Mattresses and Back Pain

Waking up with back pain seems to be a rite of passage once you reach a certain age. However, the cause may not be age-related and might be your mattress.

As children and young adults, we often don’t pay attention to the type of mattress we sleep on. It’s either provided by our parents or dictated by our finances. But as the body ages and begins to see more spine misalignment, how and where we sleep becomes more important to avoiding lower back pain.

Why Do I Wake Up with Back Pain?

As adults, the reasons for waking up with back pain can be varied, with the cause changing from person to person and day to day. Many people find that their lower back pain is due to spine misalignment, which can be aggravated by the way you sleep.

Back sleepers, for instance, may need to place a pillow under their knees to maintain the proper curvature of their spine while they sleep. On the other hand, stomach sleepers may find placing a pillow under their lower abdomen while they sleep prevents morning back pain.

In addition, a mattress that is too old or too soft may contribute to morning back pain. One clue that your pain might be related to your mattress is if it gets better over the course of the day.

How Can I Tell If My Mattress Is Causing Back Pain?

The first indication that your mattress might be responsible for your back pain is when the ache occurs and when it goes away. If you have lower back pain in the morning that gradually dissipates over the course of the day, and it happens every day, your mattress might be to blame.

Another indication that you have mattress-related back pain is if the pain goes away when you sleep somewhere else. So, if you find that you’re sleeping better on vacation or on the couch, it may indicate that you need a new mattress.

What Type of Mattress Is Best for Back Pain?

Getting past all the hype from various mattress manufacturers to determine what is best for your back can be difficult. A 2003 study of mattresses published by the National Institutes of Health suggests that 90 days of sleeping on a firm mattress can relieve that pain for people with non-specific lower back pain.

The key information in that study is that the cause of the pain was non-specific. That is, the patients being studied did not have an underlying condition, such as fibromyalgia, that was causing the pain. In those cases, chiropractors are likely to suspect that spinal misalignment is a part of the problem and that a firm mattress with appropriate support will help.

However, a more recent compilation of all the studies regarding mattresses and back pain was much less conclusive. An analysis of studies between 2000 and 2019 shows that the specific firmness of the mattress may not be as clear of a cause as previously thought.

The study indicated that a medium-firm mattress provides better sleep quality and fewer days with reported back pain. However, another study of other mattress types had similar results and improvements in sleep quality. Spinal alignments were also seen in people who used adjustable beds or improved their sleeping temperature.

In short, the analysis of the studies suggested there are many variables in how and why sleeping can cause back pain. For instance, a person with a higher body mass index was more likely to wake up with back pain regardless of the mattress type.

East Bay Chiropractic Wellness Can Help Diagnose and Treat Back Pain

Here at East Bay Chiropractic Wellness, we can help you figure out the cause of your back pain. Our investigation into your spine’s alignment can help you start the day with more energy and more focus because the pain is gone. Before you spend hundreds on a new mattress that may not help, contact us online or call us directly at (516) 679-2225 to find out why your back hurts.