Do you have a problem with chronic joint pain or lower back pain or pain in the neck etc? If you do then you most likely experience a lot of discomfort when lying or sitting in what should be the most luxurious furniture that you have in your home.

A possible solution for some people with chronic pain from Pagets disease or arthritis or other debilitating conditions is to use furniture made from memory foam. Memory foam mattresses are known to help you sleep by making the bed more comfortable and it is being used more and more in luxury hotels and even cinemas to make the experience more enjoyable.

How does memory foam help to relieve your 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 all of your body is fully supported by the soft warm foam the pressure on every part of your body in contact with it is equal. Because there are no longer any single points of contact to cause pressure hot spots, all of your body will feel more comfortable. It's this removal of pressure points by distributing the pressure over all of your body that gives you relief from pain.

Why was memory foam developed in the first place?

Memory foam was originally developed for NASA for use in the space program. It was to be used as padding for the astronaut's seats as a means to relieve some of the discomfort experienced from high acceleration or 'G' forces. I'm not quite sure how this was expected to work in that situation however because the astronauts would be wearing space suits at the time which would insulate them from the foam in the seats. No heat no softening of the memory foam.

NASA didn't actually use the memory foam in it's space craft in the end because it "off-gasses" meaning that it gives off a small amount of toxic gas which can cause problems in a confined and air tight space like you find on a space craft.

Try some alternatives

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.

If you have trouble with the comfy chairs in your living room then try a memory foam cushion or two. Having experienced how uncomfortable a soft chair can be when I had some lower back pain problems I know that any improvements would be worthwhile.

Article Source: http://www.healthyfad.com

Steve is a software engineer and webmaster of www.thememoryfoammattress.com Using a Memory Foam Mattress alternative for relieve of chronic pain