mattress for low back ache- spring coil or memory foam?
| I wake up with low back ache every morning so decided to get a new mattress- mine is 15 years old. I am a side sleeper and have purchased a Simmons Beautyrest Eagleville firm set. Now I wake up in the middle of the night with excruciating low back pain. I can exchange my new mattress for another one, so am considering either getting the same one I have in a soft version (the firm one I got is like sleeping on a board), or a memory foam mattress. I laid on the firm beautyrest for about a half hour and it seemed to feel good in the store. One question I have about the memory foam mattresses is if they actually have enough support to relieve backache. I'd like to stay in the $600- $700 range. Any advice? |
Re: mattress for low back ache- spring coil or memory foam?
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I think it really helps to think of the "support layer" (the actual mattress, not including pillowtop) and the "comfort layer" (the pillowtop or other cushion layer on top of the mattress) separately. After our old plush pillowtop mattress started sagging in the middle, we bought a new Simmons Beautyrest Classic plush-firm mattress, but there was nothing plush about it. It was *really* firm when we actually slept on it all night. We added a 3" soft latex topper, but even that wasn't enough, and I had shoulder and neck stiffness in the morning. We almost exchanged the mattress for the plush version, but after testing it out in the store, we realized the plush mattress was just going to turn into our old mattress in a few years, so we added a second topper instead. We decided on a 2" convoluted zoned memory foam topper for $80 and we put that under the 3" latex topper. We put it underneath the latex because memory foam near your skin gets too hot (latex foam doesn't sleep so hot).
It is incredibly comfortable for side sleeping now, while still giving us the benefit of the firm mattress underneath (great motion separation and no rolling together in the middle of the bed). If you got a firm mattress, you might want to exchange it for "plush-firm" , but I wouldn't go down to a plush, because then you'll have 15-gauge coils (softer) instead of 13-gauge coils and you will lose support. Then just build your own comfort layer by adding toppers. Both of the toppers we got are available on Amazon.com. The 2" Isotonic 6 Zone memory foam topper was less than $80 for a queen size, and the Invigo Fresh 3" natural latex mattress topper was $264. This message was modified Oct 5, 2011 by Vlaurend
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