6 Causes Of Back Pain After Drinking Alcohol

After you open a few cold ones, you may notice that a night of drinking can cause you to wake up with not only a pretty intense hang-over headache, but also even pain and tenderness in your back. Everyone knows that the more you drink, the more likely you are to get this type of hangover, but does this hold true when it comes to back pain, as well?

Here, we will explore some of the potential reasons why you may have back pain after drinking alcohol. 

Does Alcohol Directly Cause Back Pain? 

Before we get into a list of potential diseases that you may be at risk for if you notice that you have back pain after drinking (large amounts of) alcohol, it would be wise to determine if there are any medical studies showing a link between alcohol consumption and increased incidence of reported back pain.

Numerous reviews attempted to investigate this to see if there was a direct trend in the relationship between the two seemingly independent events. At the conclusion of their investigations, it was determined that there is not a statistically significant link between drinking alcohol and the development of low back pain [1].

Some studies did show that chronic users of alcohol did have a higher risk of lower back pain, but sample sizes were insufficiently small to draw definite conclusions. This will not derail our investigation, however, because alcohol may still be able to cause back pain indirectly. 

What Is Alcoholic Neuropathy?

When looking at any potential link between alcohol consumption and indirect reasons you may have back pain, one of the first sicknesses to consider would be alcoholic neuropathy. Alcoholic neuropathy is a condition seen in people suffering from chronic alcoholism where large amounts of alcohol consumed over a long period of time gradually damage nerves throughout the body, including the spinal cord.

Patients with this conditions will experience significant amounts of back pain not only due to the damaged nerves but also do the nutritional status of the patient. Insufficient levels of vitamins and electrolytes can lead to further cramping and dull aching pain. [2] Stopping alcohol consumption may not be enough to treat alcoholic neuropathy, because the damage caused by this disease is irreparable. Regulate the amount you drink before the problem gets out of hand. 

Kidney Stones Caused by Excessive Alcohol Use

Another potential cause of back pain linked with heavy alcohol consumption could present in the form of kidney stones. These pesky precipitates are able to form during times of low water status.

Alcohol has an effect on the ADHD channel to cause you to urinate more when you are drinking. This can potentially lead to kidney stone formation on its own, but numerous other investigations have also shown that drinking fruit juices can predispose a person to kidney stone formation during times of drinking, as well.

When drinking hard liquors like vodka or whiskey, some users of this type of alcohol may turn to sodas or fruit juices to take the edge off of the drink and make them smoother. These studies show that the more juices you drink while you are consuming alcohol, the more likely you will be to develop kidney stones and potentially very severe back pain. [3]

Gout, Back Pain, and Heavy Alcohol Use

Another disease to consider when you have back pain after drinking alcohol could be gout. Gout occurs when you have crystal deposits forming in your joints. Most of the time, the joints affected by gout will be those in your toes, knees or wrists, but your back is another location that these crystals can form in. Gout is generally exacerbated by the food choices we make and alcohol consumption is a very clear risk for it, so if you have a history of gout, you may find yourself having severe back pain as a result. [4]

Degenerative Disc Diseases 

Not only can alcohol indirectly cause conditions that can lead to back pain, long-term and heavy drinking can also worsen diseases patients already may be suffering from. When patients have problems like kyphosis, degenerative disc disease or vertebrae damage due to osteoporosis, alcohol consumption can boost the damaging of the nerve fibers that are exposed. This is essentially the same mechanism of what occurred during alcoholic neuropathy.

As patients age, they are more inclined to have these spinal cord disorders and they quite easily could be self-medicating with alcohol as a form of pain management. This is the medical equivalence of trying to put out a bonfire with gasoline — and it will only worsen your health and your symptoms in the long run. [5]

Alcohol Withdrawal and Back Pain

I know what you are thinking; it could be just a simple choice: do not drink alcohol anymore and these patients will find quick relief from their back pain. Unfortunately, nothing in medicine could be that simple.

Studies indicate that patients that have a dependence on alcohol (in layman's terms, alcoholics) are more likely to suffer from chronic pain syndromes and also experience hyperalgesia after stopping alcohol use [6]. This means that patients with alcohol use disorders are even more sensitive to pain after quitting alcohol. Joints that are highly involved in physiological movements like your knees and lower back are even more prone to becoming bothersome in these types of patients. [7]

A final word

Patients who have bouts of back pain after drinking large amounts of alcohol should seek medical attention to figure out the cause, and to receive treatment. If you are a heavy drinker, you will be advised to cut down on your drinking or to quit alcohol entirely, regardless of whether your back pain is determined to be caused by alcohol consumption. 

Not only does alcoholism destroy the liver, it  can also affects every other part of your health and social life negatively. Alcoholism may be hard to treat, but it is not impossible to detox from alcohol and start living your life sober. Ask your doctor for a referral to programs that can help you if you suffer from an alcohol use disorder.