If you suffer from chronic pain in your joints, back, lower back or neck etc. then you will know what it's like to never be able to sit down or go to bed without being in severe discomfort most of the time. It seems that what should be the most comfortable furniture in the house has suddenly become instruments of torture.

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 was memory foam invented?

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 didn't use the memory foam in it's space craft in the end because it gives off a toxic gas in small quantities which would have caused problems in a confined and air tight space.

Consider the alternatives

High quality memory foam mattresses are still expensive products so it pays to experiment with some alternatives before changing your mattress. Memory foam pillows and toppers can be easily obtained and they can make a big difference if you are having trouble sleeping. There are also cheaper materials like high-density polyurethane foam and latex 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.

About the Author:

Steve is a seasoned engineer and webmaster of http://www.thememoryfoammattress.com