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Well, I think I finally solved the mystery of why my lower back has been hurting so much lately. Okay, my mattress springs were definitely contributing to some of it. There's no doubt about it. The LuraFlex coils were just to conforming. Adding the door skin plywood made my bed feel entirely different in a wonderful way! However, there's another reason for the pain on my right, lower back. I didn't even associate the two. I have a large ovarian cyst which the doctor said is so big she can't even tell which side its on. It seems to be taking up the whole space! I was due to have surgery in late August until I caught a cold. Surgery will now be October 8th. One ovary out, a hysterectomy and total pelvic reconstruction. Oh, joy. Anyway, I was bragging to my GYN that I had no symptoms of an ovarian cyst. I was astonished when the ultrasound showed it being so large. Well, as it turns out, I HAVE been having pain, but instead of the front, it's been on my lower back. That makes perfect sense. And, you know, I'm relieved to know it's not just my mattress or middle age that's causing it. At least, I know there's a 'cure" come October 8th! In the meantime, I'm thrilled that I had this idea to cover my coils with something firm. I still say those springs were just too flexible. So, hopefully, in a couple weeks time my back pain will be a thing of the past! |
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I guess this vindicates my contention that you needed rigid support for your back! The plywood solution is very interesting. How thick is it, and how much foam do you have over it? I'm also intrigued by your question: "What I'm wondering is: Are the LuraFlex coils really even doing anything now? How is this a lot different than having an all-latex and foam mattress? I hope the layers will hold up just as well as they would if they were on the coils rather than a thin board." I think your innerspring is now functioning in much the same way that a box spring would-- providing some give to the plywood on top of it. Because you now have a solid surface over the coils you've pretty much elliminated the contouring factor and the support is more uniform. Does it differ from an all foam or latex mattress? I wonder. Most mattresses today have so much foam over the innersprings that I wonder how much they really differ from an all foam mattress. That's probably why for some of us, our old double-sided mattresses which are just springs with a little bit of mostly precompressed material over them are so much more comfortable on our backs than the new ones with all those layers of foam. This really underscores the beauty of a zippered mattress system where you have the option of reconfiguring the components inside until you get it right. All mattresses should be built this way. |
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Wouldn't it be nice if all of us had the option to simply unzip our mattress to alter it and rarely have the need to buy a whole new if people didn't go in and replace their compressed pillowtops or cheap foam mattresses? LOL The plywood is actually door skin which is the veneer-like stuff glued on to interior hollowcore doors. So, it's very thin and does have some flexibility to it. I almost went with regular, rigid plywood (also the thinnest, but with no "bend" to it.) I decided this door skin might be just enough firmness to take away some of the conformity of the coils....and yet something that would work with the springs, much like the box spring effect you spoke of. Later, if this solution proves to be TOO flexible, I'll go back and get the stronger plywood. That's another thing I wonder about: Will our weight start to bend the thinner plywood I currently have over the springs, causing it to conform with the coils? My mattress is sitting on a rigid foundation with a layer of 1" Overstock latex over that to mimic a double sided mattress. As for the amount of foam I have over the plywood, it's a total of not quite 3 inches. That includes 1" of 44 ILD latex and 3/4"; of 55 and 45 high density HR PU foam. That's it. I also have the quilted mattress cover. With the innersprings and foam, the mattress is about 10" high. After I've added the toppers and fiber bed, it's about 13". Very cushy, but supportive. cloud9 wrote: I guess this vindicates my contention that you needed rigid support for your back! </p><p>The plywood solution is very interesting. How thick is it, and how much foam do you have over it? I'm also intrigued by your question: <em>"What I'm wondering is: Are the LuraFlex coils really even doing anything now? How is this a lot different than having an all-latex and foam mattress? I hope the layers will hold up just as well as they would if they were on the coils rather than a thin board." </em><BR></p><p>I think your innerspring is now functioning in much the same way that a box spring would-- providing some give to the plywood on top of it. Because you now have a solid surface over the coils you've pretty much elliminated the contouring factor and the support is more uniform. Does it differ from an all foam or latex mattress? I wonder. Most mattresses today have so much foam over the innersprings that I wonder how much <em>they </em>really differ from an all foam mattress. That's probably why for some of us, our old double-sided mattresses which are just springs with a little bit of mostly precompressed material over them are so much more comfortable on our backs than the new ones with all those layers of foam. </p><p>This really underscores the beauty of a zippered mattress system where you have the option of reconfiguring the components inside until you get it right. All mattresses should be built this way. |