Is Your Mattress Letting Your Back Down?
By Sandy Schroeder
When you get up in the morning and wonder where the night went, you may have a sleep problem that can be traced directly to your mattress. If your back is stiff and sore, your mattress may not be providing the support your back needs.
Researchers tell us having the right mattress really matters. The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine published a sleep study with participants reporting immediate and continued improvements in sleep and pain reduction when they replaced their mattresses. Study participants who began the study with back pain reported a 63 percent improvement when they replaced their mattresses.
Choose the Right Mattress
There are some important tips to follow when you're looking to create the perfect sleeping surface.
Get complete support – Make sure your new mattress provides complete support for the length of your body with no gaps between your body and the mattress. Also make sure you get the right level of support. Try it out to see if there are any points where there is too much pressure under critical areas, such as hips, shoulders or lower back.
Make sure it fits – Size can be crucial for sleeping partners to have enough room to move and stretch. A good mattress will also absorb the impact of the partner’s movements.
Do an on-site test – When you are looking for a mattress take 10 minutes or more to actually try it out. If you cannot find a comfortable position, keep looking.
Add the right pillow - Go for alignment and support. When you are laying on your side, your head and neck should be level with your upper back and spine. Skip pillows that are too thick or thin that create awkward angles for your neck or head.
See Your Chiropractor
When you get your new mattress, the final step might be a visit to your local chiropractor, The Joint Chiropractic. Licensed, trained chiropractors are ready to help you deal with your back.
Focusing on the health of your spine, they will use a spinal adjustment to make sure your back has no dysfunctions. They believe keeping a spine in good working order can do a lot to keep you there too.
Spinal adjustments may result in far-reaching pain relief for the neck, back and other joints. Patients also report new energy, better digestion and improved metabolism.
At this point, having moved to a new mattress, and checked out your spine with your chiropractor, you may have leveled the playing field on back pain for the time being. From here on out, make sure you protect your back 24/7. Over seventy million people live with sleeplessness that is often traced to back pain. But you do not have to be one of them.
As always, the Joint Chiropractic near you will be on hand to help. The Joint provides private affordable care plans to eliminate the need for insurance, and convenient weekend and evening hours with no appointments needed.