Bad Mattress, Bad Back, Back Pain?

According to a study published in the British medical journal, the Lancet, researchers found that patients suffering from back pain were twice as likely to report improvement when sleeping on a medium to firmness mattress as opposed to those patients who slept on a firm mattress. The trial involved 313 adults with chronic lower back pain and backache. As a part of the study, the subjects were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group slept on a medium-firm mattress instead of their normal mattress and the second group on a firm mattress. When compared to the patients who slept on a firm mattress, patients who slept on the medium-firm mattresses reported reduced incidents of back pain in bed, reduced back pain upon rising from the bed, and reduced back pain related to disability. The study results indicated that a medium-firm mattress provides a better balance between back support and comfort for lower back pain than a firm mattress. Contrary to popular belief, sleeping on a mattress that is too firm exerts additional pressure on the back, resulting in more back pain for some patients. So the best mattress for a bad back is a medium-firm.