dreamfoam bedding talalay synthetic content does it post any kind of harm to body for long term use

[phoenix]

Hi spyle,

the interesting thing is that chiropractor seems to have a habit of recommending people to sleep on things as hard as floor when people go to them with back pains or spine problems,

Unfortunately … many chiropractors know as little about mattresses as most people know about back issues … but unfortunately many of them recommend their “favorite” mattresses anyway because they just don’t know any better. Of course there are exceptions who are knowledgeable about both (and they tend not to recommend specific mattresses) and all chiropractors know the importance of good spine and joint alignment but in most cases they have much less knowledge of the “how” and “why” behind why different mattress designs and materials can provide this on an individual level.

i am just curious whether that is really the best solution because i have seen several relatives and a friend who does that and it seems once they do they are stuck for life, the back issue is lingering and it never quite solves the problem long term, so i am curious whether this is just an old advice before talalay and memory foams came up or what.

The advice of “firmer is better” was never accurate although it was more common many years or decades ago. More recent research and studies have long ago debunked it as a viable way to choose a mattress. Both Talalay and Dunlop latex have been around for many decades (long before polyfoam and memory foam were even invented) although Dunlop has been used for a little longer than Talalay so the advice didn’t change because of the type of materials that became available. This diagram gives a good illustration of how both too firm and too soft can create alignment issues.

The most important part of choosing a mattress that is suitable for each person is that it is a good match in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) in all their sleeping positions regardless of the type of materials or firmness levels in any of the layers of the mattress (comfort layers, transition layers, or support layers). Different parts of the body need different levels of support to keep the spine and joints in good alignment and this is part of the reason there are so many different types of mattresses and why different people do better or worse on the same mattress regardless of any health or physiological conditions they may have.

There is no type of mattress that is inherently better or worse than another … only a mattress that is a good match for the unique needs and preferences of each person.

There is good general description of a “perfect mattress” in post #4 here.

There is no “theory” that can either predict or replace the personal experience of each person with any certainty.

Phoenix