Mattress Selection, Back Pain Reduction and Sleep Improvement

For many patients, the link between chronic back pain and sleep disorders, such as insomnia, is all too familiar. (1,2) Could a different mattress make the difference between a good and difficult night's sleep? According to scientific research, the answer is yes. Research studies prove proper mattress selection can help relieve back pain and improve sleep quality in people with low back pain.

Summaries of Key Studies:

Yale University School of Medicine presented their study results at the Connecticut Chapter of the American College of Physicians’ Annual Scientific Meeting. Their hospital-based clinical study reviewed lower back pain, sleep quality, and mattress selection. It was discovered that people who slept on a Tempur-Pedic® mattress and foundation slept more hours per night, had less lower back pain, and increased daytime function (mental and physical). (3)

The Sleep Wellness Center at St. Joseph Healthcare in Lexington, Kentucky evaluated men and women between the ages 18-65. Each study participant was in stable health but reported sleep problems (e.g. poor quality, short duration). Four different mattress surfaces were studied:

1. Tempur-Pedic Swedish Mattress™
2. Air mattress
3. Pillow top spring mattress
4. Traditional innerspring mattress (control)

Participants preferred the Tempur-Pedic Swedish Mattress™ to the innerspring mattress nearly 4-to-1. Kathryn Hansen, Director of Diagnostic Services and the Sleep Wellness Center stated, “The individuals consistently expressed a preference for the Tempur-Pedic product over the other utilized in the test.” (4)

Fibromyalgia Study
Fibromyalgia causes back pain, widespread pain and discomfort often accompanied by sleep disturbances. Deep sleep disturbances may be caused by pain or brain activity leading to wakefulness. This means the patient is not getting restorative sleep.

Clear trends were demonstrated in a small study of patients with fibromyalgia, who frequently experience insomnia and poor sleep because of chronic pain. Each participant was given a Tempur-Pedic mattress for 2-weeks and instructed to keep a sleep diary. The study results:

• 60% reported reduced pain
• 38% observed fewer incidents of waking up
• 29% noted they slept more hours
• Further, after the last night of the study, all participants reported less severe pain and a 20% increase in sleep quality.

Mattress Choice as a Treatment Option
Healthcare professionals understand the right sleep surface (i.e. mattress) can help relieve back pain and improve sleep quality – both important to recovery. Many healthcare providers include a mattress as a treatment choice for back pain patients. In a survey of Chiropractic physicians, many said they make such a recommendation to their patients with the following spinal problems:

Pressure Management: The Difference
The difference between traditional innerspring and a Tempur-Pedic mattress is a process called pressure management. Pressure management absorbs, redistributes, and equalizes pressure along the body’s surface to reduce friction and pressure points, improve circulation, and provide proper body support and alignment.

Conventional Mattress

Tempur-Pedic Mattress

Tempur-Pedic’s exclusive TEMPUR® viscoelastic material is unrivaled by foam and other mattresses. TEMPUR®’s fluid-like properties coupled with its high-density and temperature-sensitive composition provides the highest level of pressure management found in specialty sleep products.

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