A question that is often asked is what is the standard of an orthopedic mattress? Unfortunately, there is as yet no such thing as a standard for assessing the quality of an orthopedic mattress. This is because the orthopedic mattress industry has more or left been left to get on with it by itself.
Fortunately, the situation is not as confusing as it is with dog beds which has all manner of foams and descriptions for what is classed as orthopedic. With human orthopedic mattresses, it is first and foremost assumed that the type of mattress material being spoken about is memory foam (also known as viscoelastic foam) as this is the original and still recognised as the best orthopedic mattress material. A popular alternative to memory foam is latex foam, which is a naturally sourced alternative to memory foam, and preferable for that reason.
Being that there is no standard for orthopedic mattresses, how then do you go about choosing one? Well the general consensus seems to be to look for a mattress of a bare minimum of 4lb density. 5lb is even better, but of course expect to pay a bit more for that extra density.
It is also a popular choice to go for an overall mattress thickness of 10 inches or more. Note, this does not mean 10 inches of memory foam. Typically, the mattress will contain 2.5 – 3 inches of memory foam and 7 – 7.5 inches of supporting polyurethane foam. So if you see anything below 10 inches you may wish to see whether you can get that mattress in a 10 inch version to ensure you have a decent amount of memory foam core to give you an adequate level of comfort and support.
If you can afford to spend a little more, then you may wish to purchase a 12 or 14 inch mattress. 12 inches is the second most popular choice of orthopedic mattress to a 10 inch mattress for people that want a stronger and more resilient mattress.
