If you suffer from chronic pain in your back, lower back, joints or neck etc. then you probably know what it's like to not be able to sit down or go to bed without being in severe discomfort for a lot of the time. It seems that what used to be the most comfortable furniture in the place have suddenly become the least comfortable.

A possible solution for people with chronic pain from Pagets disease or arthritis or other debilitating conditions is to use furniture that is made out of memory foam. It is well known that memory foam mattresses can help you sleep by making the bed more comfortable and it is becoming more and more popular in luxury hotels and even in cinemas chairs to make the experience more comfortable and enjoyable.

So how does memory foam work and how can it help relieve pain?

Memory foam becomes softer as the temperature rises and because it's an insulating material it is possible to increase the temperature of the foam in localised areas. When you lie on a sheet of memory foam some parts of your body will press into the foam more than others. On a conventional mattress this would cause pressure spots where your body presses into the material, which can then cause pain or pressure sores. When you lie on a memory foam mattress the foam will be heated by your body in places where it presses into the foam the most. This causes the foam to soften in those areas and allows your body to sink into it at that point. After a while the memory foam will mould itself to your body giving you all over support for every part of your body.

When the foam has moulded itself around your whole body there will be no localised pressure hot spots to cause problems because the pressure is now distributed over your whole body. This equalising of support across your body is what makes the experience more comfortable and much less likely to cause additional pain or soreness.

Why did they invent memory foam?

In the early days of the space program NASA needed to develop methods to make astronauts more comfortable in the periods of high acceleration and deceleration experienced at take off and landing so that they would be less likely to black out. Memory foam was developed for NASA to help in these situations by reducing pressure points in the astronaut's chairs. I don't know how the foam was going to get warmed by the astronaut's body through their space suite.

NASA never actually used the memory foam in it's space craft because it gives off a toxic gas in small quantities which could cause problems in a confined and air tight space.

Experiment to find the best solution for you

High quality memory foam mattresses are still expensive items so it pays to experiment with lower cost alternatives before going straight out to change your mattress. Memory foam pillows and toppers are easily obtained and can make a big difference if you are having trouble sleeping. There are also cheaper materials like high-density polyurethane foam that might suit your pocket better.

I recently had some lower back pain problems, which meant that my lovely comfy sofa and chairs turned into a torture chamber because I couldn't get comfortable on them. A few memory foam cushions might help you out if you are in a similar situation.