Firm Or Soft Mattress For Bad Back

The best mattress for a bad back is of medium firm density.

Firm or soft mattress for bad back.

Side sleepers need a slightly softer mattress and can look for something in the 5 5 to 6 5 range for firmness. If a mattress is too firm or too squishy it won t support your spine at your neck or lower back the way it needs to. A danish study finds more people with back pain prefer soft beds to hard ones. Firm vs soft in an effort to confirm that hard mattresses exert a positive effect on the sleep of people with chronic low back pain as is commonly believed participants in a study tested bedding with varying degrees of firmness.

The study a randomized controlled trial was published in the april 2008 issue of spine. Back sleepers need a solid medium firm mattress and should aim for around a 6 to 7 on. But one survey of 268 people with low back pain found that those who slept on very hard mattresses had the poorest sleep quality. With a too soft mattress your lumbar region may not get necessary support leaving you with morning time achiness after sleeping with your spine unaligned.

No more tossing and turning no more thrashing no more. An overly soft mattress will not support the body properly at all allowing it to sink into the mattress too much. The problem arises when some manufacturers put a plush pillow top over a firm or medium mattress. When seeking the best bed for lower back pain a commonality among the millions of people plagued by chronic back pain is their preference for a mattress with a medium to firm feel.

Soft mattresses on the other hand can also be problematic. There was no difference in sleep quality between those who used medium firm and firm mattresses. In the past doctors often recommended very firm mattresses. But experts tell webmd no bed type is best for all backs.

In most cases a plush mattress will be on the softer end of the spectrum. Traditionally a firm mattress was believed to be the best choice for those with a bad back.