Background: Humans should sleep for about a third of their lifetime and the choice of the mattress is very important from a quality-of-life perspective. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to assess the changes of lumbar angles, evaluated in a supine position using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), on a mattress versus a rigid surface.

Methods: Twenty healthy subjects (10 females, 10 males), aged 32.3 ± 6.5 (mean ± standard deviation), with body mass index 22.4 ± 2.9, completed three evaluations: (i) spine MRI in supine position on a mattress (MAT); (ii) spine MRI in supine position on rigid surface (CON); and (iii) biplanar radiographic imaging in standing position. The following indexes were calculated for both MAT and CON: lumbar lordosis angles L1-L5, L1-S1, L5-S1, and the sacral slope (SS). Further, pelvic incidence (PI) was calculated from the biplanar radiographic images.

Results: Main findings were (i) L1-L5 and SS were greater in MAT than CON (L1:L5: +2.9°; SS: +2.0°); (ii) L5-S1 was lower in MAT than CON (-1.6°); (iii) L1-S1 was greater in MAT than CON only for male subjects (+2.0°); (iv) significant and positive correlations between PI and L1-L5, L1-S1 and SS were observed in both CON and MAT.

Conclusions: The use of a mattress determined small but statistically significant changes in lumbar angles.

Relevance statement: The use of a mattress determines small but statistically significant changes in radiological angles describing the sagittal alignment of the lumbar spine when lying in the supine position.

Key points: • Lordosis angle L1-L5 was greater in MAT than in CON condition (+2.9°). • Sacral slope was greater in MAT than in CON condition (+2.0°). • Lordosis angle L5-S1 was lower in MAT than in CON condition (-1.6°).