Mattress Ratings > Mattresses and Back Pain Problems
Mattresses and Pain Relief, Including Relief From a Bad Back → Based on Data From Over 15,000 Actual Mattress Owners
Page last updated: December 1, 2011
What You Need To Know
Some mattress types perform significantly better than others in preventing / relieving pain, including back, hip and shoulder pain.
Mattress supportiveness, conformability and firmness are important factors in pain relief and prevention.
Contents
– Mattress Supportiveness
– Mattress Conformability
– Firmness Levels & Pain
– Firmness & Sleeping Positions
– Mattress Types & Pain Relief
Before we discuss which mattress types are best for pain reduction and prevention, some key terms are important to understand. They include supportiveness, conformability and firmness.
Mattress Supportiveness
"Supportiveness" refers to how well a mattress keeps the sleeper's body on a flat and level plane, as opposed to allowing part of the body to be lower or higher than the rest. Owner experience data shows that supportiveness is a key factor in preventing and alleviating pain, especially back pain.
Supportiveness can be undermined by excessive softness; but it is most often undermined by sagging of the mattress. Sagging is the top complaint of mattress owners overall with at least 20% reporting a significant problem.
Sagging occurs when part of a mattress, usually the middle, becomes compressed and lower than the rest. Sagging often puts a person's back into an unnatural position. Consequently, owner experience data shows there is a clear connection between sagging and pain, especially back pain.
The greater the sagging depth (especially depth greater than .5 inches) the more likely it is that the sagging will cause a person pain in bed and possibly out of bed.
It should be noted that many mattress warranties, especially those for innerspring beds, cover sagging only if it has a depth greater than 1.5 inches.
As the chart above shows, however, pain for many people occurs with less than 1.5 inches of sagging depth.
In other words, even though a mattress is apparently causing pain with less than 1.5 inches sagging depth, there is no recourse for the mattress owner in regard to having the bed repaired or replaced by the manufacturer.
Mattress Conformability
"Conformability" refers to how well a mattress conforms or molds to the contours of a person's body. A mattress has good conformability if all of one's body is supported equally by the mattress.
A lack of conformability means there are gaps in support. The result can be that at least one part of the body, such as the spine, is placed in an unnatural position which can cause pain. A lack of conformability also often results in some parts of the body feeling more pressure than other parts because of unequal support. Such pressure can be a source of significant pain.
Mattress Firmness and Pain
The firmness of a mattress is an important factor in preventing / relieving pain, including back pain.
Medium firmness mattresses tend to be firm enough to provide support but soft enough to provide conformability. As a result, they tend to be most effective in preventing / relieving pain.
Firm mattresses often have support but little if any conformability. In addition, excessive mattress firmness is a top complaint of mattress owners (second only to sagging) because the firmness can cause discomfort mainly due to clearly felt pressure points.
Soft mattresses often provide good conformability but may lack adequate support which can cause pain / discomfort.
Based on our collected owner data, the chart below shows how people as a group overall rate mattress firmness in regard to pain-relief effectiveness.
Firmness and Sleeping Positions
To minimize pain and maximize comfort, it is important to have a mattress with a firmness level that is suitable for your sleeping position(s). Based on our collected owner data, the information below shows how people as a group overall rate the suitability of mattress firmness levels for the three main sleeping positions.
| Back Sleeping | Side Sleeping | Stomach Sleeping | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | Fair-Good | Good | Fair-Good |
| Medium | Good | Good | Good |
| Firm | Good-Fair | Fair | Good-Fair |
Mattress Types & Pain Relief / Prevention
The graph below shows the pain-relieving ability of the different mattress types based on owner experience data. The types that are better at reducing pain, including back pain, are more supportive, less likely to sag and more likely to have good conformability. (Keep in mind that the chart represents what is often but not always the case; a particular brand, model or individual mattress may go against these findings.)
Memory Foam Mattresses
Memory foam beds tend to be effective in preventing or reducing pain, including back pain. While the beds can develop problems (sagging, excessive softness, and loss of support) these problems tend to not be as common or serious as they can be with most other mattress types. Memory foam also tends to provide good to excellent conformability, especially memory foam of higher density. When the mattresses are new, firmness tends to be medium to firm, but the foam usually softens somewhat as it wears and ages.
| Support | Good-Excellent |
| Conformability | Good-Excellent |
| Firmness | Medium-Firm |
Airbeds
Airbeds also tend to be effective in preventing or reducing pain, including back pain. Sagging and loss of support is usually less of a problem with airbeds compared to most other bed types. The air chambers inside the airbed can provide good conformability as well as allow for adjustable firmness to suit personal preference.
| Support | Good-Excellent |
| Conformability | Good-Excellent |
| Firmness | Soft-Firm |
Latex Mattresses
Latex beds can be effective in reducing and preventing pain. Latex beds overall, however, have a noteworthy sagging / compression problem which causes pain for about 10% of owners. Latex beds conform to the body at least somewhat. Firmness tends to be medium to firm, and excessive firmness is a top owner complaint.
| Support | Good |
| Conformability | Good-Fair |
| Firmness | Medium-Firm |
Waterbeds
While waterbeds are often conforming, their supportiveness is questionable. At least 15% of owners claim that their waterbed causes back pain because of a lack of support. Firmness can in some cases be adjusted somewhat by adding or removing water.
| Support | Good-Fair |
| Conformability | Good-Excellent |
| Firmness | Soft-Firm |
Futon Mattresses
Futon mattresses offer fair supportiveness and conformability. Futons tend to be more firm than soft. More expensive brands / models tend to perform better in pain reduction and prevention than less expensive options.
| Support | Good-Fair |
| Conformability | Fair |
| Firmness | Firm-Medium |
Innerspring Mattresses
Innerspring beds often provide good initial comfort and pain relief, but they tend to have the most problems with sagging and loss of support. Models with a pillow top or layer(s) of memory foam and or latex often provide good conformability. A variety of firmnesses are available.
| Support | Fair |
| Conformability | Fair-Good |
| Firmness | Soft-Firm |