Abstract
Purpose and Background
Back pain impinges upon all aspects of life, has a reported UK lifetime prevalence as high as 84% and considering approximately a third of our lives are spent asleep the paucity of research into the effect a mattress has on back pain and sleep is surprising. Mood changes, effecting an increase in pain perception, due to sleep loss may also lead to a downward spiral of increasing back pain and greater sleep loss. A controllable factor in this spiral, affecting both aspects, is the mattress but to the authors' knowledge none currently available on the market have any robust, published research to objectively support any claims made and at best being ‘endorsed’ by experts. This may lead to possible misinterpretation of efficacy and leave professionals at a loss with what to advise when questioned.
Methods and Data collection
Method:
A three month, randomised, controlled, double blind crossover field study is proposed to take place in the participants own homes, ensuring the most natural sleep environment.
Data collection:
Three 28 day phases
1 - Baseline data, participants sleeping on their own mattress
2 - Random allocation of mattresses, half allocated test and half control
3 - Crossover of test and control mattress
Subjective measures of back pain and sleep quality will be collected utilising a daily sleep diary and visual analogue scales.
Objective measures of sleep quality using activity monitors during sleep.
Conclusion
Minimal evidence is available suggesting the optimal sleep surface for people with back pain. This research hopes to generate evidence to help this group with mattress selection.
To confirm: this abstract has not previously been published in whole or part nor has it been presented previously at a national meeting.
Conflicts of interest: All mattresses will be designed in conjunction with and provided by Innovative Health Organisation Caerphilly
Sources of funding: This work is part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) through the European Union's Convergence programme administered by the Welsh Government and is in conjunction with the Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS) project.
