Mattresses for Back Pain

That is not exactly an easy task to find the best mattress for back pain among hundreds of options. However, knowing the unique features of each mattress can allow you to pick the right one without stressing. Besides, knowing the peculiarities of a mattress that helps with back pain can help you know what to look out for when buying a mattress. To help with this decision, we have included a table of some of the best mattresses for back pain.

What Should those with Back Pain Consider When Looking for A Mattress?

While there are different causes of back pain, the primary issue is sleeping on the wrong mattress. If you’re already experiencing constant back pain, your mattress could be the cause. A bad mattress does not only reduce the quality of your sleep, but it can also affect your health. This is why it is better to start sleeping on an ideal mattress that's perfect for reducing or eliminating back pain. Now, when looking for the right mattress for back pain, there are certain criteria to take into account. Among these things are your sleeping position, the firmness of the mattress, and the support it offers.

• Sleeping Position: Sleeping positions vary from person to person, and not all mattresses can support your sleeping position. Naturally, the best mattress for back pain should support the back, head, hips, and shoulders. Accessories (like a pillow) might be added for different sleeping positions. For example, if you’re a stomach sleeper, you might want to slip a thin pillow beneath your stomach anytime you sleep. And if you can’t help but sleep on your side, try to sleep with a firm pillow between your knees, etc.
• Firmness: The firmness of the mattress plays a big role in causing, reducing, or increasing back pain. When looking for the best firm mattress for back pain, it is important to look for one that suits your needs and reduces the pain. When you lie down on a mattress, does it feel stiff and retain shape, or it pushes down and cushions your body? This is what firmness means, and it ranges from soft to firm, though there is a standard firmness scale that gives you an idea of how soft or firm a mattress is. 1-2 means soft, 3-4 means medium-soft, 5-7 means medium-firm, and 8-10 means firm.
• Support: The support a mattress gives is another major factor to consider when looking for a mattress for back pain. Most times, the firmness of a mattress is confused with the support it offers. Rightly so, because the support is just how comfortable, you feel when you lay on a mattress. Lack of this comfortability (or support) strains the muscles and reinforces bad sleeping posture. Ultimately, your comfort is the first factor to consider when looking for the best mattress for back pain.

What Mattress Features Are Important for People with Back Pain?

Just like the customizations in your car or the decorations in your room, the features of a mattress are all about your comfort and what you like. By considering these features, you can accurately choose the right mattress.

• An important component of a mattress is the support it offers. And springs and coils (made mainly of steel) provide this support for the back. In a mattress, the thicker the coils, the more the support. Though this does not always mean the best mattress for back pain is one with thicker coils. It is best to use your judgment when it comes to choosing the thickness that suits your needs and eases back pain.
• Another feature of a mattress is the padding, which is made from cotton batting, puffed-up polyester, or polyurethane foam. It is better to have the padding in addition to the steel coils and springs. This is because the padding offers comfort while the springs and coils offer support. There are two kinds of padding in a mattress, the insulation mattress padding, and the middle padding. The insulation padding is located on top of the coils (which is below the mattress). This protects the mattress from being damaged by the coils. It also means the coils won’t be easily felt from the top layer. On the other hand, the middle padding can be found below the top layer and is generally made of foam. This type of padding makes some areas feel firmer than other areas of the mattress.
• Similar to the spring and coils is the foundation (or box spring). The foundation adds extra support to a mattress. A foundation is made up of a spring and a wooden (or metal) frame. The spring in the foundation gives a softer feeling to the mattress. A foundation with just a wooden frame can only be used if the wood is straight and has no visible cracks. These mattress features make your sleep session more effective and relaxing, consequently relieving back pains (if any).

What Type of Mattress Is Best?

As established earlier, laying on the wrong mattress is the fundamental cause of back pain. The perfect solution to this problem is knowing the best type of mattress for back pain out there. And to know the best mattress, you need to at least know the different types there are. Knowing the various types makes the search easier, and therefore, your ultimate choice will be a perfect fit. The major types of mattresses are the Foam mattress, Innerspring mattress, hybrid mattress, and that latex foam type.

• The innerspring mattress: It contains steel springs in a continuous coil. It also has a thin layer of mattress or padding (made with either latex, polyfoam, or the famous memory foam) to lay on. It used to be the best mattress for back pain before the emergence of other types. This mattress provides a significant bounce and does not create heat. If you tend to sleep a lot and want to select from a range of firmness levels, the innerspring mattress is the best option you can pick.
• Foam Mattress: Opposite to the properties of the innerspring mattress, the foam mattress (especially from memory foam) is a lot less bouncy and hugs the body. It makes you feel like you are sleeping on the mattress and not on it. The reason for this cushion effect is the viscoelastic nature of the memory foam, which makes it sensitive to body heat and pressure. Your heat and weight soften the foam, making it form a contour of your body, consequently making you feel hugged. Because of this contour, weight is equally distributed, thereby relieving back and joint pains. The memory foam mattress is known to retain heat; therefore, it could get warm in there sometimes. Gel, plant oils, graphite, or copper can be added to make it collect less heat.
• Latex Foam: This mattress is a cooler and organic option when compared to memory foam. It gives the comfort that memory foam provides for the body without the hugging part. Although, if you have a latex allergy, you might want to stay away from this type of mattress. Usually, this foam is more durable than memory foam. And this advantage makes it a bit pricier than the other types.
• Hybrid Mattress: Finally, the hybrid mattress; a mattress with a coil spring lower layer with either latex foam or the famous and comfortable memory foam on top. This provides a mixture of the comfort of memory foam (or latex foam) and the support of a spring-coil system. Because of this combo, it could be a more expensive option than the other types of mattresses. Overall, when choosing the best type of mattress for back pain, consider your likes and dislikes. Also, put into mind, the price of a mattress does not dictate its quality, so comfortability is key here.

FAQ

What is the best mattress for a person with back pain?

When it comes to pain in the back, you should be thinking more about how firm and supportive the bed is. Luckily for you, a memory foam mattress provides this sort of firmness and support to ease back pain. Also, similar to memory foam, latex foam comes highly recommended as another one of the best mattresses for back pain.

What mattress firmness is best for people with back pain?

It is important to consider how firm a mattress is while thinking of comfort, quality sleep, and back pain ease. A mattress could be soft, medium-soft, medium-firm, or firm. The best firmness for you isn't strict hard, or soft. It is the in-between firmness that serves as the best mattress firmness for back pain. This means it shouldn’t be too soft or too firm.

What sleeping position is best for people with back pain?

One thing you might need to note is that the sleeping position usually depends on individual preference. The good thing about the sleeping position is, it can be modified (using pillows) to alleviate back pain over a period. A side sleeper can sleep with a firm pillow between the knees to ensure spine alignment. Other sleeping positions can also be modified this way to suit your needs.

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