♪ Bob and Brad ♪
♪ The two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists ♪
♪ On the internet ♪
- Hi folks, I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
- We are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet.
- In our opinion, of course, Bob.
- Today's title is how to sleep pain free
with back pain and sciatica.
This video is a part of a series of videos on sciatica.
If you wanna see the entire series,
go to our website, bobandbrad.com,
and go to the programs section.
- And this series has PDF printouts
so that you can have a printout of each video,
so you can remember what you've learnt.
- Very good.
Okay, today we're gonna talk about how to sleep pain free,
while you're sleeping.
The big thing about how important sleep is
when you have pain. - Right.
- 'Cause pain tends to wear you off physically and mentally
and you need to recharge, so it's very important you sleep.
And it even helps the healing process.
- Oh, absolutely.
- So let's start off,
we're gonna give a bunch of suggestions,
these are things, give it a try,
see which one works for you to see if it helps you.
'Cause we wanted to that position
where you could sleep pain free.
- Right, and there's probably more than one,
but we've come up with these over the combined of 55,
60 years of clinical experience and on ourselves.
- Yeah, first one is one that Brad uses.
- Oh yeah.
- Now, you could do this with a couple of pillows too
but we're gonna start off with a sleep wedge.
This is a good investment because they're not that expensive
and they really do a better job than pillows.
- They work a better than pillows,
but pillows are better than nothing.
- Right.
- The one thing we can mention, if you do buy one,
if you're tall like Bob, they make these longer here
and then it's worth getting a longer one.
- From here to here, they make it longer
'cause, yeah, my legs are sitting off the edge here,
quite profoundly.
So for whatever reason, it feels really good
when you really place it.
- Tuck it up into your hips and your buttock there.
I gotta watch out for my mic,
I guess it's gonna fall out--
- Sure.
- Let me put it over here.
And then what I do is I would have the cold pack
already down, but I'm gonna show you.
'Cause you don't wanna go through all this with back pain,
but you'll set the cool pack down
and you gotta lay on it.
And it's best to use a nice gel one.
- You're gonna lie on it.
- Yeah, lie on it.
I've had patients try this with a hard cool pack
and it's not comfortable.
- Yeah, it doesn't do the job right.
- You gotta have a soft one.
You can make 'em too, we have a video
on how to make a cool pack with rubbing alcohol and water
and they work quite well, actually, too.
But you place it here and you go like this.
And when I have back pain, which I do occasionally,
I do silly things at home that I shouldn't be doing.
If I was lifting or twisting when I'm doing yard work,
this is what I go to.
And I'll fall asleep just like this.
And, typically, it feels so good,
I'm very comfortable, completely pain free.
And I'll wake up about two hours later,
I'll take the cold pack, I'll put it on the floor
and then I'll usually take this and put it on the floor
and then I'll continue to sleep.
'Cause this all night long,
it could work for some people, I guess, but
I don't know anybody. - I think for most people.
Why don't you stay in that position Brad?
- Okay.
- Most people, they're probably gonna wanna switch.
I'ma take this out.
They're gonna wanna probably switch positions in the night,
just like anybody. - Right, yeah.
- So this probably will work for a couple of hours.
I wanted to show with two pillows, you can see,
it just doesn't quite do the job,
you're not quite as far up.
I'd still try it though.
- Yes.
- I mean, try a couple of those
'cause it does put a little bit of flection on your hips
which rotates your spine a little bit
and it puts it in a little different position
and can help it feel better, so.
- I do wanna mention one more thing
that's not on your list Bob,
but one thing that could be really helpful,
I'm gonna drop these,
is sometimes if you lay in here and you just move your hips
to the right or to the left an inch or two,
I can have my pain go from a three down a to zero,
just by doing a little shift like that.
And now stay there and it can be real helpful--
- Yeah, I even think, Brad,
straighten your legs out a little more,
everything that changes the arch in the back I think helps.
- Sure, yeah.
- So even when you're laying on your side,
if you move your pelvis a little bit
and change the arch in your back,
it can make a difference.
- Subtle little changes with back pain and sciatic are key.
- Yeah, and if you're having a kind of a flare up here,
the other thing we've mentioned sometimes
is that you can go ahead and lay on the floor
and put your feet up on the coffee table or a chair.
So you're up like that.
I can grab a stool here Brad.
- Oh, sure.
So if you got a carpeted floor, it's much better than.
- Oh, sorry, giving you a little.
- Oh yeah, thank Bob (crosstalk drowns out speakers).
- How you doing there?
- But, obviously, a stool doesn't work so,
but a nice.
- Kind of a 90-90 positioning--
- Yeah, a nice chair that's cushioned
and that's reasonably comfortable, that's another option,
it's kinda similar to the wedge but.
- Obviously, you can't do it in the bed very easily
but that's a great thing to do if you wanna lay on the floor
for a little bit and take a nap and sob.
- And you can use a cold pack with that too.
- Right, the next thing is,
this is especially true with someone,
I always say, that is a little more ample
in the buttock area, little larger curves.
- Sure.
- Because they have large curves,
I'm gonna show this on the spine Brad.
- Oh, sure.
- So when you lay down flat on your back,
normally you like to have a little bit of arch,
you wanna keep the spine straight
and you wanna have a little arch in your back.
Now, if you have, can you see,
if I have a large buttock here,
that's gonna hold the spine up like this
and the spine's gonna actually sag down like this?
- [Brad] Mn-hmm, so you need to fill in that,
that's called a lumbar lordosis or the arch,
whatever you wanna,
the layman's person's term.
- So what you can try is first you could try
take a rolled up sheet or a rolled up towel.
You wanna take that one Brad?
- Oh, wrap all the way around?
- Yeah, and you can wrap it all the way around you
and that keeps that arch, when you lay on your back,
when you lie on your back, sorry,
and also if you roll onto your side then,
it's actually covering that area too
'cause the same thing could happen
when you lie on your side.
I lie on my side and I can sag down if I have, again,
kind of larger hips and wider shoulders,
the whole back is gonna be kinda sagging here.
So I can fill in that gap with a sheet.
And if you find,
you pin this in place or tie it in place,
with a sheet you can often tie it in place.
- Sure.
- And then you lay down and now it's got support
when I'm laying on my back and on my side.
Now, if you find that to be very helpful,
you may wanna go and purchase,
this is the Night Roll?
By--
- Sleep roll,
I believe they called it. - Sleep Roll,
by McKenzie.
- Oh no, you're right, it's called the Night Roll,
The Original McKenzie Night Roll.
- Yeah, and so these are nice
because they're made of foam that seems
to be conducive for this and you tie it around your,
and it will be in place the entire time then.
- You can see this one is too small for Bob.
- Yeah.
- It should wrap up around up to about to there.
- It's pretty close,
it's catching me on the side here
and then when I roll on back, it's there too, so.
- But, they make 'em in different sizes
so just size it with a chart when you buy it.
- So we'll have a link down below,
in case you wanna check one of those out.
- Another thing is when you lie on your side,
I'm gonna lie on this side here.
Brad.
So I lie on my side.
One thing you may wanna try,
and this seems like more of a hip thing
but, actually, if I let my.
I'm gonna first do it without, Brad.
- Sure.
- This is rotating my back
and it's putting a little bit of stress on the back.
Now, there may not be a problem
for someone who has a normal back
but if your back is sensitive,
this might be problem.
So yeah, put a pillow between the legs
and this stops the rotation from happening.
And, as Brad mentioned before, try different,
bringing the knees up further,
putting the knees straighter, try different positions.
Or maybe stay in one position for a while
and then as the night progresses,
maybe straighten a little bit more.
- Right, and I actually wanna add,
sometimes a pillow behind your back,
if you got one of those big body pillows,
are about four or five foot long
and when you have something to lean in.
I know if I lay on my couch
and I have some support on my back,
it makes my back feel better
when I do have a issue with my back.
- That's where it's nice that,
I mean, I hate the fact that you have back pain Brad
but that's where it comes in handy, you know,
and keeps a barrier between you and your spouse to, right?
- Well, yeah, yeah,
in case she gets a little frisky and I'm not in the.
- Brad, Brad, this is a family show.
- Well, that's how they start.
- Next one, let's say you have sciatica down this leg.
This is another thing you can try and.
Do you wanna grab another pillow Brad?
'Cause sometimes we go at two.
- Oh yeah.
This is an interesting trick
and you've used this, I've used this with people
and it can, quite often, work.
- Oh, I see, yeah.
- So they lay on their side with their knees bent,
they're ankles together like this
and you actually put a pillow
underneath the ankles and the foot like this.
- So this is,
you just try it, if it works you're gonna know it,
it's gonna feel comfortable right away,
if it doesn't, then you don't.
- Some people even put as many as two,
which is a lot.
- You probably won't have your shows on.
- Yeah.
Not likely.
But, I would give it a shot because, again,
if it gives you relief for even an hour,
that's an hour of sleep, then try a different position
and see if that works for ya.
So we talked about the.
Oh, well, we're gonna go to the recliner now Brad.
I don't know about you,
but the experience I've had with a lot of back patients,
they end up sleeping in the recliner.
- Yeah, yep, that's.
- I don't like it, but some of them say
they just can't sleep anywhere else.
I'm not sure what's all going on there,
I think some of it, they like the flection,
they like the 90-90.
- Right, because it's similar to the leg wedge
in certain aspects.
- It's similar to leg wedge.
And I often have 'em try a leg wedge.
- Sure.
- I'll send one home with them even to try because.
But, if you're gonna be in a recliner,
these are the recommendations we're gonna make for ya.
Number one, take a throw pillow
and put it--
- And I even tell this to people that don't have back pain
so they don't develop it,
especially if you got a soft, squishy recliner,
one with a big hollow spot for your low back.
- You should always a throw pillow in your back recliner
because this will help maintain that arch
and you're not slouching.
And then I want you to put it back as far as you can,
I can't go back 'cause this is not a recliner,
but I want you to go as back as far as it will let you
so that you're at least,
try to be in the reclined position.
- And you'll know if the pillow's in the right spot
or if it's too big or thin.
If it's too big, it's gonna feel like a big bump,
so you just try to get a thinner pillow.
- Yeah, it goes by curves again.
If you're a slighter person,
I would say Brad and I are,
we probably don't need as much,
but I still need a throw pillow on my recliner,
I don't know about you.
- Yeah, I use my lumbar support thing, yeah.
- And do sell lumbar supports too, McKenzie
that would work for that too so.
- Yeah.
And we cover that in another video I think.
- Right, if your mattress is sagging,
you might try a piece of plywood between the,
between the--
- Box spring. - Box spring, right,
above the box spring and between the mattress.
- You know, if you can't afford to go out and buy
a better mattress, it's a temporary quick fix.
- You can also put the mattress on the floor.
- Yeah.
- All right, thanks, thanks for watching.
- Long video.
(bright music)