Soft Bed Or Hard Bed For Back Pain?

Study Gets Mixed Results, But More Find Soft Bed Slightly Better For Back Pain

(WebMD)  If Goldilocks had lower back pain, she'd still prefer the bed that was just right.

It's one of the most common questions back pain patients ask. Which is better - Daddy Bear's hard mattress or Mommy Bear's soft one?

Kim Bergholdt, DC, of Denmark's Funen Back Center, and colleagues tried to find an answer. They randomly assigned 160 patients with lower back pain to sleep in one of three beds for one month.

When the truck pulled up to the patients' houses, it delivered either a hard futon, a water bed (Akva brand), or a body-conforming foam mattress (Tempur brand). Akva and Tempur sponsored the study, although Innovation Futon provided the harder beds.

Unfortunately, many of the patients assigned to the water bed never started the study - they did not want to sleep on a water bed. And many of the patients assigned to the futon quit the study before it was over.

The large number of dropouts - and the failure to stratify the patients according to the cause of their back pain - makes the study hard to interpret, says Robert Molinari, MD, associate professor of orthopaedics at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Among patients who did finish the study, slightly more preferred the water bed or the body-contour mattress over the hard futon. Even so, there were patients who said they felt better after sleeping on the hard bed as well as patients who said they felt worse after sleeping on the softer beds.

That's no surprise to Molinari.

"We really don't understand why, but some patients respond better to hard mattresses and some to soft ones," Molinari tells WebMD. "There are very few studies lending support to one mattress over another."

So what does Molinari recommend? Exactly the same method Goldilocks used - trial and error - to find the bed that's just right. The Bergholdt study appears in the April 1 issue of the journal Spine.

[sjw1253]

fake-id - your comment again just shows that it is your experience and not a scientific study that gives validated information...

I have had a sleep number for many years and just felt stuck with it since I spent so much money on it...

I have not been really happy with it since the psychological hype that got me to buy it wore off - about 6 months after I purchased it.

This "study" was supposed to be a "controlled" study and since the participants selected did not follow through with the study - the study was deemed invalid - thus we just need to rely on word of mouth recommendations that don''t mean a thing as each is an individualized opinion - no scientific data to back it up and your opinion will be countered by others who love water beds or futons.

[fake-id-2009]

I''ve slept on a hard bed, soft bed, water bed, cot, ground, chair, sofa, etc. But the sleep numbers adjustable "air mattress" is by far the most comfortable bed I''ve ever slept on and it cured my wife''s chronic back problem.

[sjw1253]

continued -

It is not a valid study. What legitimacy and respect does the journal Spine receive in the medical and scientific communities that focus their efforts to treating & curing spine disorders. I went to their website and the staff listed do not show any credentials except for one "Dr." (M.D./PhD/doctor of chiropractics??? - not associated with any medical facility though)...

[sjw1253]

I need to question the respectability of this journal - Spine...

The fact is that the study was not complete and did not provide reliable information that can be validated.

I was hoping to read an article of value to me and I am usually very relaxed in my criticism as to the legitimacy of stories published by any media source.

As the study participants were not reliable and did not comply with the study requirements/rules and guidelines that provide validation of a study - this should never have been published.

My guess as to the reason this was published is that a few companies provided beds to be tested and was sponsored by two companies - one that makes futons and the other that is I guess the parent company of Tempur Pedic???

My only guess is that the companies made sure that something got published to justify sending the different types of beds to different patients.

I do think that CBS needs to assess the value of this specific article and the disappointment that viewers/readers such as myself experience when they read an article based on a study that is uninterpretable as quoted by the physician providing the story...

This is my first complaint to CBS and I usually do defend them when I read criticizm by people who say why did they give the story and credibility by publishing a report on it.

[shanev137]

An article about a failed study.

Dumb.

[magoo2u1]

"In the end it''''s all a matter of personal taste. After reading this article I don''''t see where it''''s anything really newsworthy, because nothing was really decided"

Information doesn''t have to be "newsworthy". Besides it does say that more people prefer the softer bed that supports the entire body ,either water or contour. I prefer a waterbed for my bad back but everyone is different.

this story is absolutely useless.

[ichabod57]

I personally prefer the adjustable air bed (aka "Sleep Number" Bed). If I feel like a firmer mattress, I have it. If I feel like a softer one .. well, you get the idea.

In the end it''s all a matter of personal taste. After reading this article I don''t see where it''s anything really newsworthy, because nothing was really decided.

Sleep well ...

[erasmus6]

A water bed isn''t necessarily "soft" if there is enough water in it. It is still firm, it just forms to your body better. An ordinary bed does not do that so it is not allowing your body to remain in a natural position. I was told that a water bed is good because it relieves all the pressure points.

[erasmus6]

I have slept in a water bed for years. I love it. I have never had back problems. Most people I know that sleep in ordinary beds have all had some kind of back problems. The only problem is if I have to sleep in an ordinary bed, it ain''t good. I am awake all night. If I should ever have to go into a hospital, I will have a major problem. I keep thinking that maybe I should give up the water bed but I just can''t seem to part with it, it is sooooo comfortable!