YOUR ADJUSTABLE BED MAY BE CAUSING YOUR PAIN

The expensive new bed that was supposed to help her sleep was actually part of the problem.

A client came into my office recently in a lot of pain.

As usual, I didn't immediately start working on where she hurt.

I started asking questions.

When did the pain begin?

What changed?

What are you doing differently?

How are you sleeping?

And somewhere in that conversation, she mentioned something that caught my attention.

She had recently purchased a brand-new adjustable bed.

She loved the bed. It was comfortable. She could raise the head, raise her legs, watch television, read and relax.

There was just one problem.

She was a side sleeper.

And she was sleeping on her side with the head of the bed raised and the foot of the bed raised.

That's when the mechanic in me immediately saw the problem.

She Was Sleeping Like a Banana

Picture an adjustable bed with the head raised and the feet raised.

Now picture someone lying flat on their back.

The body can generally follow the shape of the bed reasonably well because the bed is bending in the same general direction as the body.

Now take that same person and roll her onto her side.

Everything changes.

Her body is still being forced to follow the curves of the mattress—but now she's sideways.

One side of her torso is being shortened and compressed while the other side is being lengthened.

Her pelvis, lower back, waist, ribs and shoulders are spending hours in an uneven position.

I told her:

"You're sleeping like a banana."

And she was doing it for hours every night.

Think about that.

If you held your body sideways in an awkward bent position for eight hours during the day, would you expect to feel good afterward?

Probably not.

But we sometimes forget that sleeping is still a physical position.

Your muscles, joints and connective tissues don't stop responding to mechanical stress just because you're asleep.

The Bed Wasn't Necessarily the Problem

This is important.

I am not saying adjustable beds are bad.

They can be extremely comfortable and useful.

If you're lying on your back watching television, reading a book or relaxing, raising the head and legs can feel wonderful.

And for people who comfortably sleep on their backs, an appropriately adjusted position may work very well.

The problem begins when we assume that because the bed can bend, our body should remain in that bent position regardless of how we sleep.

Your sleeping position matters.

If you're a side sleeper and the bed is significantly raised at both ends, your body may be spending the night laterally bent.

If you're a stomach sleeper, an articulated position can create another problem.

Imagine lying face-down while the mattress underneath you is bent upward.

Your lower back may be pushed into greater extension while the front of your body is stretched over the contour of the mattress.

Again, you're asking your body to maintain an unusual position for hours.

That can matter.

There's Another Adjustable-Bed Problem Nobody Talks About

During consultations, I also look at something most people never think about:

Where does the bed actually bend compared with where YOU bend?

An adjustable bed has pivot or articulation points.

Your body has them too.

And those two need to make sense together.

This becomes especially important if you're shorter or taller than the person the bed seems naturally positioned for.

Suppose you're relatively short and you automatically put your head all the way at the top of the mattress.

The bed's main articulation point may not line up properly with your hips and waist.

Instead, the mattress may begin changing angle farther down your body.

Now the bed is trying to bend you somewhere your body wasn't designed to bend.

That's a mechanical problem.

Find the Hinge

Here's something adjustable-bed owners should check tonight.

Lie flat on your bed and determine where the mattress changes angle when you raise the head.

Then look at where that point is relative to your body.

Your pelvis/hip area should be positioned appropriately relative to the bed's primary articulation point so the mattress follows your body's natural bending pattern rather than forcing a bend through the wrong area.

Don't assume your head has to be pushed all the way against the headboard.

Your body position on the mattress matters more than simply lining your pillow up with the top edge.

Depending on your height and the design of your particular bed, you may need to move yourself slightly up or down to find the position where the bed's movement best matches your body's movement.

Raise it.

Lower it.

Pay attention.

Where is the mattress bending?

Where is your body bending?

Do they match?

Your Body Doesn't Care How Much the Bed Cost

This is one of the lessons I've learned after years of working with people in pain.

Something can be expensive, beautifully designed and incredibly comfortable for 20 minutes—and still contribute to a mechanical problem when you stay in the wrong position for seven or eight hours.

The body doesn't care what the mattress cost.

It responds to position, pressure, tension and time.

That's why, when someone tells me:

"I don't know what happened. I just woke up hurting."

I don't only ask where it hurts.

I ask:

What changed?

Did you buy a new mattress?

Did you get a new pillow?

Did you start sleeping in a recliner?

Did you buy an adjustable bed?

Did you change your sleeping position?

Because sometimes the clue isn't where the pain is.

The clue is what changed before the pain started.

That was the clue with my client.

She thought she had purchased something that should make her sleep better.

She never considered that the position she was putting the bed in didn't match the position she actually slept in.

Once we talked through it, the mechanical problem made sense.

If You're a Side Sleeper, Don't Throw Away Your Adjustable Bed

You don't necessarily need to get rid of it.

Use the adjustable features when you're sitting up, reading, watching television or relaxing.

But when it's time to roll onto your side for the night, consider bringing the mattress much closer to flat and finding a position that allows your spine and pelvis to remain comfortable and neutral.

Stomach sleepers should be particularly careful about sleeping for long periods with the mattress significantly articulated.

And regardless of how you sleep, make sure the bed's bending points make sense for your body—not somebody six inches taller or shorter than you.

Before You Blame Your Back, Look at Your Bed

Pain doesn't always mean something in your body suddenly "broke."

Sometimes your body is responding exactly the way we would expect after being placed under the same mechanical stress night after night.

That's why I believe in looking for the cause instead of simply chasing the pain.

If you wake up with lower-back pain, hip pain, waist pain, shoulder discomfort or unexplained stiffness—and you sleep on an adjustable bed—take a good look at your nighttime setup.

Flatten the bed.

Check where it hinges.

Check where your body is positioned.

Think about how you actually sleep once the lights go out.

Your adjustable bed may be a wonderful piece of equipment.

Just make sure you're adjusting the bed to fit your body instead of forcing your body to fit the bed.

Are You Waking Up in Pain?

If you're waking up hurting and can't figure out why, sometimes the answer isn't where you're hurting.

Sometimes we need to look at how you're sleeping, sitting, standing and moving to find what's really causing the problem.

That's what I do.

Brian D. Walters, LMT, CMT

The Pain Mechanic™

The Miracle of Massage

Conyers, Georgia

Fix What's Really Broken.