In a recent nationwide survey on back pain, most survey participants reported using a firm mattress with a 2 cm plywood bed board between it and the box spring. But many of those who expressed the most enthusiasm about their sleeping arrangements suggest omitting the box spring and putting an extra-firm mattress on a platform bed.
If you have the option, don’t use a brand-name mattress. Instead, have a foam-rubber company make you a, 15 cm (6 inch) thick, extra-firm mattress. It’s less expensive than purportedly corrective mattresses and at least as firm and comfortable.
Futon mattresses on platforms are the next choice of US survey participants. But if your hips, buttocks or thighs are painful, you will probably find the futon too thin and hard, and the cause of unwelcome pressure.
If your bed is too hard (as may be the case with some ‘orthopedic beds’), try placing a duvet between the under-sheet and the mattress. This gives a softer surface, especially for a more petite sleeper. Remember that what feels firm to someone of 50 kg (8 stone) is very different to what feels firm to someone of 115 kg (18 stone).
Of the 15 US survey participants who turned hopefully to water beds, 8 switched back to firm mattresses and bed boards, complaining that the bed couldn’t be made hard enough to suit them.