Hi jd,
Thanks for the update and for the detailed comments about some of the issues you are facing and working on. You certainly have your share of “sleeping challenges”. Of course your issues are too complex and “nuanced” to do more than make more generic suggestions on a forum but it seems that you have gone through a steep learning curve and have a good understanding of the underlying causes of the issues you are experiencing.
[quote]What happens when laying on my back is my joints are naturally loose, so for the shoulders the weight of my spine sinks in first into a softer material and then my shoulders do not sink instead stay pushed forward due to the flexibility of the joints, they simply lack stability to stay back easily. While sleeping on my side any extra material under my shoulder push against my shoulder could cause impingement and be pushed slightly forward, this depends on the angles, but that becomes hard to predict during sleep. Hugging a pillow helps as it keep the shoulder down and in a better socket position, but the wedge has stacked layers and although soft they still manage to push my shoulder awkwardly.
As another example if sleep on my back and let one shoulder hang off the wedge, it’s actually in a comfortable position, seemingly aligned, so that’s been my problem areas.[/quote]
I have certainly come across issues of shoulders being “slouched” or pushed forward or “hunched” and I’ve mentioned it on a number of occasions (such as here and here). A good way to visualize good alignment of the spine and joints is to imagine floating in the air with good posture and slowly being lowered onto a mattress and if all the different parts of your body “stop” at the same time you would generally be in good alignment while if some parts of your body continue sinking after other are “stopped” then you would be out of alignment (see post #6 here). Alignment issues can be from head to toe, from side to side (as in your case with the shoulders being pushed forward) or with rotational alignment where the spine is rotated or twisted.
A couple of things that can help with more difficult alignment issues include a body pillow and an adjustable bed with the legs raised slightly (or a pillow under the knees) can also help to decompress the spine with back sleeping and raising the head slightly can also help with breathing issues.
Unzipping the cover can help the latex to contour and can remove some of the “drum effect” of the cover which can help the wider or lighter parts of the body to sink in more easily and it’s good to see that it’s helping. When the comfort layers can contour more exactly to the curves of the body it can provide more even support under the different areas of the body where it’s needed and can certainly make a difference for some people.
[quote]I may need to search for a good quality stretch knit cover as I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get one from ESW. Do you think all stretch knit covers are all about the same quality wise, with the difference being if it has quilted wool top, which could be more or less taut with a variable amount of wool? Not sure what direction to go there as I do acknowledge the wool is helpful, but when I’d rather get the best support and comfort if it comes down to it.
The other idea was to get a thin (1" maybe a little more) soft topper which might accomplish a similar level of comfort and support, but not sure if it’s more or less ideal it does some to be more practical as it’s easier to get the right size and might more predictable or easier to get.[/quote]
There will be some differences between different covers in the type and thickness of material they use, their design, and their ability to contour but the component post here has some of the better sources for unquilted knit covers I’m aware of and post #4 here also has a list of the ones that sell stretch knit covers without quilting. I don’t have any personal experience with any of them and a conversation with each manufacturer is generally the best source of information about properties and specs of the specific covers they sell. This topic may also be worth reading as well.
The component post also includes some of the better sources I’m aware of for toppers.
It’s been a challenging journey but it’s good to see that you’ve made such good progress and of course I’m always looking forward to any further updates you have the chance to share.
Phoenix