Backaches

[Ruffinit]

I use the ResMed Adapt SV at high pressures which causes aerophagia. The amount of air intake varies from night to night and I've learned to live with it.. My question is that when I get to sleep longer than my normal ~7 hours of sleep I get backaches that I was not having prior to this wonterful treatment. I'm beginning to wonder whether the aerophagia and the backaches are somehow related. It's bad enough that I don't have restful sleep with the machine, that I'm bloated like the Macy's balloons in the mornings, but the backaches make it so I can't catch up on sleep even if I try. (They do go away within an hour of getting out of bed.)

[LinkC]

If I had to guess, I'd say the backaches are more from unnatural positions because of the mask/hose than they are the aerophagia.

[Ruffinit]

Well, I had considered that also, but because of the mask I use, I can normally sleep in much the same positions that I used to except for the left side which is away from the machine and ends up blowing air (3 foot stream) on my wife. The hose doesn't really bother me much. Any other suggestions?

[Digeeedad]

I've been "on CPAP" for my first time, almost 2 months now. I also developed a sore back, soon after starting. A lttle hard to say that it wasn't also due to an actual back injury, because here in So. Caifornia of all places, I slipped on some ICE on our front porch steps, wearing flip-flop sandals and shorts, and bounced down all 5 steps to the sidewalk! This was within a few days of starting CPAP therapy.

That being said, as a possible additional cause of back pain, for myself, I am pretty convinced that the back pain is significantly attributable to a new way of breathing! I am sure that I am using back muscles in breathing, using my CPAP machine, that I have never used similarly before. With CPAP I know that, at least while I am falling asleep, I am taking MUCH deeper breaths/inhalations than I had before. That coupled with exhaling against incoming CPAP air pressure (even though it is attenuated to a degree by C-Flex or EPR/Easy Breathe) throughout the night, I believe has a LOT to do with the back stiffness. I was always a mouth breather awake and while sleeping and now notice that for the most part, even while awake and active, I find myself nose breathing, as if I'm on my machine, and taking deeper breaths day and night through my nose, which has to require a bit more muscular effort pulling air through and out of my nostrils, rather than the big passageway of my big open mouth.

I could be wrong, but it seems to be such a common complaint among new users, that I thought I'd share my "guess" as to the "cause".....

[BlackSpinner]

I also had pain - for me it was in my hips. The biggest reason was that I was actually sleeping and not tossing and turning every hour. I added a mattress pad and better pillow and my body got used to sleeping in the same position for longer lengths of time.

[Ruffinit]

Interesting ideas that I hadn't thought of before. Though I've always been physical; a runner and long distance cyclist, I'm very used to deep breathing, just not while sleeping. I'm in my 4th month and would think that the muscles would be used to it by now, but maybe not.. How many times can you blow up a balloon before it pops? Mr. Owl?

[kaydacat]

I've been wondering the same thing myself lately. I've been on cpap for 15 months now at fairly high pressures, and I suffer from aerophagia. My back hurts so bad after 6 hours of sleep, that I have to get out of bed to make it stop hurting. I am also convinced it has something to do with CPAP. I change my position several times during the night to try to alleviate the pain in my back and hips, to no avail.