The Best Mattress for Neck Pain-what the studies say
Which is the Best Mattress for Neck and Pain?
I have spent the past three days looking over the internet at research studies, clinical trials and various opinions for the best mattress for neck and back pain and after an exhaustive search I believe I have found the best, unbiased article to answer your question. Which is-which is the best mattress for neck and pain?
Buying a mattress is a large investment usually and more than ever people are searching the internet to get better informed before buying. There is only one problem, and it’s a large one when looking for a pillow or mattress-there is a lot of biased articles because the people making them want to sell THEIR products. Which is fair enough but doesn’t help us, the consumer any.
As I searched the internet for the best mattress I also found that different independent studies had differing results. If you read the study from the Lancet you will read that the study found a medium firm mattress was best for back pain which at that point I thought ‘yes’-a medium firm mattress is the answer. However, the next independent clinical trial I looked at found a soft mattress was reported to be the best mattress for their trial.
So I was no clearer on which was the best mattress than when I started, in fact it just left me with more unanswered questions. Which type of mattress did the Lancet use when the firm medium type was considered the best? Which brand/type of fabric/spring density etc was used when the other clinical trials found the soft mattresses best?
I was lost and confused. It was late. I would come back tomorrow and search once more. I needed to sleep on this a bit more.
The next day I awoke with renewed vigour keen to find the best mattress for my readers. After more hours of searching I discovered that I was still going around in circles. Contradicting studies after contradicting studies. Manufacturers biased opinions after manufacturers biased opinions. If I read once more ‘ you spend one third of your life asleep so buying a good mattress…” I was going to scream. But then, almost magically, with the click of my mouse appeared an unbiased, comprehensive opinion on the best mattress! He calls himself a ‘mattress developer’ and unfortunately, because of my hours of incessant searching through bleary tired eyes I forgot to copy the link this article. I believe it was in a forum somewhere. If anyone can help me here I would greatly appreciate it.
From a mattress developer
Mar 30 ’02
The Bottom Line Don’t be afraid to look at a local factory, and remember if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So you are going to buy a bed, and you’ve been looking at all the ads…WHEW!! Confusion abounds! Well here is some info, which comes from someone who doesn’t represent just name brands. Studies show that we go through different depths of sleep, until we get to the deep sleep, which is where your brain essentially goes on auto-pilot, and this is where you get your actual rest. Tossing and turning interrupts this deep sleep and after you’ve rolled over, it takes your body approximately 12-13 minutes to get back down to your deep sleep. First thing for you to do is determine what position you sleep in i.e. back, side, or stomach(which is a no no, and is usually caused by a history of very uncomfortable mattresses)Studies show that 85% of people sleep on their sides, which is the most recommended, with back sleeping the second most popular and stomach a distant third. Next, what body type do you have? Curvy people need a mattress which curves with you, non curvy people generally need a bit firmer, although not a hard mattress. Think in terms of reducing tossing and turning, as true support is an equalization of pressure points, which are what cause tossing a turning.
When you visit stores, lay on different beds IN THE POSITION YOU SLEEP IN! Get your whole body on the bed, don’t just push your fist into the bed, or stand at the foot and lean back on the bed. How does it feel after a few minutes? It takes several minutes for pressure points to show up. Move to the next one and try again. Bear in mind that the initial feel of a bed is largely determined by the padding, not the springs, although the springs are important. If you are a side sleeper, I’d opt for a higher coil count, and I wouldn’t listen one whit to the low coil count/heavier gauge of wire is better for you spiel. Think in terms of pressure per square inch, or psi. When you lay down, your body weight is spread over a large surface area and your body’s psi is much less than when sitting. A low count/heavy gauge coil will give much greater upward pressure against your shoulder or hip than a higher count thinner wire. This increased pressure is what causes your arm to fall asleep, or your hip to get sore. Also the padding will wear out quicker from the beating it takes between your hips and the stiffer springs. These old style coils are what air bed manufacturers are referring to when they talk about “old fashioned metal coil pressure points”. Side sleepers should also consider a knee or whole body pillow to keep your top leg from swinging forward and propping you up as this puts a great deal of strain on your low back and your neck area too.
Back sleepers will need to find a bed which gently supports the small of the back, between the shoulder blades and even behind the knees. The same rules can apply in that you don’t want any gaps between your body and the mattress. The more “hollow” you are in the small of the back, the more the mattress needs to contour to you. Low coil counts can work for back sleepers if their body is not real curvy, but the smaller diameter of the high count coil allow them to follow any contour you have.
Stomach sleepers should really try to change their ways as your spine is hyperextended when you sleep on your stomach. Try your side and use the body or knee pillow. If you must sleep on your stomach, try a firmer mattress which won’t allow your spine to bend backwards too much.
You should really focus on the upholstery layers in the mattress, as the best spring in the world will not be comfortable if the padding wears out. Here, you want to think of how the padding will stand up to weight and the pressure of your hips and shoulders when you roll from side to side. Some materials do a much better job than others. I’m going to quote Consumer Reports in some areas here. The ticking or outer fabric of a bed is mostly an aesthetic consideration, although a stiff polyester fabric will make the mattress surface feel a bit stiffer and cotton will make it feel slightly softer, but not too much. Also, don’t buy into these wool/silk/cashmere claims of temperature control. There isn’t one bit of evidence that they make a difference, especially because there isn’t all that much of these ingredients in any given bed anyways. It isn’t like your are getting a 1 or 2 inch layer of pure cashmere in the bed. Besides, sheets, blankets, and your home’s heating and air conditioning should take care of any temperature concerns you may have. Consumer Reports calls such claims a “gimmick”.
The ticking is quilted to layers of foam and or polyester batting. These are what give you your surface feel of the bed. Batting gives a nice soft feel on the show floor, but just like polyester batting pillows, it compresses quickly and forms sags, er,um,ah, body impressions. Once it compresses, the softness is affected and that nice sales floor feel is diminished. These impressions frequently show themselves within the first 3-6 months, and are considered normal wear and tear of the mattress and they are not covered by warranty.
Under the quilting, lies more foam. Convoluted foam (the egg crate stuff) gives a softer feel as it spreads your weight over a larger surface area vis a vis the hills and valleys. Quality foam should be no less than 1.5 pound density, period. This is the area most companies have cheapened in their beds by going with lower densities which are not as resiliant, and then dropping the warranties, and also not covering “body impressions” as a warranty claim. Most foams used in beds today are 1.25 pound density. There are people who read this who will remember beds lasting 20 years. Well, mass producers don’t want to take you out of the market for that long, as their # of mattresses sold would level off.
Other padding in the middle layer may consist of cotton batting or even a hair pad. Cotton batting has no memory and it compacts quickly and it will leave a “body impression” under your hips. Cotton is also very heavy and up to 20-40 pounds of your mattresses weight (depending upon size) may come from this cotton. Lift a futon some time and you’ll see what I mean. I’d avoid it at all costs. Hair pads are expensive and seldom used. Fiber pads are used more frequently today and they keep the springs from chewing up the padding above. Another thing to look for is how is the padding attached to the bed? Many companies now use the “shoehorn assembly method” in which the innerspring is slid into the casing, as opposed to inner tufting or button tufting. It is a much cheaper way to make a bed in that you have robots doing the work. Button tufting was done years ago to keep the padding from shifting when you roll back and forth in bed. The problem was buttons would pop out and poke you in the hip or other places. Inner tufting still secures the padding to the spring, but it is attached to the border rods around the perimeter of the bed. It will make your padding last much longer. You will only see this craftsmanship on ultra premium hand-crafted products, not on Fords, Chevy’s or Dodges…oops, I mean Sealy, Simmons, or Serta. etc. This method is more expensive because you have to cut your upholstery layers about 2″ wider than the bed in order to wrap them around the edges to secure them. To a mass producer, saving 2″ of extra padding on the left and right side each of a bed means that every 15 (15 beds by 2″ each side and then top and bottom equals 8″ saved each bed) beds give you the padding for a queen size bed .If you find a company that does this and they don’t advertise too much you have found a great place to shop. The higher labor costs are offset by greatly reduced advertising costs. Which would you rather have a better built mattress or a name you could brag about to your friends?
Watch out for the SUPER SALE, YOU MUST BUY TODAY!!!!
Type of selling like you see at Mattress Giant. Don’t buy into free frames, many times they are offered by the RETAILER who uses them as an inducement to buy. The problem is that they will often void the MANUFACTURER’S warranty. Retailers don’t honor warranties, manafacturers do. If there is a free frame, ask if you can apply the price of the freebie frame to an upgraded frame. Queens must have a center support bar and kings need 2 center bars. Same with free deliveries. Gas, delivery trucks and delivery guys aren’t free. Also think of the amount of advertising you see associated with the product and or place you are considering. Advertising is a cost of doing business and impacts the price of a bed just like a coil spring does. Worse yet, advertising gives an intrinsic value too, which is to say, people think there is some reason that brand name is better than a brand they haven’t heard of. Ask yourself this question, when was the last time a mass produced product was the best quality in its class as opposed to a handcrafted product? McDonald’s is the most popular restaraunt in the world, are they the best quality?Personally, I’d check out smaller stores, and even some local mattress factories. They buy their springs and padding and covers from the same places everyone else does. Even so-called proprietary springs are barely discernible from the Legget and Platt springs who’s springs comprise about 80% of the market.
Also beware of the contradictions of different companies. Sealy, who uses a 660 14 gauge wire, double offset coil in their beds bought Stearns and Foster who uses a 416 count 12.75 gauge wire coil in their beds. Go into one store and they will tell you the Sealy 660 coil is the best, then you look at the Stearns and Foster and they will tell you that is the best spring. Stearns and Foster used to use an 8 way hand tied coil which was extremely expensive, the first thing Sealy did when they bought Stearns was to scrap the 8 way hand tied coil. It was too expensive. They cut the warranties from 20 to 10 years too. I get trade magazines which tout the Stearns and Foster as having the highest profit margin in the business. It is a joke. Salesmen who sell the names brands get spiffs or bonuses if you will, for selling certain high profit or slow moving models. Pillow top matresses are notorious for this. One week the Sealy rep will have the best bonuses for the salespeople and they will push Sealy products, next week Simmons has the best bonus and on and on. So you never can be sure if the salesperson has your best interests at heart when they take you through their selection. If you are interested in high end beds I’d highly recommend Latex, and this visco-elastic stuff. I sleep on the visco elastic and I do not toss and turn anymore. I think it is great. I think air beds are way overpriced,(I can buy them really cheap wholesale. I know many people swear by their airbeds but consider this. Most people tend to sleep on their beds for 1-2 years after the mattress has lost it’s ability to perform at a high level. So by the time they go to get a new one, ANYTHING NEW WOULD HAVE FELT GREAT!! Air, springs foam etc. anything would do a better job than their old bed. I can tell you this, customers who have had a quality foam bed will virtually always buy another foam mattess again. I’ve seen it over and over. Many new foam bed customers are former airbed customers. Air beds use compessed air in place of a spring or foam. How much can compressed air “give” to the curves of your body? Springs and foam have a great deal of “travel” in how far they can be compressed, air doesn’t. If you have curvy hips, a narrow waist and average shoulders an air bed cannot form to your contours like a spring or foam can. When the heaviest part of your body, your hips lays on the bed, you displace air, which has to have someplace to go, and in a compressed chamber there is no place for it to go. In essence, you have the same firmness under your legs as you do your hips. With a foam or spring mattress you have variable resistance, the more weight on the surface, the more compression you will have, and less pressure points. Lay your couch cushions on the floor and lay on them and then on an inflatable mattress and you will see what I mean. Good luck!!
I would like to add for those of you who suffer from neck pain that even though a good mattress is essential for your back, unless you have your mattress/pillow setup addressed you can have a $10,000 mattress and have worse neck pain than when you sleep on the floor or in a hammock or even on a bed of nails.
The reason for this is simple, unless you have your neck in a well supported neutral position when you sleep you can not even hope to wake up without neckpain.
Check out my video on which are the best and worst pillows and sleeping positions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQeFrxV1pnI
Related Links:
Sleeping Position and Neck Pain
Stretching- Here is one of the worst to do
Read More
Sleeping Positions and Neck Pain
As a general rule, whether you sleep on your side or your back, you want to make sure that your neck is not getting pushed forwards, backwards or sideways. It should be fairly level. If you are sleeping on your back you definitely do not want too many pillows that push your head into a forward position like we have seen in poor sitting postures. This is very common and is a common reason why people wake up with neck pain. I have talked at great length in many of my other articles about the importance of keeping your posture with your head on top of your shoulders, not out in front of them. You need to imagine that your head and shoulders should be like a golf ball sitting on a tee. Then your head sits on top of your spine which reduces the stress and strain on your neck muscles and ligaments enormously. The same goes for sleeping, just because you are now horizontal it does not mean that you can now have your head pushed forward again.
If you sleep on your back you want a pillow that keeps your head in a reasonably level position with your body. You don’t want your head sinking backwards into the pillow nor do you want it pushed forwards.
If you lay on your side to sleep you don’t want your head sinking too far into the pillow nor getting pushed up. If you are lying on your side you want the feeling that your head is pretty much in a neutral position as opposed to being bent to the left or right. Imagine if you were told to stand or sit with your head to one side for 8 hours, by the end of the day it would feel very sore wouldn’t it. This is what is happening if your head is kept in poor position all night from a bad pillow or wrong pillow.
When it comes to the question of whether you should sleep on your stomachs I want you to do this little experiment. Do it carefully though. I want you to turn your head to one side as far as you can and now tilt it backward a little. Now imagine if I pushed your head a little further around and a little further backwards and you had to keep that position for an hour or so and then we would do the same on the other side and continue this for eight or so hours. This is the position you have when you are on your stomachs with the pressure of the mattress or pillows pushing your head further. Your head is fully rotated and pushed backwards. If its not comfortable to do standing up its definitely not going to be comfortable for your neck lying down either.
Furthermore, your discs swell up overnight as they fill with fluid which puts even more intra discal pressure on the spine and its surrounding ligaments adding even more stress. Therefore, make sure that you have a good pillow and i have written which pillows are good for your necks in a previous article. As far as sleeping on your stomachs goes, this is most definitely not healthy for your necks!
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Which exercises should you do for a pinched nerve
The stretch you should not do for Neck and Shoulder pain
The Best pillows-What the Studies Say
Neck Exercises-The best and Worst to do and Why
Read MoreWhich is the best pillow for neck pain-what the studies say
I have been treating people with neck pain for 20 years now and this is one of the most commonly asked questions I get. As you look around on the internet it can be difficult to make an informed choice because many of the sites are promoting their own products-good or bad. So let’s take a look at a few factors you need to keep in mind with pillows and a restful night’s sleep.
What you want is that the pillow will keep your head and neck in a neutral position and well supported. In other words, you need to keep your head from tilting laterally to the sides, backwards into extension or pushed forwards into the forward head posture which is your enemy number 1! If you lay on your back and your pillow is too thick and pushes your head into the forward head posture you are definitely going to have problems. But more of that later.
If you are in pain right now see my 3 secrets to a pain free neck and upper back so that you can start feeling better right now!
Think of how you would feel if I asked you to spend the day walking around with your head on one side pushed down towards your ear. It would not only be painful to do but would also hurt for a while afterwards. Your neck is in a side bent position for hours which is does not like. It’s no different if you are lying horizontal in your bed and have a pillow that is too high or hard and doesn’t allow your head to sink in a little to get to a level spinal position. Likewise, if you have a feather pillow it may also have too much give and your head sinks in too far and your head once again ends up in a side bent position.
Here are a few studies done on the contour pillow and their results:
There was one study done using x-ray imaging to compare the curve of the cervical vertebra in the ‘roll-shaped’ pillows and the other ‘normal’ pillows. The researchers found that the roll shaped ones actually restored the optimal curve of the neck and also decreased the amount of neck pain! (Jackson R, The Cervical Syndrome, 4th edn, Charles C. Thomas, 1987).
Another interesting study was done with nearly one hundred fibromyalgia patients and 60 other patients who had only recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. All of the patients suffered with neck pain. They checked 18 months later and discovered that with these pillows, 63% and 84% respectively has significantly improved! (J Rheumatol, 1994; 21: 8).
And in another study, they compared three types of pillows in terms of the intensity of pain, relief of pain, if the person slept more soundly, disability and overall satisfaction in people with mild neck pain. They discovered that with the correct pillow you can reduce neck pain considerably and get a better night sleep. (Arch Phys Med Rehab, 1997; 78: 193-8).
And finally there was a study done to see if people who did not suffer from neck pain would have any adverse effects from using one of these pillows. The answer came back a resounding NO. Not only did they feel any neck pain from using them but 83% also said that their quality of sleep was also greatly improved! (J Can Chiropr Assoc, 1998; 42: 156-62).
However, I would like to add that your pillow will become much less a factor when you stop hurting it all day every day. When you stop injuring your neck hour after hour, minute after minute at work, at home, reading, eating drinking and even driving your neck will settle down and you will be out of pain. It’s very much like if you were to walk around all day stubbing your toe and every night you needed to soak it in a warm bath Epsom salts bath each night to ease the pain. If I showed you how to stop stubbing your toe each day you would not need to ‘nurse’ your toe every night to heal and get ready for the damage you were about to inflict on it again the following day.
Your neck is no different! Remove the causes and your neck will be allowed to heal and you will be pain free.
here is some of my DVD about neck pillows and best and worst sleeping positions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQeFrxV1pnI
Check out my new DVD on how you can fix your own neck pain simply and easily!
treat your own neck pain instant download just $19.99 or hard copy DVD OUT NOW
Related Links:
Read MoreSleeping and neck pain
As a general rule whether you sleep on your side or your back you want to make sure that your neck is not getting pushed forwards, backwards or sideways. It should be fairly level. If you are sleeping on your back you definitely do not want too many pillows that push your head into a forward position like we have seen in poor sitting postures. This is very common and is a common reason why people wake up with neck pain. I have talked at great length in many of my other articles about the importance of keeping your posture with your head on top of your shoulders, not out in front of them. You need to imagine that your head and shoulders should be like a golf ball sitting on a tee. Then your head sits on top of your spine which reduces the stress and strain on your neck muscles and ligaments enormously. The same goes for sleeping; just because you are now horizontal it does not mean that you can now have your head pushed forward again.
If you sleep on your back you want a pillow that keeps your head in a reasonably level position with your body. You don’t want your head sinking backwards into the pillow nor do you want it pushed forwards.
Lying on your side to sleep
if you lay on your side to sleep you doesn’t want your head sinking too far into the pillow nor getting pushed up. If you are lying on your side you want the feeling that your head is pretty much in a neutral position as opposed to being bent to the left or right. Imagine if you were told to stand or sit with your head to one side for 8 hours, by the end of the day it would feel very sore wouldn’t it. This is what is happening if your head is kept in poor position all night from a bad pillow or wrong pillow.
Is it OK to sleep on your stomach?
When it comes to the question of whether you should sleep on your stomachs I want you to do this little experiment. Do it carefully though. I want you to turn your head to one side as far as you can and now tilt it backward a little. Now imagine if I pushed your head a little further around and a little further backwards and you had to keep that position for an hour or so and then we would do the same on the other side and continue this for eight or so hours. This is the position you have when you are on your stomachs with the pressure of the mattress or pillows pushing your head further. Your head is fully rotated and pushed backwards. If it’s not comfortable to do standing up it’s definitely not going to be comfortable for your neck lying down either. Furthermore, your discs swell up overnight as they fill with fluid which puts even more intra discal pressure on the spine and its surrounding ligaments adding even more stress. Therefore, make sure that you have a good pillow and I have written which pillows are good for your necks in a previous article. As far as sleeping on your stomachs goes, this is most definitely not healthy for your necks!
Related Links
Read MoreNeck Pain and which Pillow to buy
If you look on the internet about which pillows to buy you will find the selection is enormous. There are pillows that give your neck traction, duck feathers, goose feathers, molded cervical pillows, memory foam, tempur, even the pillows they use on the space shuttle! So here is a study from the site wddty.com that was done with sufferers of neck pain who tested several different pillows and found out which were the best. So no need to lose any more sleep over which pillow to buy, its all here.
Pillows
Rating: ***
Poor packaging lets this pillow down. Our readers wanted to know more about the materials and what to expect. But on the plus side, this pillow comes with a useful removable cover that our entire panel liked. Although first impressions were not good, 75 per cent of the panel found this a comfortable pillow – the highest approval rating in our test; 75 per cent also felt the benefits of good support, leading to less neck ache on waking and throughout the day. The ventilated design of the pillow did not feel as hot during sleep as the Tempur or Putnam ’s offerings.
Kingsize
Manufacturer: Putnam’s Pillows
A larger version of the Royal, not all our panel liked this one. Again, there was a negative smell factor with this pillow and, perhaps because of its large size, only 62.5 per cent of our users found it beneficial. The testers who appreciated it the most seemed to be those with broader shoulders. As one panel member commented, ””One size will not fit all!””
Original Neck Pillow
Manufacturer: Tempur
Rating: **
Clever marketing has made this the chic support pillow to own, but testing in the ‘real world’ does not support the idea of this as a superior pillow. Given its excellent first impression, for many of our panel, it failed to live up to its promise.
In terms of comfort, this medium-sized pillow was little different – at first. But while some, like Putnam ’s Royal and Kingsize, became more comfortable with use, several found that this pillow became less comfortable over time. Half our panel claimed it made their neck and back aches worse. On the plus side, it comes with a removable washable cover.
But the thing is this!
If you are suffering from neck pain, and i guess you are if you are on this site, then buying a new pillow is only addressing the symptoms of your neck pain.
To learn how to fix your own neck pain you should click this link to get a better understanding of what is hurting your neck in the first place.
check out more about the best pillows and best and worst sleeping positions in my video from my DVD:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/vQeFrxV1pnI
OR, to learn my Secrets to having a Pain Free Neck and Upper Back in just minutes click Here
OR, check out these articles:
Where is your neck pain coming from? Find out here
The Best and Worst neck Exercises
Stretching- Here is one of the worst to do
Which exercises should you do for a pinched nerve
Sleeping positions and neck pain
The best mattress for neck pain-what the studies say
here:
About Me
Mark Perren-Jones has worked throughout the world’s health spas and health clinics. He did the majority of his study (7 years) in Australia and has treated thousands of clients over the past 20 years with all sorts of neck and back problems. He has studied acupuncture, massage, joint manipulation and mobilization, kinesiology, reflexology, Thai massage, Bowen technique and many other modalities to understand which therapies gets the best therapeutic results and which don’t for particular neck and back problems.
With his 20 years of clinical experience, years of diligent study and research Mark has put together this site so that you can benefit directly from his work. You will be taught not only how to treat your own pain but as importantly what causes your pain in the first place. With the knowledge you gain to remove the causes of your neck and back pain, means you will not have to suffer anymore. 
I have my new DVD out now which will show you in my easy 3 step approach how to alleviate your own neck pain.
Neck pain and especially stiff necks are not difficult to treat once you know how ( ie.remove the major causes of your neck pain and stiffness.)
I will show you how simple it is to treat your neck pain & stiffness both quickly and easily.