Achy Lower Back Pain – Please Help

Dear Doctor Brett:
I wake up every morning with a dull ache in my low back. I am a 35 year old woman , relatively fit and have never injured myself aside from workout soreness. My husband thinks that it may be my chair or position at my desk as I am an accountant. I am suspect of our mattress.

We purchased a firm pillow top mattress 9 years ago. I have noticed it beginning to sag in the center. My husband is 265 lbs and we regularly flip the mattress. Is it time for a new mattress and can this cause low back pain? Achy in Anchorage.

Dear Achy:
In light of the age, curve of your mattress and size of your beau, you are definitely due a new sleep system. Studies by the Sleep Foundation of America indicate a firm mattress is best for low back pain sufferers. Evaluate air sleeping systems, memory foam systems, and standard spring/padding systems before you buy.

I advise a system you can customize for your disparate weights, or that isolates and contours individually. I advise my clients to re-evaluate their sleep systems after 5 years of use.

Good Luck!

Brett