Mid-back pain after using CPAP

I began using CPAP a month ago. No problem first 2 1/2 weeks. Then I began waking up with a terrible mid back muscle soreness pain. A hard mattress definitely made it worse. So bad I could hardly get out of a chair. Taking Ibuprofen definitely helped. Totally went away as the day went on. Never had this problem even slightly prior to using my CPAP. I sleep 7 to 8 hours of deep sleep with the CPAP. But with the back pain I wake up after 6 to 7 hours and can't find a good pain free posistion. I finally just get up. My snoring stopped the first night with CPAP. I use a full face mask. Don't get sleepy at all during the day now. I think I now sleep so deeply and soundly that I am so relaxed that somehow I am pulling the muscles and tendons across my mid back. Doesn't make any sense to me either. I don't have a good answer. I know I can't go on like this everyday. This is a bad side effect. I love the machine and mask. Finally after at least 8 to 9 years I get deep sleep. I am 6ft 1 in. and 270 lbs. Would like a reply to this from anyone with a success story. Thanks.

I am at little lighter (not much... don't nobody ask!! ) and about 6'-4". I have had 3 back surgeries and have no back issues since starting cpap therapy. I have some bad shoulders and I have noticed they are real sore on occasions, upon waking. I have been sucessful with cpap therapy for a year and a half.

Here's my thoughts on your problems. Prior to sucessful therapy, your sleep apnea caused you to rolled around in bed, preventing you from getting good sleep... but it also allowed your back to to adjust to new positions. Now that you are sleeping well, you probably stay in one spot for so long, your back is not getting the benefit of different positions. Seems you traded one health issue (sleep apnea) but aggravated and existing condition. I was sleeping so good, that I ended up getting a Temper-pedic mattress. While adjusting to the mattress, I was still sore, but after adjusting to the mattress it alleviated the pressure points my old mattress was having on my shoulders. I am in sleep Heaven now.

Your body is a lot better off treating the sleep apnea. Watch the medications... it can affect your apnea treatment. Consider a Temper-pedic or sleep number bed.

I had some back soreness in the first weeks of PAPpy therapy. I was sleeping very carefully, so I wouldn't knock the nasal pillow mask out of whack or turn so that the mask exhaust was hitting hubby in the face. The soreness has resolved itself since I changed masks, and slid down in the bed so that the mask exhaust hits him chest-high which he doesn't feel.

It takes time for us to adjust to this therapy. Sometimes things turn up after a few weeks or months because we are sleeping more deeply. Our bodies go through several phases of adjustment. I continue to stretch whatever part of my body is sore. Of course, I also have fibromyalgia, so I always have sore spots. But, I believe stretching is good for every body.

Hang in there & keep working toward a solution. PAPpy is vital to your health. Don't let yourself get thrown off track.

davi239 wrote:I began using CPAP a month ago. No problem first 2 1/2 weeks. Then I began waking up with a terrible mid back muscle soreness pain. A hard mattress definitely made it worse. So bad I could hardly get out of a chair. Taking Ibuprofen definitely helped. Totally went away as the day went on. Never had this problem even slightly prior to using my CPAP. I sleep 7 to 8 hours of deep sleep with the CPAP. But with the back pain I wake up after 6 to 7 hours and can't find a good pain free posistion. I finally just get up. My snoring stopped the first night with CPAP. I use a full face mask. Don't get sleepy at all during the day now. I think I now sleep so deeply and soundly that I am so relaxed that somehow I am pulling the muscles and tendons across my mid back. Doesn't make any sense to me either. I don't have a good answer. I know I can't go on like this everyday. This is a bad side effect. I love the machine and mask. Finally after at least 8 to 9 years I get deep sleep. I am 6ft 1 in. and 270 lbs. Would like a reply to this from anyone with a success story. Thanks.

There are two things happening.
Your chest muscles have to work harder to breathe out so they get sore , many people end up in ER because the first thing you think off (and should) is a heart attack.

Second is that for the first time in years you are laying still for hours at the time. You need to investigate a better pillow and/or a mattress topper. The first few week I thought my hip joints were going bad but a mattress topper and an old quilt dealt with the issue. Mattresses can make a huge difference, a couple of months ago I was visiting my daughter who had a brand new foam latex mattress, it felt wonderful - until I woke up and could hardly move my neck and shoulders.

Everything is different now. You're going to have to get used to sleeping in different positions. It might turn out that positions you were uncomfortable in formerly are now more comfortable. Experiment with thicker or thinner pillows, routing the hose differently, everything you can think of until you find what suits you best.

Like the old Confuscian saying, "The journey of 1000 miles . . . ends with the last step."

I have a 2 1/2 year old Sealy Tempur-Pedic type mattress. Great sleeper BTW. But lately I've been waking up just like the original poster described. I also wonder if Im not moving around as much lately. Very interesting topic.

Zombie thread; but not an uncommon complaint. I found that being able to sleep more quietly,
breathing more deeply, and even less distraction by night-time pain or multiple pee trips
made me more aware of the shortcomings of a bad bed; hardly noticed until I started feeling better.
Shop for a new mattress, pillows, covers. Life is getting better, because great sleep is (finally) possible.

Back pain from cpap seems to be an issue with me also. Think I'm trying top hold myself in awkward positions to keep mask from leaking

I occasionally have a similar problem that only cropped up when using CPAP. My chest pain is more in the front around the sternum area, but does radiate to back. It was most noticeable when I first started CPAP therapy and it went away on its own, but maybe once a quarter or so it will pop back up for a few days. I think the last time I got the pain was after a longer than normal sleep period and it went away on its own about three or four days later. I think previous posters are correct in saying that you can have some soreness from breathing against the CPAP pressure and this should go away as your body adapts to the new breathing scenario. I also think that some soreness that I get is from side sleeping in one position for a longer period of time. I used to like sleeping on my back, but am now spending most of my sleep on my side mostly because of full face mask problems if you're on you back such as more leaks and more apnea events when supine.

Hang in there as these problems tend to correct themselves over time, and definitely look into a mattres that makes for more comfortable side sleeping such as memory foam or sleep number -- treat yourself to a great mattress, you deserve it

I too, started to have back pain a few weeks after starting CPAP therapy 2+ years ago. I spent about 4 months researching new mattresses and pillows, and eventually settled on a great solution for me.

My 2 cents:

I wonder if this has anything to do with the restrictions of the whole hose-wrestling thing I need to do every night now (the hanger and cozy have helped). I am a side-sleeper, but I normally would switch sides ~every couple of hours. Now it seems like I don't get to do that; I wake up in the same position I started out in. I am not concerned about moving into bed sore territory, but I think it might be healthier to flip over every now and then, to keep blood from pooling and share the pressure points, for instance.

I am no stranger to back issues, what with AS and working out with free weights too much in my 20's without a proper warm up. I need tons of pillows, pillows under my legs, and I sleep with my head/torso elevated (all of which is why I am dreading the "normal" bed of my sleep study in two days).

A soft bed to solve back issues is usually a step in the wrong direction. Sleep Number beds, waterbeds, any soft bed, just aggravates my issues (which only sideline me a day or two every year, on average). I slept on a Futon for decades because it was hard, which is what my back needed.

I think memory foam is a godsend; I recommend everyone get a memory foam topper and pillows ASAP. Sounded like a scam, turned out to be anything but. If you can afford a Tempur-Pedic, more power to you, but it is severely over-priced and there are lots of less-expensive options that will work. I didn't buy a BMW just to go to the A&P, so I think there has to be a real reason to spend that kind of do-re-me for a bed when there are other options probably as good.

Glad someone resurrected this thread! After dropping a kings ransom (a poor king, sure, but still) on a new bed a few years ago I'm not inclined to go mattress shopping. Prior to getting my CPAP I had been sleeping in my spare bed-room on an air mattress and/or on my living room couch. These were the only alternatives available to me in order to remain in a stable marriage. If she doesn't sleep, chances of murdering me during waking hours is greatly increased so this was for my own safety really. Now that I have the machine and am back to sleeping in my own bed I've been waking up with an incredibly stiff back. At first I figured it was because I was sleeping on a real mattress for the first time in a long time, but it's been so consistent for more than a month now. Also, I took the CPAP on vacation and experienced the same stiff back issues. So, take the supposition for what it is, but I think it's a side-effect of getting that better sleep. We're not moving around as much and sleeping deeper in one position as opposed to not sleeping and moving more frequently. For what it's worth, I'm glad this thread was brought back from the dead so that I could share my pain.

My back pain originated in my lower chest/rib area and radiated to my back, very sore, making a deep breath exquisitely painful. SWS here suggested it might be irritated stretch receptors in my lower lungs. I moved to a machine that had expiration relief and set it in the middle of the range...voila, pain lessened and then stopped. Might increase your expiration relief.

I sleep first on one side and then wake up to shift to the other side. Because I typically wake up in the same position I fall sleep in, I am careful to make sure my position is comfortable with no folded bed linens/sleep shirt, twisted mask or hose snuggy, etc. to avoid stiff muscles/body aches upon awakening.

I'm agreeing with those here that think its from remaining still . I used to literally pull the covers off, even the mattress once and wind up on the floor. Up gasping for air like a fish on land. The first night with the bipap I woke up thinking it was my first wake up of the night, Usually 30 to 40 mins after falling asleep. I looked at the clock and it had been 8 hours!!! My blankets were hardly wrinkled. It might be that you are just dead still for longer then your used to. I got a memory foam topper at wally world for cheap and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Good luck brother,

I have a 2" Isotonic foam topper that is just wonderful! Got it sometime after starting CPAP therapy. Still working well.