Memory Foam ~ and back Pain

Are you thinking about buying a memory foam mattress? heard conflicting infomation and reference to NASA?

We hope to give you the information and eliminate some of your fears when investing in a memory foam mattress, there are no guarantees that anything you buy to help your back will, therefore the better your knowledge the more informed and helpful the outcome such as better sleep.

 

What is memory Foam

The term "memory foam" is the common name for "visco-elastic memory foam" originally coined in the early days of NASA's space program. That's why it's also known as NASA foam.

 

Visco-elastic foam has unique qualities

It is able to mold itself to the shape of any object that puts pressure on it and, yet, when the object is removed, it will slowly return to it's original shape, such as pressing a mattress with your hand and then remove it the foam mattress still has the hand print showing on it.
Memory foam is an open celled foam, which means that air is free to move from one cell to another, so when pressure is applied, the affected cells collapse and you feel sort of like you're floating down into the material.
This collapsing of the cells allows the material to "melt away" from pressure until the entire surface of your body is evenly supported over the surface of the memory foam. It virtually eliminates pressure points.
Another unique feature of a memory foam mattress is temperature sensitivity.
Within a short time of your body lying on the mattress, your body temperature will start to cause the memory foam to soften.
Any area of your body that has excess heat, such as a fevered injury, will cause the mattress to soften even further where it is touching, making memory foam the ideal material for a comfortable mattress.

 

Back to NASA

The problem with the original NASA foam was that it "off gassed", putting off a smell that was overpowering in the confined quarters of a space vehicle, it was eventually scrapped by NASA. and at the time it was never actually used on any space mission.
At that point, memory foam was just too expensive to be used for mattresses and the off-gassing wouldn't have been acceptable either. However medical research companies started experimenting with the material for use in hospitals.  Many patients develop bedsores when confined to bed over long periods of time.
Because it was cost effective for this application, these experiments led to using memory foam in a variety of  health industry settings to alleviate pressure points in hospital patients.
Through this medical research, memory foam became more and more adaptable to use as a consumer product in the form of pillows, mattresses, toppers, chairs, etc.

 

As far as the NASA spinoff the temper foam has paid its dividends repeatedly, and in many different ways. It has padded the helmets of the Dallas Cowboys throughout the 1970s and 1980s, protected bedridden patients from bedsores, and comforted the feet of thousands wearing stylish shoes that incorporate the cushioning material in their insoles.

 

 

Memory Foam Mattress ~ what makes a good mattress

Why is a memory foam mattress wanted, liked and even recommended?
Mainly because of it’s ability to reduce pressure points giving a more even distribution of weight and support, thereby helping to reduce the movements of turning and changing positions in bed etc, giving a more restful and better quality of sleep.

When looking at a memory foam mattress there are usually 2 layers, the top layer is the memory foam and usually sits on a base layer of polyurethane which gives the top layer support.

 

Memory foam ~ what you should know

Memory foam; what can we say everyone is selling it, the good, the bad and the ugly, there are different sorts, densities and a considerable range of thickness layers, even gold silver and bronze.
As a general rule only companies supplying good high-density memory foam mattresses offer an extensive guarantee or warranty period. Many lower density memory foam manufacturers will only offer as little as 12 months.
When it comes to memory foam this is something you need to know!!

Buying memory foam can be confusing and a difficult process. There seems to be lots of advice but not necessarily reliable or easy to understand, with our guidance we hope to put you in a better position to choose and help explain what the different types are, depths, and densities of memory foam and what they mean for you.

We are happy to give customers direct advice so please feel free to contact one of our clinics to talk to an osteopath or physiotherapists with any questions you may have.

All our memory foam is made in the UK, there are some quality memory foam mattress outside the uk, unfortunately there are some who produce cheap foam with additives such as clay to increase the density, these products don’t last as long and don’t give the best support.

Grading memory foam

Memory foam is graded by it's density and there is an optimum, consider 3 identical buckets one filled with feathers, one with water and one with steel, the denser the substance the heavier and that’s pretty much it, weight and density. Feathers are the least dense and therefore the lightest, steel the heaviest with the highest density and water in the middle.
Throw a tennis ball into each bucket and you will get three different results, it would sink to the bottom of the feathers till they compress at the bottom, it would bounce of the steel and water would allow it to float, partially submerged, this partiall submergence is what we want memory foam to do.

With memory foam material the lesser the density the lesser the support and greater the air content in the mattress, these are the cheap ones you see in bargain places, as more air means less material allowing reduced manufacturing and therefore cheaper costs, so you can see why some manufacturers do this, greater profitability and a bigger return on production, ultimately cheap mattresses giving good memory foam mattresses a poor name, they also loose there ability to return to there natural shape and what support they do have will have a shorter lifespan.
As mentioned earlier, look for a good guarantee/warranty.

Remember when buying a mattress when it comes to price, if it seems too good to be true, it often is.

Another point worth noting is the temperature and the material sensitivity to temperature, memory foam/visco-elastic material is re-active to temperature, this helps with comfort and heat dissipation. Unfortunately not all memory foam is temperature sensitive.

Memory foam mattress is usually expressed as a weight, ie 65kg, this number is no relation to your weight of the person lying on it, it is a figure for a cubic meter, so if you have a cube in front of you that its whole weight, therefore the higher the number the greater the density.

45kg would be softer than 60kg which would be softer than 75kg

So which mattress is for me?
If you are experiencing pain and any difficulty moving around then avoid the lighter density/weight memory foam mattress as you’ll sink in more and find it harder to move.

If your quite light then you only need the lighter less dense memory foam mattress, in terms of weight if you are around 11 stone then you more than likely require less resistance so a 45g density mattress would be fine, if you are heavier then 60kg or 70kg will be better.

If your buying a topper consider;

5cm                

45kg   Suitable for upto 11 stone
60kg   Suitable for upto 13 stone
75kg   Suitable for over 13 stone

 

7cm                

75kg Suitable for 13 stone and above, particularly if you have deep spinal curves like lordosis (hollow in the low back) and kythosis (curvature at the shoulders).

Is it good for my back pain or sciatica?

Great questions and in many cases it will, however talk to you physiotherapist or osteopath as there may be other indicating factors for your back pain and sciatica, creating a more even weight distribution and support will reduce focal points where the tension could increase the irritation to the nerves, muscles or joints.

Still not sure? Then give us a call or drop an email.

Memory Foam Pillows

Different densities, sizes and shapes, you need a guide.

You need to consider the following;

Weight

Body shape- a strong curvature suchas a kyphosis will place your head forward therefore need a deeper pillow?

How you sleep, do you sleep on your side, back, stomach or a combination of all three?

What pillow do you prefer a small, medium or large pillow now?

What kind of pillow are you used to sleeping on? you want it similiar with better support.

Do you suffer from neck pain?

If in doubt ask your practitioner, osteopath or physiotherapist and they can help you choose.

There are 2 main types;

Contoured memory pillows - these follow the shape of the neck.

Standard memory pillows - similiar shape to standard pillows and offer good support.

 

Memory Foam Topper

These are used as a mattress that sits on top of your current mattress, unfortunately they are not designed to be placed on a soft surface as they will not give the appropiate support, a firm surface is more suited.