Are Waterbeds Good For Your Back?

Water beds were invented in 1833 by Neil Arnott, a Scottish doctor who was looking for a way to alleviate bedsores in patients. He never patented the design, allowing anyone to build their version of a water bed, which is why there are so many on the market today.

Since waterbeds started as a therapeutic device, you may be wondering if a waterbed is good for your back. Can it help get rid of your neck, joint, or spine pain? Will it make your pain worse? Well, it depends.

A water bed can relieve some kinds of pain, but not all, and they aren’t the best choice over a traditional mattress for certain sleeping positions. Here’s everything you should know about water beds and your back.

The Best Sleep Position on Every Mattress

No matter what you sleep on — a conventional mattress, foam, hybrid, water, or air — the best sleep position allows you to maintain a neutral spine, which keeps the natural curves in your back. Sleeping with a neutral spine minimizes the pressure along your back, ensuring you wake up pain-free in the morning.

But a neutral spine isn’t the same for every sleep position. It will vary depending on your sleep position:

• Back. This is the best sleep position to maintain a neutral spine. Placing a pillow under your knees and a small roll under your neck ensures your spine stays neutral.
• Side. Side sleepers should place a pillow under the neck to keep the spine aligned with the rest of the body.
• Stomach. Sleeping on your stomach makes it difficult to maintain a neutral spine. A small pillow under your belly can push your spine into neutral, but your neck will still be out of alignment.

How Water Beds Can Be Good for Your Back 

One study found that waterbeds and foam mattresses did a small but better job at improving the symptoms of low back pain and helped participants sleep better than on a “hard” or traditional mattress. And, generally speaking, water beds can be good for your back no matter which position you sleep in (almost!).

Contours and Supports

The squishy nature of a water bed tends to distribute pressure evenly across all your pressure points, putting less stress on your muscles and making it less likely you’ll wake up with spine pain. The “squishiness” also helps you sleep comfortably by ensuring you maintain a neutral spine in most sleep positions.

Add Heat

Nearly all water beds are heated, allowing you to set, control, and adjust the temperature of your mattress. While this can help you stay warm and cozy on chilly nights, sleeping on a heated surface can soothe and reduce stress in achy muscles and joints, giving you added comfort and relief.

Massaging Waves

Water beds also have a wave-like motion that massages your body, reducing stress and inflammation with increased blood flow to your sore back muscles. Depending on the mattress, you can have a water bed with deep and frequent waves or one with fewer, smaller waves.

Drawbacks of Water Beds for Your Back

Though water beds can be good for your back, they’re not the right mattress for every person or situation.

Waves Are Massages

The massage motions of a water bed isn’t the same as massage therapy.

Water beds have different wave levels, often controlled by inserts that allow or limit the wave action. A free-flowing mattress has no inserts, which means the waves move as much as you do. Unfortunately, this steady wave motion can exacerbate existing chronic back pain or spinal pain, and the lack of support can cause new back pain.

Not for Every Sleep Position

While water beds can help people maintain a neutral spine in most sleeping positions, this isn’t true for stomach sleepers. Particularly on a less firm water bed, you’ll have less support on your stomach, causing your spine to curve out of a neutral position, resulting in back pain.

No Heat Means More Insulation

Most waterbeds are heated, but not all are, and those mattresses will eventually reach room temperature (about 70 degrees Fahrenheit). To improve the temperature and comfort of a non-heated waterbed, manufacturers often put extra insulation around the outside of the mattress. While this raises the temperature level, it can reduce the support level of the mattress, making it less likely to keep your spine in neutral.

Should I Skip the Water Bed?

Ultimately, medium-firm mattresses offer the best overall support and distribution of weight and pressure across your spine and back. So, if a medium-firm water bed works for you, you should consider it. It may provide pain relief in the back and neck and help you get a more restful night’s sleep.

No matter what kind of mattress you use or why you’re experiencing back, neck, or leg pain, the team at Flourish Chiropractic Spa can help you find relief. Massages, chiropractic adjustments, and more can help you live a healthier life. Contact us today and schedule an appointment.