Heartburn is a condition that affects many people. It is caused by an acid reflux that causes pain and burning sensation in the chest. The pain radiates to other parts of the body as well, namely the face and neck area. Because of these symptoms, it is commonly mistaken for a heart attack, which usually exhibits the same signs. However, heartburn does not have the shortness of breath associated with a heart condition. Heartburn sufferers also reports pain in the back area, hence heartburn and back pains are commonly associated with each other.
The reason for this seemingly detached pain is that, the cause of heartburn is not located in the chest where the pain is, but in the stomach area. Because of this, it is common for severe heartburn pain to radiate to other parts of the body that are nearby. There are several reasons why back pain is commonly associated with heartburn. The first one is tissue damage. Severe cases of heartburn are chronic. Moreover, in the repeated episodes of stomach acid going back up the esophagus, soft tissues in the area are affected by it. The damage often goes as far as the back part of a person thereby creating back pain.
The second cause is, severe heartburn causes pain that is so intense, and it has nowhere to go but to spread out in the back area of the body. The less known reason for the association of back pain with heartburn is sleeping posture. People who suffer from heartburn sleep with their heads elevated. Sleeping flat will cause stomach acids to come up in the esophagus, causing severe pain which wakes a person up, and prevents him from going back to sleep. To prevent it, additional pillow is put up to elevate the head. However, this results to a bad sleeping posture causing muscle misalignment in the back area. This causes the back pain.
If you happen to be a heartburn sufferer and experiences back pains, it might help to know what causes it. Heartburn is already a very discomforting condition and if it is coupled with another pain, the discomfort may become a major inconvenience.
