Sleep is absolutely necessary for a healthy body. This is especially true when your body is healing after a spine surgery. In this article we will be talking about sleeping positions after minimally invasive spine surgeries.

Helping your Body Heal Itself

After surgery, your body needs time to heal the muscles, tendons, and skin that was cut during the surgical procedure. It’s the patient’s job to do everything they can to help their body heal as much as possible. One of the best ways to do that is to get a good night’s sleep each night. This is often problematic when the patient is experiencing post-surgical back pain.

You may not realize it, but back pain has a lot to do with sleeping positions. Certain sleeping positions can put extra strain on the location of the incision and wake you up in the middle of the night with the pain. The general rule of thumb is to sleep in whatever position feels most comfortable to you. If lying on your back causes pain, shift to your side. If sleeping on your stomach is painful, roll over. Some people find that placing a pillow between their knees relieves back pain.

When to Contact your Surgeon

Your post-op pain will be controlled with pain relievers (whether over-the-counter medications or stronger prescription ones). These are meant to provide pain relief especially at night so the patient can get a full night’s sleep. Your surgeon will talk about your options for controlling pain after surgery. Some pain is expected, and unavoidable after surgery. However, if your back pain gets increasingly worse or if you feel any numbness in your legs, contact your surgeon immediately as these can indicate more serious conditions. The most important thing to remember is to follow your surgeon’s post-op instructions to the letter.

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