Better Relief for Back Pain
For years we have heard that a firm mattress is better for those who suffer from back pain. There are even cases of doctors suggesting that their patients put a layer of plywood or a door under their mattress to make it even more firm. While some people may find relief while sleeping on a very firm mattress, a renowned study by a group of researchers in Spain, led by Dr. Francisco Kovacs has shown that a medium mattress offered relief for twice as many patients when compared to a firm mattress.
Dr. Kovacs’ study found that patients who slept on a medium mattress required less pain medication, reported less pain while lying down, and even less pain while walking around during the daytime. The differences in outcome were substantially more positive for the group using medium mattresses.
If we look at the way the body interacts with a firm mattress, the difference is pretty clear. Dr. Kovacs, in his report published in The Lancet, a well-respected British medical journal, said “Firm mattresses don’t allow shoulder and hips to sink into the bed. This leaves an unsupported area in the lower back so the spine is curved leaving one side of joints open while the other is closed. If you keep doing this, one side of the back is stretched. The ideal is to have your spine in a straight line.”
While a mattress should be firm enough to limit the depth to which hips sink into the mattress to prevent curving in the opposite direction, some yielding actually improves spinal alignment. Furthermore, using a material like memory foam that surrounds and cradles the body as it makes contact with the mattress surface provides critical support while preventing the misalignment that the Kovacs study found with firm mattresses.
Memory foam, then, is an ideal choice for those who suffer from chronic or periodic back pain. Sufferers of this condition would be well advised to make their next mattress a memory foam mattress. If they have already purchased a firm mattress and have found little or no relief, there’s no need to run out and replace their existing mattress. By simply adding a memory foam mattress topper to an existing mattress, the benefits of a comfortable, yielding, yet supportive sleeping surface can still be realized. Memory foam mattress toppers are typically available in thicknesses ranging from one to four inches. For back pain sufferers, a four inch thickness in the denser memory foam is likely to provide maximum benefit.
With any medical condition, follow your doctor’s advice, but if your doctor still recommends a firm mattress, ask him about the Kovacs study that showed much higher rates of relief with mattresses of medium firmness and ask whether memory foam might be the right option for you.
