I used to have problems getting to sleep because the slight dip in my
mattress caused my back to hurt. It wasn't actually pain, it was more
like annoying discomfort. I would have to edge up to the edge of the
mattress where it was really flat and firm.

However, once I started taking one Centrum and 1000mg of C and 1000mg
of E in the morning my back was less uncomfortable at night. I later
started taking the same 3 pills at night as well and now there's no
discomfort at all at night.

I want to know which actual vitamin or mineral is actually helping my
back.

Hi  mxnmatch-ga!
 
	Here are some links I have compiled for you. Since the vitamin
Centrum is a multivitamin (made up of about 26 different vitamins), I
have also included links to articles/web pages that talk about the
vitamins commonly used for back pain, as well as pages that are
specifically about using vitamins E and C for the treatment of back
pain.
	If you have any questions about the information I have provided, feel
free to request a clarification of my answer and please allow me
enough time to respond before rating the answer.

Thanks so much!
chellphill-ga

http://www.cforyourself.com/Conditions/Back_Health/back_health.html
Chronic Vitamin C deficiency may be the leading cause of disc
herniations.

http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/Backpain/back_nutritional_therapies.htm
"Bioflavonoids and vitamins C and E are essential for maintaining
connective tissue, and are useful for alleviating disk injuries.
Vitamin C also helps if calcium absorption is poor due to inadequate
stomach acid."

"Vitamin C:
This is an essential antioxidant, which can support healing of
musculoskeletal injuries and relieve chronic pain."

"Vitamin E:
This has both an anti-inflammatory and an immune regulating effect."

http://www.go-symmetry.com/health/backache.htm
"vitamin E helps in healing process, vitamin C needed for the
formation of collagen which holds tissues together"

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1085.html
Osteoporosis: Vitamin C and Keeping Healthy

http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Concern/Low_Back_Pain.htm
Interesting page on back pain and supplements

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/Concern/Low_Back_Pain.htm
"A preliminary report in 1964 suggested that 500–1,000 mg per day of
vitamin C helped many people avoid surgery for their disc-related low
back pain.47 No controlled research has been done to examine this
claim further, though a double-blind trial found that 1 gram of
vitamin C taken three times per day reduced leg muscle soreness.48"

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2002-02-01/cols_health.html
Vitamins and supplements commonly used for low back pain.

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hk/remedies/disp/1,1459,435,00.html
Food remedies for back pain

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/news/viewarticle/1,1513,23,00.html
Your Antioxidant cocktail

http://www.dietsearch.com/health/painrelief.html
PAIN RELIEF & ANTIOXIDANTS
" What are free radicals? Free radicals are toxic substances that are
created as metabolic waste by our cells. Countless more free radicals
are produced during stresses to the body, including damage caused by
over working muscles and joints, and from medical conditions such as
arthritis and neuralgias."
"How can we combat the damaging free radicals? In the body
antioxidants are the agents that both destroy and neutralize free
radicals to help reduce inflammation and relieve its symptoms. What
are antioxidants? Antioxidants combat the oxidation and damage caused
by free radicals. Research has demonstrated that antioxidants
neutralize free radicals, stopping them from starting the chain
reaction that contributes to various diseases and conditions. "


http://www.vitacost.com/science/nutrients/vitamin_e.html
"Antioxidants, such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E, are an important part
of the body’s defense against muscle damage from exercise. Strenuous
exercise increases the body’s production of free radicals, which, in
turn, can cause muscle damage which manifests as swollen or painful
muscles. While exercise increases the body’s natural defense against
free radicals, athletes who are doing intense training may benefit
from the addition of antioxidant supplements to their diets.6"
"Antioxidants may slow the rate of joint deterioration in
osteoarthritis patients.24 Vitamin E in particular has been shown to
reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis.25,26"
" When joints become inflamed, they often suffer a depletion of
Vitamin E.29 Supplementation with this vitamin may help ease some of
the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.30"

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:-ufm4MG1S6oJ:www.the-aps.org/press_room/eb03/11.htm+vitamins+for+treating+back+pain&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
B-Vitamins Prove Effective In Relieving Chronic Pain
"One of the research studies found that noxious heat evoked
nociceptive responses of spinal dorsal horn neurons were suppressed by
compound of B1, B6 and B12.  These studies indicate that the
B-vitamins possess the capability to block physical distress in some
painful conditions."
http://www.the-aps.org/press_room/eb03/11.htm

analgesic
BIOFLAVONOIDS
"The School of Medicine at Loyola University, in Chicago,
investigating quercetin, a flavonoid, found it inhibits the DNA
synthesis of human leukemia cells. Flavonoids possess analgesic and
anti-inflammatory qualities. R. Ficarra et al, researching extracts of
Cordia has proven these flavonoids to have significant analgesic,
anti-inflammatory, and antiarthritic activity."

http://www.centrum.com/multi/centrum_label.asp
Ingredients in centrum

Hi, mixnmatch --

I'm not a researcher, but here's some interesting data on Vitamin E,
which I've learned to take when I'm sore after exercise and now take
every day, actually, after reading two articles: one in SKIING
Magazine and one in the WALL STREET JOURNAL:

SKIING:  "Jennifer Sacheck & Jeffrey Blumberg, researchers at Tufts
University, tested the soreness of two sets of men -- ages 23-25 and
agess 66-78 after a 45-minute downhill treadmill run.  The test was
then repeated 3 months later, after the subjects had taken either a
1,000 I.U. supplement of Vitamin E (about 45 times the recommended
daily allowance) or a soy oil placebo every day.

Post-run, both age groups who had popped Vitamin E reported less
soreness.

Blumberg believes that vitamin E, an antitoxidant, counters the
byproducts of oxygen metabolism--which can damage muscle tissue during
strenuous exercise.  He found that the levels of creatine kinase--an
enzyyme that leaks into the blood from injured muscle cells in the
youg set were up to 50% lower when they injested the vitamin,
suggesting that that vitamin might protect the cell membranes."

Then, from the WALL STREET JOURNAL I learned that if you DO take
Vitamin E, be sure to ask for GAMMA aka GAMMA TOCOPHEROL.

The article was called, "You're Taking the Wrong Vitamin." 

"The bottle most people grab at the store is a type of Vitamin E
called "ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL."  But many scientists now believe that a
less commonly available type --GAMMA TOCOPHEROL-- is far more
beneficial.

All Vitamin E's are not the same.  Gamma shows potentially the most
promise for men in avoiding  prostate cancer and possibly for everyone
in lowering the risk of heart disease.  There is also some early lab
evidence that other components of Vitamin E (again, NOT the
alpha-tocopherol form, but the gamma-tocopherol) can kill breast
cancer cells.  Consequently, a number of doctors are starting
reocmmend that in addition to eating foods with Vitamin E, people take
supplements that specifically contain the gamma form."

For Christmas, I gave everyone in my family a bottle of the Gamma E. 
I order it online.  Labels are all very tricky and misleading. But
GAMMA E+ by KAL, 400 IU gelcaps with "mixed tocopherols," has been
highly recommended.