Have back pain and soreness with new mattress, need some advice

[phoenix]

Hi mslucylou,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

We bought a new mattress last week to replace our 15 year old one. We purchased one from The Original Mattress Factory, an orthopedic Luxury Firm.

Congratulations on your new mattress! :cheer:

We have only had the mattress for 1 week but I am ready to get rid of it because I have been waking up sore and having back pain. My husband is of the opinion that my back is so messed up from the previous mattress, that it will take time to get adjusted to this one and that if we replace it with another one, it will just be the same thing. I am going by my gut instinct which says to try another one, but he says I’m being irrational.

I’m taking the side of your husband on this one (with the exception of the “irrational” comment ).

There will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of it’s “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little, and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This could typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress (higher density materials can take longer) and it can be surprising to some people how much their sleeping experience can change over the course of the first few weeks. There are some other suggestions to adjusting to a new mattress in post #2 here.

If you continue to have “symptoms” of soreness or discomfort after a month or so then it would be more likely that the mattress you chose isn’t a suitable “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences).

As you said you’ve been having back problems off and on for the past couple of years, and your previous mattress was 15 years old, there are other factors involved such as “learned alignment” from your old mattress and your pre-existing back pain conditions, which may or may not have been exacerbated by your old mattress, nor is there necessarily a guarantee that any mattress will address your back issues. But of course the desire is to find a product that offers you good support and comfort while not making any existing issues worse.

While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because they can be very complex and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP or any “symptoms” they experience … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here.

I know the adjustment period takes several months and we have over a year to exchange it, but at what point does it get better?

Assuming things will get better for you (you’ll adjust to your new mattress and he mattress will adjust to you), there is no standard timetable of how long this takes – it’s quite individualized. There are many members here on the forum who adjust dramatically from the first to second week, but after 30 days most people are able to make an informed decision of whether or not a product is appropriate for their particular sleeping style and needs.

The good news is that you chose a product that does allow for a comfort exchange within 365 days (You have the ability to reselect a different model for a fee of 25% of the less expensive mattress or set price. Retail price difference on more expensive products and delivery fees may apply.), so if you need to make a change to a different product you have that option, But I would advise you to take come more time with the new mattress and see how things adapt, and I’ll be interested in learning what you decide to do.

Phoenix