By Sally Ann Quirke | I often give my new clients a single page mattress buying guide when they look for advice in buying a new mattress - but want to ensure that their investment alleviates back discomfort and pain. Before we proceed with our mattress buying guide, please remember that you spend almost one third of your life in bed - sleeping! Selecting the correct mattress for your back is crucial for your health. Your body needs to be able to relax in a good postural position so that it can recover from its day’s work and respond well to the demands of the next one. Many people who have a bad back miss the opportunity to help improve their back pain by not doing their research and buying the wrong type of mattress for them. If you have a bad back, or suffer from back pain, particularly while sleeping, then choosing a mattress to prevent and treat back pain is something that can really help you. It is well discussed topic in the physiotherapy and health world. However, remember that choosing a mattress is both a subjective and objective matter.
Subjectively - you must feel comfortable lying on your mattress. Try plenty of mattress in the shop and compare how you feel lying on them (remember to wear clean socks on the day!) Objectively - I advise people on the type of mattress to look for, and give guidance on the mattress types I think may help in the treatment, prevention and ultimate resolution of their back pain and stiffness. Mattress for Lumbar Lordosis: If you have a stiff lower back - and have a deep curve at the base of your spine that does not flatten to the ground naturally when you lie down,(known as an increased lumbar lordosis) - then I usually advise a mattress that is supportive but not too hard. In my experience if you have an increased lumbar lordosis and sleep on a hard mattress your spine can remain arched in your sleep while you are lying on your back. Clients with this back posture often find that they wake up with increased back pain in the morning if they have been sleeping on their backs.
They tend to sleep on their sides to avoid this pain. However, if their mattress is a little softer, they find sleeping on their backs is not a problem. Mattress for Flexed Posture: Another example is if you a flexed lower back (known as a flat back) and you tend to slouch when you sit. In such cases your back will tend to benefit more from a firmer style mattress. If your flexed lower back is not supported enough, back pain problems may worsen over time, as a softer bed encouraging and supporting your flexed posture, allowing it into further flexion while you sleep. These are just two examples, but ultimately you need to understand what your posture type is, or what the underlying cause of your back pain is. Once you have discovered this, then it will help you choose the best mattress for your back pain. If unsure, ask your physiotherapist/Physical Therapist to help you on this one! I recently had a client who spent 3000 euro on a bed and having assessed her symptoms, it was clear that the new bed was cause of her hip pain!
As you can imagine, my diagnosis was not very popular! I have seen many more who missed an opportunity to help improve or relieve their back pain by buying a mattress without doing their research first. Also, I think it is also worth pointing out that there are many environmental factors you should consider in choosing a correct mattress. Most modern mattresses are chemically treated, and if manufactured poorly, will result in high solvent levels that we absorb and inhale into our bodies night after night. Where possible it is preferable to buy a non-toxic mattress, preferably made from natural fibres. These are typically not treated with chemical flame retardants like PBDE and are made from organic cotton, wool and coir(coconut fibre). This is worth bearing in mind if you are considering a mattress, or pillow, made from a memory foam such as polyurethane. The cost of your mattress is not always indicative of its quality and effectiveness in the treatment of back pain. Sometimes a cheap mattress can tick all the boxes that your back requires.
However, in my experience with mattress-buying - you often have to pay more to get a well manufactured mattress that has fewer chemicals in its makeup, which I firmly believe is very important with respect to your general health. So, that’s the basic mattress buying guide - do your research - both on the types and features of mattresses available and on your lying posture type before you open your wallet! The materials contained on this website are provided for general information and educational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice on any particular individual situation. Please see your Chartered Physiotherapist or other medical practitioner for full and individual consultation. Please read the full disclaimer here. By using this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. For more information on how we use cookies, please read our cookie policy here.Memory Foam vs Spring MattressesI’m going to cut straight to the chase with this page on my website, and start by telling you the main reason spring or “coil” mattresses are still manufactured is because they’re cheap to construct and to buy.
The technology used within a spring mattress hasn’t changed that much in many years, and the support you received from a new one bought 10 years ago will be the same if you buy one now. However, I’m not about telling you what’s good for you and what isn’t. My job is to make sure you get both sides of the story and I think this page will be very useful for those of you who are not sure if moving from a spring mattress to memory foam is the right choice for you. So, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons you can expect with both types. Of course, I will try not to be biased, but I can’t help starting with memory foam. There is far more choice with a memory foam mattress simply because of the abundance of technology available to manufacturers. Plus the levels of firm to soft are far more accurate than that of a coil spring, not to mention the different layers foam mattresses can have. Starting out with a foam mattress before you suffer from back, neck or shoulder pain could stop this from happening all together because you get the natural support you need from the word go!
If you do have trouble with various aches and pains whether they’re mild or severe, a foam mattress will definitely help because it supports important pressure points across the body. Unlike a spring mattress, the technology within is like having billions of tiny springs supporting your frame and it will contour to your natural shape much better. Think of it like buying a suit that’s been made for you rather than buying “off the peg”. Foam mattresses will last much longer and the warranties available are more extensive because the materials used are far superior to that of a spring type. Largely, you’ll be doing the environment a favor especially if you look out for the CertiPUR-US certification. One of the biggest complaints about foam mattresses is the fact they produce additional heat. However, there are brands on the market like the DynastyMattress 12-Inch New Cool Breeze GEL I have reviewed that pretty much eliminate this problem. Depending on the way of packaging, you may have to wait for your mattress to expand before you can use it, and in some cases there will be an odor.
Finally, yes, foam mattresses will cost you more. But, they last longer if cared for properly and could avoid problems in the future due to aches and pains caused by a poor sleeping surface. First of all, as I have mentioned a spring mattress is cheap. The main reason for this is the technology used to construct them is pretty basic. When you first buy a spring mattress, there is no need to wait until you can use it because they “spring” to their original form instantly. Since spring mattresses don’t rely on heat to adjust to your body, you won’t get the problem of being too warm when you sleep. They are well ventilated. You won’t get the “outgas” odor that’s sometimes synonymous with foam mattresses because of the materials used. If you don’t like the idea of waiting for your mattress to conform to the contours of your body, a spring mattress might be the answer. This is a personal issue though, and most people get used to this characteristic of memory foam fairly quickly (plus new foams and layer set-ups are being developed every day, making the problem slowly go away).