5 Reasons Why Your Back Hurts

1. Your smoking habit may be hurting your back

Cigarette smoking can increase the risk of back pain as tobacco affects the oxygen and blood flow delivery to different parts of the body, including the spine. Researchers also believed that smoking could potentially increase pain sensitivity and slow down healing, making pre-existing conditions like fibromyalgia even more prominent.

2. You may be experiencing arthritis symptoms

If the pain you feel after waking up lasts for roughly 30 minutes in the morning and then disappears, it may be caused by inflammation related to arthritis. The spine, lower back, and hips are among the most common areas affected by osteoarthritis, which tends to occur during and following middle age.

"With arthritis, the pain tends to get better during the day, but then in the evening it feels a little worse," said Dr. Prakash Jayabalan from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

3. You are walking in high heels too often

"Wearing heels shifts your weight toward the balls of the feet, so your knees and hips go forward and your back must hyperextend backward in order to maintain balance," said podiatrist Jacqueline Sutera.

High heels should be worn on a moderate basis to avoid straining not just your back but other parts such as the hips, the Achilles tendon, the knees, etc. The risk of injury also increases if you are overweight, not wearing the right size, or have chosen a type of heel that can be challenging to walk in.

4. Your mattress is not supportive enough

Your body alignment should be supported in a neutral position, which cannot happen if the surface you sleep on is too soft or too hard. If your mattress is too worn out or not firm enough, chances are it adds pressure to your body when it should be resting through the night.

"If you wake up in the morning and have some low back pain and can stretch and get rid of it in 15 or 30 minutes, that means you're on an inappropriate mattress for you," said Dr. Michael Breus, a WebMD sleep expert. He also said that people experiencing lower back pain usually find that firmer beds work best for them.

5. You have an injury from lifting something heavy

Some people may forget to consider that their backache is a result of going too hard at the gym or trying to move something which was a bit too heavy. Experts emphasize the importance of stretching and doing warm-up exercises before activities. Until the injury has healed, you must avoid doing anything that can strain your back.