Hi smeagol108,
This provides you with a reference point for the configuration that is too soft for the lower part of your body. This configuration also seemed to help you with the upper body symptoms but apparently “not entirely” which indicates that either it may still be a little too firm for the upper body or you may not have given this configuration enough time for your body to adjust (because of lower back issues that prevented you from trying it for long enough to see whether the improvement was a pattern that improved over the course of a week or two), or it could be a pillow issue with that particular configuration.
You may need to experiment with with different pillows with each different configuration because each configuration changes how much your shoulders sink in and may do best with a different pillow (firmness and height). While it’s not an option that you have at the moment … changing layer thicknesses can also have a similar effect to changing layer softness and reducing the thickness of the top layers can also put you closer to the firmer support layers and prevent the hips/pelvis from sinking in too far compared to the same firmness/softness of layers in thicker versions. I would take a close look at which pillows seemed to help the most on the configuration that was the “best” out of what you have tried (which I think was 24 over 32) and the difference in your symptoms between the “best” pillow and the “worst” pillow. This may also provide some clues.
Upper back pain for side sleepers can also be the result of rotational alignment issues where the spine is twisted because you are rotating part of your body in an attempt to increase the surface area in that part of the body to reduce pressure. Pressure issues are a function of the amount of weight a certain part of your body is supporting and the surface area that is supporting the weight. Larger surface areas will spread out the weight more and reduce pressure. This means that sometimes the body can make minute shifts in position to increase the surface area that is bearing weight to compensate for pressure (such as the upper body being twisted more forward) which can result in tension in the upper back muscles. If you sleep with your arms in front of you it may be worth trying a pillow under the lower part of your arms (from the elbow to the hand) with your arms bent and the hand somewhere around the 1:00 o’clock to the 2:00 o’clock position. This can rotate the shoulder enough to increase the surface area and reduce pressure. You can experiment with this on a hard floor on your side to see the effect it has on pressure.
The shoulders are lighter than the hip/pelvis area but they also have a smaller surface area so they tend to sink in more easily until the torso comes into firmer contact with the mattress at which point the surface area rapidly increases and further sinking in is greatly reduced so layer thickness plays as big a role as layer softness. This is one of the reasons that it can be so difficult to predict the layers that can work best based on theory because there are hundreds of different body shapes and weight distributions and different sleeping positions and while the weight of different parts of your body doesn’t change as you sink in more … the surface area does as you sink in more deeply and with minute differences in sleeping positions. This is why experience is much more effective than theory when someone is “outside the averages”.
Shredded latex toppers may also be worth considering because if they aren’t filled too much then the latex pieces can “flow around” the parts of the body that have a smaller surface area to some degree and allow them to penetrate a little more deeply and relieve pressure while at the same time being more “supportive” for the parts of the body that have a larger surface area.
You’ve probably also seen this but there is more information about zoning in post #11 here that may be helpful as well.
I would keep in mind that the Savvy Rests have covers that are a little “stiffer” and they are also quilted with wool and so while they can be a good pointer for a mattress that uses very similar components and have very similar layering (type of latex and the thickness and firmness of the layers) … even differences between two mattresses that may seem relatively small can make a surprising difference for some people that are more sensitive to the effect of different combinations and materials.
The PLB retail store finder here is currently being updated so you can call them or email them to ask but they may not respond very quickly and I don’t know of any on the Philadelphia list that currently carry PLB. There was one but they are no longer in business and I deleted them and a scan through local mattress stores didn’t turn up any others that are listed on their sites.
I don’t keep records of mattresses based on individual components or layers (they change too often to keep up to date) so you would need to check the websites or call the online members here or some of the component suppliers here to see which of them carry zoned latex. Off the top of my head though (and I may not be remembering all of them) it may be worth checking these …
And on the component list, it may be worth checking Security Measure as well …
I’m not sure why you don’t like the vZone because the different pieces are what gives the zoning its flexibility to customize the zones to different people and for those that are difficult to “fit” then custom zoning has a higher chance of success than standard zoning which may not be the best “match” for you or which may not have enough difference between the firmness of the zones. You can see some of my thoughts about the vZone in post #4 here and they can be very effective for those that are otherwise difficult to “match” to a suitable mattress. If your concern is that the layers may shift then this certainly wouldn’t be an issue with latex and especially not with other layers on top of the zoned layer.
Phoenix