How Painful Is A Spine Tattoo? Here's What To Know

Back pieces are a staple tattoo placement. From delicate florals and boho moon phases to timeless ornamental tattoos, all that empty skin is a ripe canvas for ink enthusiasts. But centering a design anywhere from your neck down to your tailbone will mean contending with your backbone. So how much will that spine tattoo hurt?

For the uninitiated, tattoos can seem intimidating. After all, who wants to be jabbed by needles for hours? But in terms of pain, getting tattooed is less like getting stabbed and more like being scratched. As tattoo artist Gianna Caranfa tells Business Insider, "Long periods of irritation and tenderness are what make you feel any discomfort ... The sensation of a tattoo needle is very dull compared to a syringe. It isn't the needle that causes discomfort as much as it is prolonged tenderness of being tattooed." Imagine the sore, hot feeling of accidentally scratching a sunburn and you might be in the right ballpark.

The pain of a tattoo can also vary widely depending on where you get it done. When it comes to the most and least painful spots to get a tattoo, your spine is unfortunately toward the high end of that spectrum. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to give up on your dream tattoo. Understanding why spine tattoos are so tooth-grittingly sore — and whether there's any way to lessen the agony — can help you prep for your tattoo session and sit like a rock through your spine design.

The discomfort tied to any tattoo is going to differ from person to person. Individuals have different pain tolerances, plus your tattoo experience can be impacted by factors like age, sex, and how much you've psyched yourself out beforehand. Experts have even developed separate tattoo pain charts for biological males and females, who can feel dramatically different pain levels in different parts of the body. Unfortunately, your backbone seems to be the exception to this rule — the spine is considered universally painful, and lands in the upper echelons of physical discomfort for all genders.

There are a few reasons that spine tattoos can be particularly excruciating. For one thing, bony areas always tend to be painful placements for tattoos. To make matters worse, the spine contains a lot of sensitive nerve endings — as one might expect of the body's neural superhighway. The more nerve endings beneath the skin, the more sensitive to touch and pain that area will be, so it's no surprise that your spine feels each touch of the needle keenly.

You might also experience referred pain during a spine tattoo. Because the nerves in your backbone link your brain to the rest of your body, it's possible for those pain messages to get a little scrambled and produce a buzzing sensation elsewhere — particularly in your arms.

Given its reputation for pain, a spine tattoo may not be the most ideal location for a first-time tattoo. For that matter, these designs can be difficult to withstand even if you're already experienced with ink. However, there are some tips and tricks you can use to minimize your discomfort and promote a smoother, happier ink session. A lot of them are tied to basic self-care, ensuring your body is in tip-top condition and ready to endure all that poking and prodding. For instance, getting a good night's sleep, staying hydrated, and eating a good meal before your appointment can help minimize pain and keep you feeling centered.

Mentally, you can also incorporate techniques like breathing exercises, meditation, and good old-fashioned distraction to focus your thoughts on anything but the pain. Try occupying your brain by chatting with your tattooist, scrolling social media, or popping in headphones to binge an attention-grabbing podcast.

Don't forget to take scheduling into account. Stress hormones can contribute to inflammation and heightened pain, so try to book your tattoo during a low-anxiety week. Females should also try to avoid getting a tattoo around their period — as reported by a study in Perceptual and Motor Skills, women perceive pain more profoundly during their menstrual and premenstrual phases. Finally, if you try all these tips and still find your tattoo unbearably painful, consider asking your tattoo artist about numbing cream to help dull your skin's sensitivity.