Is a boxspring good for your back?

Many people suffer from back pain these days, which can have various causes. A bad bed can also cause back pain. A box spring can be good for your back and thus prevent these complaints, although the bed must fit your body well. Is a box spring good for your back? You can read more about that in this article.

What is a boxspring?

Do you regularly wake up in the morning with back pain? Then either your bed is in need of replacement, or you may assume that the bed does not fit your body well, which unfortunately can also be the case with a boxspring. But what exactly is this type of bed? The basis of a boxspring set is the bed base and it is built with steel springs.

So this material is not just in the mattress. If you translate boxspring literally from English, you read ‘spring box’. A spring-built base that is often beautifully upholstered and fitted with legs and a head and footboard replaces the bed frame. On this your mattress is placed, and in the Netherlands a topper is often added.

A boxspring is a special bed because it thus consists of several parts. The name is derived from the bed base, which is the actual boxspring. Are you still with us?

Is a boxspring better for your back than a slatted base?

Okay, you now know what a boxspring is, but is such a bed base better for your back than a slatted base? No, a bed just has to fit your body and your preferences really well. Otherwise, as with a slatted base, you may experience back pain with a boxspring. Is your bed old and in need of replacement? And do you often wake up with (low) back pain lately? Then a new bed really is in order.

How do you make a boxspring good for your back?

There is no one bed that will fix all your back problems at once. Still, you can buy a box spring that is good for your back. It is important to consider the following factors here.

Hardness

Some people are convinced that they are healthier with a hard bed. Unfortunately, that is not correct: it can cause problems when it comes to your back. Your shoulders and hips do not get enough room to sink into such a bed, giving them too little space. Finding your ideal sleeping position becomes more difficult and you experience a lot of pressure on bones and joints. Especially if you have a light build, that can cause back problems. However, a bed that is too soft is also not always ideal. Your body then sinks away too much, as if you are lying in a hammock. Then your spine has too little support and you do not sleep comfortably.

What then is the perfect firmness of the boxspring and the mattress? That depends entirely on your build, height, and weight. These elements have a lot of influence on this, as do your sleeping position and personal preferences. We recommend that you check and try out mattresses yourself and determine the perfect firmness based on this. An experienced professional with expert knowledge can certainly help you!

Support

In addition, when buying the boxspring, you must also take the support into account. If you sleep on your side, it is important that your back, from your hips, lies in a straight line with your neck. Otherwise, you will suffer from back pain when you wake up. That is because your spine has been lying curved.

A good boxspring offers you sufficient support. The mattress helps with this and will try to distribute the pressure your body exerts. With some beds, this pressure is reduced even further because they work with so-called pressure-relieving materials. This gives you extra pressure relief and support where needed to prevent back pain.

Material

We also recommend that you pay attention to the material if you want to buy a box spring that is good for your back. What are good materials for a box spring?

• Bonnell springs or inner springs are a construction of metal springs that you may recognize from a well-made old-fashioned sofa or chair. The springs are connected to each other and therefore cannot spring independently of each other as easily. A durable choice but less ergonomic than a variant with pocket springs.
• Pocket springs: With a boxspring with pocket springs, you notice that the springs move independently of each other and thus support your body better. Do you want the best? Then go for one with several ergonomic zones. Each zone – think of shoulders, loins, and hips – receives adjusted support, so you don’t suffer from back pain during your night’s rest.
• Personal setting: A box spring with personal setting is put together entirely based on your preferences and is therefore perfect for your body, preventing back problems. Be sure to correct the setting if your weight changes. Sounds more cumbersome than it is, but very important!

Which box spring mattress is suitable and good for your back?

• Pocket springs: Just like with a boxspring, mattresses can also be equipped with these individually reacting springs. These pocket mattresses are usually combined with a boxspring. Choose one that supports your whole body well. There are many options when you choose these popular pockets. Think of the number of springs in the mattress, the different spring firmnesses, and the impact of the shapes used. Are there different shapes? Yes indeed, there are straight springs, barrel-shaped springs, soft-touch versions, and even springs within springs. And then there are the combinations with different comfort layers. These layers lie on the pocket springs and are usually made of foam, latex, or visco (or memory foam). They greatly influence ventilation, support, and the feeling of comfort. A lot of choice, a lot on offer, and so testing well is really advisable.
• Memory foam: This material is also called NASA foam and is already used in many boxspring mattresses as a comfort layer. You can also choose the mattress without the springs. We call this a solid core mattress in professional jargon. In this mattress, different foam layers are combined and even provided with incisions in the obvious ergonomic zones. Memory foam distributes your body pressure very well. This gives your body good support, so you don’t get out of bed with a painful back in the morning.
• Gel: This material also has strong pressure-relieving properties, just like memory foam. However, your freedom of movement is slightly greater and the material also regulates heat. Your body heat is dispersed, so you are less likely to get too warm, which is pleasant for sleeping.
• Latex: Latex can be made from petroleum or extracted from tropical rubber trees. Usually, they are mixed to make a durable mattress. Latex has very supportive properties and is very elastic. This material is also used as a comfort layer for a pocket mattress, but you can also buy it as a solid core.

Does the bed base also influence your back problems?

Many people think that the mattress is the only thing that determines your sleep quality. Yet that is not the case at all. If you buy a boxspring as a complete set, you must also pay attention to the properties of the bed base. Why? Just put your mattress on the floor, without a bed base, and try to sleep on it. That is definitely different and often not a pleasure.

Your body must be well supported to prevent back problems. That only happens if the mattress works well together with the bed base. Fortunately, that is generally the case with boxsprings, because the mattress and the base are usually designed together. In this respect, a boxspring has a (slight) advantage over a normal bed.

Read also: Does a boxspring sleep better than a normal bed?

Does aging mattress cause back pain?

By now, we have already named a few factors that cause back pain or remedy it. Still, we want to pay some extra attention to the aging of your bed. Either way, once a mattress or box spring is sagging, you will notice that you are suffering from lower back pain. So an old box spring is really disastrous for your back and you should replace it as soon as possible.

But when exactly is a mattress too old? Generally, you can use it for ten years. It is wise to buy a replacement then, purely so that your sleep comfort remains optimal. The mattress has also been used intensively by then and has often become unhygienic. A boxspring that is qualitatively built usually lasts for two mattresses before it needs replacement. A durable investment, then.

As we already indicated, a boxspring nowadays usually consists not only of a base and mattress, but of course you also have a topper. Unfortunately, such a top mattress does not last as long. You have to replace this after about seven years. That is especially necessary if you see the following symptoms in an old topper:

Pitting	The topper is completely worn out and causes back problems.
Stains	Generated during your sleep by sweat, for example.
Mold	Can be dangerous. So replace your topper as soon as possible.
Unpleasant odors	You sweat at night, which can get trapped in a top mattress. It is then pleasant to replace the topper.

Conclusion: is a boxspring good for your back?

So is a boxspring good for your back? A boxspring can be good for your back, provided you buy the right one. Pay attention to the firmness, the material, and the support. If you buy the perfect boxspring for your body, you will definitely experience that your back pain decreases! Yet this type of bed is not good for your back by itself. Above all, get advice and realize that your back deserves a good bed.

Is a box spring good for your back? Frequently Asked Questions: