Back Pain Relief & Good Mattress Support

Back pain relief will come from a good mattress; support will keep your spine in proper allignment. When you stand naturally and comfortably straight up, your spine is in neutral alignment. It forms a natural S curve. This same natural curve is achieved when lying down on a good latex or memory foam mattress.

The foam allows your hips and shoulders to push more deeply into the mattress while providing support for the lower back, neck, and legs. Because the foam distributes weight evenly across its surface, pressure points are reduced and the spine is not forced into an unnatural position.

If you look at a close up of the spine, you can see that it has a very precise, even structure. When pressure points are reduced, your spine rests in a neutral position.

Does a Firm Mattress Provide the Best Back Pain Relief?

Doctors have been recommending firm mattresses for years. They say that a firm mattress gives the best support. And in the past that was true. Firm innerspring mattresses give better back support than soft innerspring mattresses that have a tendancy to cave in the middle.

But foam beds are an entirely different beast. Matttress support is independent of mattress firmness in foam beds. That notion is a little tricky, so I explain it fully here.

But the bottom line is, you want a foam bed that is soft to the touch but that prevents your hips and shoulders from sinking too far in. This natural, neutral spine position will promote back pain relief, reduce tossing and turning, and allow you to sleep comfortably in one position for long periods of deep rest.