Hi rl4518,
[quote]I found this site because I’m asking the question “is there any “real” relief possible for chronic upper back pain” from “any” of these latex foam, tempur foam or anything beds discussed on this site? All I read so far are complaints about that type of topper, or some core, or some other comfort layer, etc. Or some other decision that someone regrets and now they are actually “in” pain.
I’m looking for some relief from my upper back problem that’s not drugs, so does it come from a bed - any bed? I certainly don’t need a bed to give me more “pain” than I already have.[/quote]
A new mattress (in combination with a suitable pillow) can help with back pain to the degree that either some or all of the back pain is caused by an old mattress and/or pillow that isn’t a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences). If a new mattress relieves pressure points and keeps your spine and joints in neutral alignment better than your old one then it can help alleviate back pain that was the result of sleeping with pressure points or out of alignment on the old mattress.
If the cause of your back pain is a medical or physiological issue and not the result of sleeping with pressure points or out of alignment then a new mattress won’t generally help except perhaps to the degree that better and deeper sleep can help with any healing and recovery process over the course of time. In this case a health professional that can make suitable suggestions and treat the cause of the back pain would be the most effective approach.
It’s never a good idea to expect a mattress to solve a pre existing health or medical issue.
As pennies mentioned … most people that post on the forum are either looking for a new mattress because they are uncomfortable or experiencing some kind of “symptoms” on their old one or they are looking for a solution to a mattress related issue. Most people that have been successful in their search don’t generally continue to post once they are sleeping well on a new mattress or once they have resolved the issues they came here to ask about.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range or have similar back symptoms). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
Phoenix