The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recommends your mattress should support your body weight evenly, without gaps between your mattress and your body. However, there is no "one size fits all" type of bed, and choosing the best bed for your back depends on your preferences and condition. You may need to change beds if you gain or lose a lot of weight, become pregnant or change sleeping partners. If you sleep with a partner, an adjustable mattress may be best for your back because you can each select a firmness level. A bed that is too firm can increase pressure on parts of your body, decreasing your quality of sleep and making you wake up sore. Too-soft beds don't support your back properly, and your spine won't be aligned and rested as you sleep, cautions J. Talbot Sellers, D.O., of the spine-health website. A 2008 study performed by Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found that people who could customise their mattress firmness to suit them slept better and experienced less back pain and soreness.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders states that people with back pain should sleep on their sides on a firm surface. Sellers stresses that since choosing the best bed for your back is a matter of personal preference, you should test a mattress in the store. Buy from a store that has a return policy if you're not comfortable sleeping on it after two or three weeks. Ron Miller, PT, writing on the spine-health website, suggests that adjustable beds—also called semi-Fowler beds—can be very comfortable for people with back problems such as spinal stenosis or osteoarthritis in the spine, or after back surgery. Similar to some hospital beds, you can raise or lower an adjustable bed so your upper body is raised to 30 to 45 degrees. Put a pillow under the backs of your knees to keep them slightly bent and your spine at a natural curve and take pressure off your lower back. The Better Sleep Council suggests other options to a traditional box spring mattress. Futons are often quite firm, as well as being affordable and versatile since they can function as both a sofa and a bed.
Inflatable air mattresses can be filled to your comfort level, as soft or as firm as you like. Foam mattresses come in a variety of styles, from memory foam which molds itself to your body as you sleep, to layered or textured foam. Water beds are now designed to look and feel more like a traditional mattress, providing better support and insulation compared to the sloshing waterbeds of the 1970s. Gain 2 pounds per week Gain 1.5 pounds per week Gain 1 pound per week Gain 0.5 pound per week Maintain my current weight Lose 0.5 pound per week Lose 1 pound per week Lose 1.5 pounds per week Lose 2 pounds per week Mattresses & Back Pain The Best Mattress for Large Heavy Side Sleepers Recommended Mattresses for Children How to Alleviate Hip Pain in Pregnancy by Sleeping on the Side Are Memory Foam Mattresses Good for Your Back? How to Lengthen Your Spine With Sleeping Positions What Firmness of Mattress Is Best for a Toddler?
How Do I Know What Type of Mattress Is Best for Me? Exercises After ACDF Surgery for a Stiff Back With Lower Back Pain Hip Problems After Pregnancy Exercises Exercise & Lack of Sleep The Effects of Sleeping on Your Back While Pregnant Sleeping Positions to Reduce Back & Hip Aches Causes, Risk Factors and Prevention of Back Pain Ways to Incline While You Sleep With a Back Wedge Baby and Bed Bug Bites What Ages Are Toddler Beds Designed For? Leg Strengthing Exercises After Being Bedridden Bed Wetting and Child AbuseRecently a friend of mine asked me, “Do you know what is the best mattress for back pain?” She was having a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep because of sciatica and some back problems. I figured the firmest mattress (hard mattress) was probably the best but I really didn't know for sure. To answer her question, I decided to dig into the medical literature to see what was in there about the best mattress for back
I went back about 10 years. There aren't a lot of studies on mattresses and back pain. But there's enough information there to make a And not only was I wrong about what I thought was the best mattress for back pain, but so are a heck of a lot of doctors who deal with back pain. mean better for back pain. In 2003, a study from Spain of 313 adults with chronic low back pain examined the effect of mattresses on their levels of pain while lying in bed...and when getting out of bed. Some of these people got new firm mattresses to sleep on for 90 days and some got new medium-firm mattresses. participants knew which type of mattress they had received. After 90 days, a higher percentage of patients sleeping on the medium-firm mattresses reported: The study states: A mattress of medium firmness improves pain and disability among patients with chronic non-specific low-back A medium-firm mattress provides good support while distributing pressure points on the body when lying in bed.
mattress that is too soft is just as bad for low back pain as a mattress that is too firm. In a 2005 study, The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association pointed out that in a survey, 76% of orthopedic surgeonsAnd most health professionals recommend hard or extra firm mattresses. The problem again is that these types of mattresses decrease the ability of the body to have more contact with the mattress. more pressure on the parts of the body that do touch the mattress. in turn means more pain in bed and getting out of bed. It's a known fact that low back pain significantly affects sleepA study in 2006 (Journal of Chiropractic Medicine) also looked at sleep quality in relation to medium-firm mattresses. The study of 30 women and 29 men showed this: For 28 days, subjects slept in their owns beds. Then they slept in beds with new medium-firm mattresses for 28 days. With this new bedding, there was significant improvement for back pain and stiffness, comfort, and sleep quality.
Is it starting to become clear here what the best mattress for back pain is? A 2008 study in Applied Ergonomics showed that age of and quality of bedding had a major effect on back pain. People sleeping in new beds had significantly less pain and more comfort than when they were sleeping on their older mattresses. The average age of the beds people were sleeping on before getting the new mattresses was 9.5 years. In addition, the study states: It was found that for the cheapest category of beds, lower back pain was significantly more prominent than for the medium and higher priced beds. So let's wrap up this article on the best mattress for back pain with two final studies I uncovered. Below, we'll also take a look at three top choices for where to get the mattress of your dreams. The first study was in Spine. One hundred and sixty people were divided into three groups for a one month test of new mattresses. in group one were given water beds...group two memory foam
mattresses...and group three hard mattresses. People who slept on the water beds and memory foam mattresses had improved back pain symptoms, back function, and sleep quality. mattress types were deemed superior to a hard mattress. were no differences observed between the water bed and the memory foam. Now I don't know about you, but I've slept in a few water beds over the years but never really liked them. I always felt like I was sleeping in a row boat. A 2010 study showed that replacing patients' beds with new medium-firm mattresses, layered with memory foam and latex, provided significant improvement in both back and shoulder pain. Check out this chart below and you'll see what the best mattress for back pain is. As you can see, there is over a 60% drop in back pain and stiffness, resulting in improvement in sleep quality after just one week! And these results continue through week 12. Researchers also mentioned there was a significant drop in the
number of days per week that people were experiencing poor sleep and Obviously, then, if your back gives you fits, the best mattress for back pain is one that has memory foam in it. (Or if you love your water bed, by all means stick with it.) The question then is... Searching around to find a quality mattress is like getting your teeth drilled at the dentist without novocaine. Yes, it's that painful! So I'm going to save you all that trouble. I've searched for hours all over the Internet to bring you three excellent choices of mattress companies. sells America's luxury mattresses for a steep discount. Their prices are unbeatable. And if you don't live in the United States, no problem. Saatva ships their discounted luxury mattresses where you live. After you pick out the items you want on Saatva's website, select International Checkout as your shipping option. They are experts at shipping anywhere in the world. You can read two Saatva customer reviews from Saatva customers in the right column of this page up above.
This may be the best mattress company on the Internet. Click here to go to the Saatva home page. is recommended and was featured on Dr. Oz's TV show and AndersonThey claim to have the world's only truly natural memory foamI must say, these are incredibly pure memory foam mattresses. However, they are expensive. So unless you have a lot of money, I think you can get a much better deal with the third choice below.There’s a new memory foam mattress Loom & Leaf has flipped the world of buying memory foam Now you can get a luxury queen from Loom & Leaf for onlyA similar mattress at Tempur-Pedic would cost you $3,699. Which price would you rather pay? Loom & Leaf mattresses are built in America with American high-grade, non-toxic memory foam. Certified pure by Certi-PUR. They also use a unique medical grade cooling gel. placed in the spinal zone area to keep you cool and comfortable with no When you buy one of these mattresses, you’re not only