Chiropractic In Oakville Articles

Which mattress is best for my back?
Dr. Catherine Chu BSc., DC

Waking up in the morning with back pain is tough.  Many people attribute their aches and pains to poor mattress quality. You may be in a situation where you don’t want to trade in that nice, soft comfortable mattress for a hard firm one.   The fact is that for people suffering with chronic non specific low back pain, a firm mattress may not be the best for your back.  In fact, people who already have low back pain are more sensitive than healthy people to mattress firmness, meaning small change in firmness may have big effects on comfort and pain. 

A 2003 study looking at the clinical effects of mattress firmness on chronic non specific low back pain (pain not related to fracture, spondylitis, or systemic processes) found that a medium firm mattress was better than firm mattress on many levels.  After the 90 day study period people who received a new medium firm mattress had less pain in bed, pain on rising and disability than those who received a firm mattress.  Throughout the study patients with medium firm mattress also had less daytime back pain than those with a firm mattress. 

How to tell the firmness?
The firmness of the mattress was rated according to the European Committee for Standardization scale.  The scale starts at 1 (firmest) and ends at 10 (softest).  The firm mattresses in the study were 2-3 and the medium were 5-6. 

So in general, if you have low back pain, yes, changing your mattress may help.  However don’t automatically look for the most firm mattress available thinking it will be the most helpful.   Chronic low back pain is a difficult issue to resolve completely and treatment will involve more than a mattress.  Chiropractors are your spinal experts so talk to your chiropractor today about ways to improve the health of your back, including proper sleeping etiquette. 

For more information Dr. Chu can be contacted at the Root of Health 905.845.7668

Source:  Effect of firmness of mattress on chronic non-specific low-back pain: randomised, double-blind, controlled, multicentre trial.  THE LANCET • Vol 362 • November 15, 2003