Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 03, 2015	Dec. 28, 2015	Mar. 28, 2015
Entity Registrant Name	SPAN AMERICA MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000718924
Trading Symbol	span
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-03
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		2,725,468
Entity Public Float			$ 48,870,148
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Oct. 03, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false