Sometimes, you might suffer sudden unexpected spasms of gripping pain when you sneeze, which may leave you astonished and frozen that why did it happen. However, you may ponder the interdependence of back pain with sneezing.
But do you know why you suffer pain in back when sneezing?
If you ever feel pain in the back after sneezing, don’t ignore it or take it lightly. However, the medics caution people that it’s best not to take any chances as back pain while sneezing can be due to conditions such as slipping discs or herniated padding, which may cause paralysis of limbs!
This article will explore why my back hurts when I sneeze!
Let’s dive into the debate!
Table of Content
How Can Sneezing Cause Back Pain?
To function correctly, your back is required to work with every other muscle in the body. From lifting weights, sitting, standing, or just laying over, proper functioning with the spine is what you need the most!
However, back muscles are often vulnerable to injuries and strains.
Your back may hurt if you experience sudden, awkward movements like a violent sneeze. Further, it’s not just the muscles in your spine that can get triggered. It can be pretty uncomfortable for your chest muscles too.
Further, if you’re not ready for such a violent sneeze, it might harm your back, and unexpected tensing of back muscles might lead to excruciating muscle spasms.
What Does It Mean When You Have a Pain in Back When Sneezing?
If you’re unfortunate enough to sneeze at any time, your spine could be in for a nasty surprise!
A sneeze that feels like someone is shooting gun shells at you might be enough to pulverize your entire body and make it jerk as though on take-off mode. However, please don’t ignore it as this body pulverizing force, in particular, may cause extra stress on the spine, which could lead to aggravated conditions.
The sudden intense pain in back when coughing or sneezing running down your spine is a sure sign that you’ve been battered hard by a sneeze.
Therefore, it’s better to take precautions if you ever experience pain in back when sneezing and breathing!
However, look at back pain aspects related to sneezing and coughing.
Middle Back Pain When Coughing
Sometimes you might experience middle back pain while coughing.
While back pain can be caused by chronic coughing, it’s most often that it leads to an issue with your spine. However, chronic coughers should see a doctor because their act of breathing harshly could damage the effects on the discs between each vertebra that help support our spines as we move around all day long!
Upper Back Pain When Blowing Nose
It could be due to an underlying medical condition if you experience upper back pain when sneezing, blowing your nose, or breathing through your nose. Some possible causes include inflammation or infection of chest muscles, spinal curvature leading to chronic low-back pain, and lung cancer.
Lower Back Hurts When Sneezing
Aggravating pain in lower back when coughing or sneezing may be due to a herniated disc in the lower spine. The neurological examination includes multiple tests for this condition and can confirm it.
However, it will be explained in detail in the later section of “causes of back pain.”
Causes of Back Pain While Sneezing: Why Would My Back Hurt When I Sneeze?
If you sneeze, it’s not just your nose that might hurt –several muscles and nerve problems can also develop.
Moreover, if any pre-existing condition is present, it might also worsen.
However, the following conditions cause stinging pain in back when sneezing;
Herniated Disc:
Sometimes you might wonder why do I sneeze and my back hurts.
However, it could be due to several conditions; a herniated disc is one of them!
Herniated or ruptured discs can cause significant pain, especially when they press against nerves. The soft jelly-like material inside the disc pushes through an opening in its exterior and presses against nearby structures such as the spinal cord, causing immense discomfort and radiating pain for people with this condition.
However, one can treat it. Plus, it isn’t always painful, but a violent sneeze or cough might push the soft material a little harder against the nerves, which can bring about a bout of pain in back of neck when sneezing.
Therefore, sharp pain in back when sneezing can be a sign of protruded or herniated disc!
Vertebral Compression Fracture:
The vertebrae are the tiny bones that hold your spinal cord in place.
Moving, bending, or twisting for too long can cause a vertebral compression fracture, where part of these fragile structures become weak and may even break into two pieces. This is more common in people with a bone-thinning condition, osteoporosis.
However, people with severe osteoporosis can experience a VCF from just climbing the stairs or violent sneezing.
Further, those or moderate osteoporosis patients develop VCF by a fall, injury, or trauma damaging the spine.
Therefore, a violent sneeze can often lead to a vertebral compression fracture, causing severe back pain!
Muscle Strain:
A muscle strain is a stretch in a muscle, more commonly called a pulled muscle. It can be caused by overstressing your muscles which causes a tear in them.
Moreover, it can be painful and frustrating, but it doesn’t have to keep you down. Despite this, don’t worry; we’ll get through this together with the proper treatment for your specific needs!
However, burning pain in the back when sneezing could be due to pre-existing muscle strain. Besides, the force you sneeze can also be the primary cause of pain in your back.
Lastly, a mighty and compelling fit of sniffles and sneezes will produce spasms and strains on back muscles!
Sciatica:
Sciatica is a condition with damage to your body’s longest nerve, the sciatic nerve.
However, sneezing can damage the sciatic nerve, causing shooting pains down one or both legs. Further, if the condition worsens and sciatica symptoms get complicated, you might also suffer excruciating pain in the back.
Therefore, the sciatic nerve is prone to damage through a violent sneeze, leading to severe pain in lower back when coughing or sneezing!
How to Treat Back Pain After Sneezing?
Back pain is extraordinarily frustrating and excruciating when you’re living with it. However, if you want to get relief from it, you can look out for some home remedies to ease the discomfort. Some of them are listed below;
- Try doing ice therapy at home if you’re facing muscle strains. It will help to reduce inflammation caused due to muscle tears.
- Heat therapy is also found effective. It is efficacious in decreasing muscle soreness and tightening the muscles by improving the blood circulation in the affected area.
- Physiotherapy and gentle exercises profoundly affect treating pain in back when sneezing.
- Maintain a proper posture on your back. A good posture while standing or sitting ensures no extra stress or load on the muscle. It helps to reduce excess pressure and strain on the back muscles.
- Stretching is an excellent exercise to relieve back pain. It helps to ease muscle tension and stress.
- You can try taking OTC medications like naproxen or ibuprofen to ease muscle soreness and discomfort.
- Yoga and meditation are effectual in relieving stress from your back.
- Pain analgesic ointments help in relieving the pain.
- Also, try opting for other stress management techniques like deep breathing. It reduces the pressure on the back, making you feel lively and fresh.
- Standing straight against a wall might reduce your disc pressure on the spine.
When to See a Doctor?
When you sacrifice in temporary pain, you pay for that later!
A backache is no laughing matter. It is essential to seek treatment as soon as back pain develops because it can lead down an unhealthy road and ultimately become chronic.
However, consult your doctor immediately if you suffer any of the following;
- Loss of urinary and bowel control
- Loss of sensation throughout your back
- Pain in the back radiating from the top of the back to down the knees
- History of having cancer
- Abdominal pain
- Pain in back of head when sneezing, so-called cough headaches
- High fever
- Kidney pain when sneezing
- Lung pain in back when sneezing
Final Verdict
If you’re a victim of back issues, the back pain can be triggered by the tiniest actions, such as sneezing or coughing.
However, pain in back when sneezing is infuriating as the back is the center of almost all body movements. Moreover, this exasperating pain can restrict you too.
However, if you experience sudden back pain after sneezing or coughing, it might be due to underlying issues like herniated disc, sciatica, etc.
Try opting for home remedies like icing, OTC therapeutics, and gentle exercises to relieve the discomfort. However, if the situation worsens, consult your doctor immediately to know the root of the pain!
FAQs
How do I stop my back from hurting when I sneeze?
A violent sneeze can cause a muscle pull of the back, leading to severe backache.
However, you can stop or reduce by following specific home remedies like icing, heat therapy, pain analgesic ointments, OTC medications, yoga, meditation, etc.
Why does my back hurt when I cough or sneeze?
Back pain is a severe consequence of violent coughing or sneezing.
However, it might be due to several reasons associated with sneezing, of which herniated disc, muscle strains, sciatica, and vertebral compression fracture lie on the top!
Why does my back shoulder blade hurt when I sneeze?
If you experience a dull ache between the shoulder blades, it could be interscapular pain, which is linked directly to back muscles strain.
However, your back shoulder blade might get hurt by a forceful sneeze, as it could lead to muscle pull or tear in the back!
