Back Pain: Ailment of the Technological Age
Lifestyles have evolved drastically over the last 100 years and the pace of change has quickened over the last two decades. Physical labor has reduced to being replaced with long hours of office work. Now, everyday jobs require a person to sit on their computers for prolonged amount of time and this has certainly taken a hit on the health of their spines. Singapore alone has more patients of chronic back pain than ever before and the reason can be attributed to the long hours of work and the posture that one maintains during those hours. The human spine is a network of delicate ligaments, discs, nerves and joints and is responsible to hold the weight of the whole body. And any rupture of the smallest kind of these fragments, can add to excessive pain and discomfort.
What can we do to treat back pain: Exercise
Doctors recommend the patients of chronic back pain to exercise regularly. This provides flexibility to the joints to move in a uniform manner when the human body makes any motion. If a person is unable to find time for exercising then they recommend to stretch after a period of excessive sitting. This way the muscles in the spine relax. But there is no denying that when a person lays down for a night’s sleep a comfortable surface is required to support the back. Mattresses that best suit the body of a person should be bought and used. Not every variety can suit every one. Wider people require a surface that is relatively softer while the opposite is true for leaner people.
What can we do to treat back pain: Choose a suitable mattress
According to research, medium firm mattresses provide the highest amount of comfort to patients with lower back pain. So when choosing a back pain treatment mattress, it is usually recommended to buy one that provides medium firmness. One of the medium firm types is the ‘memory foam mattresses. It is certainly becoming popular, but one downside is that it retains heat which can cause discomfort. But on the other hand, its surface conforms perfectly with the body of a person while they sleep, providing complete support to the back.
Nowadays, many companies offer to buy their mattress, use it for a trial period and refund it if it does not fit their needs. These offers must be availed because in some cases only a prolonged use can determine if a person with chronic pain would be able to recover after use. Another recommendation is to note down the model type after use at a hotel room or a friend’s house if it has eased the pain over a stay.
Pillows? Length of Sleep? Bedding Material?
Research has suggested that usually people who bought cheaper mattresses complained of lower back pain more often than those that bought more expensive ones. It can be contributed to the fact that usually more top quality materials are used in the making of such mattresses.
All these factors should be kept in mind while choosing a mattress for lower back pain. But, one ignored and not so widely known concept is that the type of pillow one uses and the way they are placed at night can also contribute to the health of the spine. Every night, medium firm pillows need to be placed right under the curvature of the skull to provide proper support and comfort throughout the long hours of the night. A little know how and care can go a long way so when choosing a comfortable mattress one should consider all the available options.
