alternative to the GP), perhaps book an appointment for a few Physio sessions. If it is muscle tension, they will probably be able to tell you specifically which muscle group is tense and try to correct it. At the very least, you'll know which muscles are causing the issue.
Another slightly less mainstream option is Acupuncture. I had it done by a GP when I was suffering from migraines, which were apparently caused by muscle tension. Had a single course of Acupuncture and I haven't had a migraine in 15 years.
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