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Reduce Back Pain With the Right Bed

It’s no secret how much of a difference a bed can make if you have low back pain.  Everybody has had the experience of traveling and sleeping on an unfamiliar bed.  You may wake up with more low back pain and stiffness than usual or you may wake up feeling great.  How you wake up is determined primarily by the quality of the bed you just slept on.

Even though people realize the type of bed they sleep on is important, actually addressing this factor is overlooked the majority of the time when treating low back pain.  If you have an acute attack of low back pain, I wouldn’t run out and buy a new bed; your symptoms will probably be gone in four to six weeks.  If, on the other hand, you have more of a chronic back issue I HIGHLY recommend exploring different bed options.  If your low back is sore and stiff when you first get up in the morning, your bed is part of the problem.  If you normally wake up feeling pain-free, your bed is probably not the issue.  It’s one or the other.

If your low back is sore and stiff in the morning, there is a good chance you need a bed with more support, a more firm mattress.  When sleeping, the best position for the spine is a position that is not too far in one direction.  With a soft mattress the spine ends up being curved in one direction too far; then that position is sustained during sleep.  When the spine is flexed, extended, or side bending in one direction and held there for an extended period the joints, discs, and muscles are subjected to tension, sheer, and compressive forces depending on what side of the curve or bend they’re on.  This is why you will wake up feeling stiff and sore.  A more firm mattress will support the spine, not allowing it to move in one direction too far.

Advice about sleeping on a more firm mattress for those who suffer from low back pain has been around for decades.  When people get a more firm mattress, one of two things usually happens:  Their back feels better or it feels worse.  Everybody is different and the exact same mattress, with the same amount of support, is not going to be right for everybody.  Some people will need a mattress that is a lot more firm; some people will need one that is only a little more supportive than the one they have.  What should you do?  How do you know what type of mattress to get?

A study published in 2003 in the medical journal Lancet compared firm mattresses with medium-firm mattresses for people with chronic low back pain.  The subjects were randomly assigned to sleep on either a firm mattress or a medium-firm mattress for 90 days.  At 90 days BOTH groups had less low back pain while lying in bed, when getting up, and during the day.  Disability was reduced in both groups.  The group sleeping on medium-firm mattresses had less pain and disability compared to the group sleeping on firm mattresses.

Get a medium-firm mattress and there is a great chance you will have less low back pain and disability.  There is a good chance a firm mattress will help as well, though not as much as a medium firm mattress.  Less people sleeping on medium firm mattresses had increased pain compared to those sleeping on firm mattresses.

This is a simple way that eases chronic or recurrent low back pain.  It won’t be cheap, though; mattresses are expensive.  Think of it as an investment in your health and well-being.   You spend roughly one-third of your life sleeping.  It’s important to have a bed that does not contribute to musculoskeletal pain syndromes.  In addition, getting a good night’s sleep promotes healing and will help decrease pain also. Reduce back pain with the right bed!

Kovaks, F., Abraira, V., Pena, A., Martin-Rodriquez, J., Sanchez-Vera, M., Ferrer, E., Ruano, D., & et al. , (2003). Effect of firmness of mattress on chronic non-specific low-back pain: randomised, double-blind, controlled, multicentre trial, 362(9396), 1599-1604.