What is the connection between them?

Is it lower back pain that’s causing your sleep disturbances, or is insomnia leading to your back pain? Sleep disturbances increase the likelihood of developing lower back pain by 52%. (Amiri & Behnzezhad 2020).

A possible factor that could explain this is dopamine levels. Dopamine is a simple organic substance that belongs to the catecholamine family. In the brain, it acts as a neurotransmitter, a substance used by nerve cells to communicate with each other. It has also been shown that the dopamine system is activated during moments of pleasure and good mood. Its basic structure is serotonin, which depending on its levels (low or high), affects one’s mood.

Dopamine is also linked to insomnia and the development of chronic pain (Finan & Smith 2013). Sleep disturbances are related to depression. Depression is associated with the onset of lower back pain. (Li et al., 2016 & Pinheiro et al., 2015).

It’s easy to just say “just sleep more,” but chronic pain is a “very bad wound” and extremely bothersome. It doesn’t let you sleep the way you want.

Here’s a short story for you: A person ignores the quality and quantity of their sleep for a few weeks (maybe months or years). They start to feel back pain. At first, it’s a mild discomfort. They continue to neglect their sleep. The pain persists.

What was initially negligible now grows both in intensity and frequency. A few more weeks pass. The pain hasn’t gone away. Now they notice it all day, every day. And now, they can’t sleep.

Initially, their poor sleep wasn’t helping the mild back pain they were feeling. But now, they can’t sleep because of the intense back pain. This takes us back to the beginning.

So, what’s the real cause?
Do sleep disturbances cause back pain, or does back pain lead to insomnia?

Conclusion:
Sleep is extremely important for proper pain management.