Help finding a mattress back pain

I’m 6’2" or 187.9cm, 225 lbs or 102 kg, and a 30 year old male.

My current bed is a nectar (king) and I liked it when I bought it 8 years ago… During my ownership I have had a few bulging discs, arthritis, bone spurs, levoscoliosis, and a few other injuries. And I can’t get surgery for anything because I’m now a single father of an almost 5 year old (no family within one thousand miles besides my ex wife).
All that to say I’m trying to get some better sleep and my current bed is making me wake up in more pain now. I only have 1 mattress store within 2 hours of me so I have limited availability to test (I plan on going this week though). I sleep mostly on my back now, but growing up I used to mostly do a side or side stomach sleep.
I also plan on shrinking to a queen bed (not sure that matters here)

I read the guides and understood that I need to look for the lower back gap or pelvic tilt and lay for a few minutes in my sleep position to decide my preferred composition of materials but this is all daunting to me.

Thank you in advance

Given your height, weight, and spinal conditions, the most important goal is to maintain a neutral spine while avoiding excessive sinking or pressure buildup. Your current Nectar Mattress has likely softened over time, which can cause your hips to dip and worsen lower back pain especially with disc issues and arthritis. You’ll benefit most from a medium-firm to firm mattress, ideally a hybrid or supportive latex model, that keeps your pelvis level while still cushioning pressure points. When you visit the store, lie on your back for at least 5–10 minutes and pay close attention to whether your lower back feels supported without strain; if your hips sink or your spine feels misaligned, it’s not the right fit. The right mattress won’t feel ultra-soft or “luxurious” at first it should feel stable, supportive, and evenly balanced, which is exactly what your body needs for long-term pain relief and better sleep. Check this one is for you . Best Mattress for back pain.

1 Like

Im 5’11" 210lbs and i really like the nest and wild hybrid mattress because it’s less than $1000 for a queen after their 10% discount. It’s a perfect combination of supportive with a strong spring base, and soft on the top with a layer of hybrid latex/memory foam. They have a 100 night sleep trial and a 15 year warranty.

1 Like

Hi teaganr and welcome to the forums! You might want to consider the 10" organic mattress by SleepEZ - https://sleepez.com/product/organic-latex-mattress/ Mattress Underground members get a 5% discount if you use the coupon code Mug5 at checkout, just FYI.

The organic and natural mattresses (the Select Sleep mattresses) are our flagship products. They’re fully customizable, meaning you can order the mattress to be as soft or as firm as you’d like. They’re also fully adjustable, meaning you can change the softness, firmness, back support, pressure relief, etc. AFTER you get the mattress in your home. To be more specific, the 10” is our most popular, and these mattresses normally go out with three 3" layers of different firmnesses - normally the softest layer (or the cushion & contour layer) is on top and the supportive layers are on the bottom. This helps ensure our customers get the right balance of contour for their hips and shoulders but also support for their lower back. If you start with a certain setup and find that it’s too soft, you can unzip the cover and rearrange the layers to get a firmer feel out of the mattress, or you can exchange a layer to make it softer. Additionally, latex mattresses typically last 20 years. If, in 5 or 10 or 15 years you decide you want a softer or firmer mattress you would only have to buy a new layer instead of an entirely new mattress. Lastly, if the mattress starts to break down in 15 – 20 years, it’s normally the top layer that breaks down first, and at that point you can likely just buy a new top layer of latex instead of a whole new mattress and get an additional 8-10 years out of the mattress.

Furthermore, queen, king, and cal king mattresses are available with what we call “split layers,” which means you can have us cut the layers down the middle (from head to foot) so that you can have a different feel / firmness on your side versus your partner’s side, and you can adjust each side independently over the 20 year lifetime of the mattress. About 95% of our mattresses go out with all split layers from top to bottom, and we get zero complaints on being able to feel the split and we get zero complaints about the layers shifting or anything like that, even if you sleep right on the middle of the mattress.

If you’re wondering how to pick the layers for this mattress, you can go to the natural or organic mattress page, click the green button that says “Build Your Mattress Now,” then click the gray oval that says “Personalized,” and you’ll be able to enter your information. The website will then make a personalized recommendation based on your information (the layers in the mattress diagram will reflect the recommendation after you click the “Apply” button. Please note that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the recommendation turns out to be your perfect setup!

Although it’s not likely that you’ll need to rearrange layers or exchange layers, you certainly have the option to adjust the mattress according to you and your partner’s specific needs and preferences, both in the short-term and long-term. We have a 90 day exchange and return period, so you can exchange a layer within the first 90 days for a flat-rate $30 fee for the first exchange and the full cost of shipping for any subsequent exchanges. We will ship your layers first, and we will ship them with extra plastic that you can use to package your current layers, and we will ship it with a pre-paid Fed Ex return label. Also, if you will please call us when you are ready to ship your layers back we will schedule a free Fed Ex pick up for you. You will have 30 days after its arrival to return a layer of your choosing, so you’ll have plenty of time to try a few different combinations with the layers you have and the layer we will be sending you so that you can get your comfort and support levels just right.

Okay I went to my local mattress store.
There were 4 I enjoyed I’ll list them below.
purple Rejuvenate Plus 1.0
Beauty rest PressureSmart 2.0 Plush 12" Mattress
Serta perfect sleeper SLEEP EXCELLENCE PT 13.5" Mattress
I think my favorite was the
Beautyrest Black series Three 15.25" medium

I didn’t spend much time there the salesman were very pushy and knew nothing about the construction of the mattresses so I didn’t spend as much time as I should have laying on them or even trying all of them… But just having 2 guys go oh you like medium what can you afford was horrible and I needed out.

Do these selections help choose a mattress for me?

Check out BackScience

John

Thank you for sharing all of that—it really helps paint a clear picture of what your body needs right now. Given everything you’re dealing with, the main goal isn’t just finding something that feels comfortable for a few minutes, it’s finding something that keeps your spine properly aligned all night, especially as a back sleeper. That’s exactly where Back Science is designed to stand out. Our mattresses are built specifically around spinal alignment, using a double-zoned lumbar support system that lifts your midsection and prevents your hips from sinking, which is one of the biggest causes of lower back pain and disc irritation. What makes it different from something like your Nectar is that instead of letting you sink in and “find” support, it actively fills in the gap in your lower back and keeps you more level, so your spine stays in a neutral position. At the same time, the top layers are designed to relieve pressure so your shoulders and joints aren’t taking a beating—you get more of a supported, “floating” feel rather than being stuck in the mattress.

Since you can’t easily try one in person, the good news is they’re set up for exactly that situation. We offer a 365-night trial with the ability to actually modify the mattress during the trial—meaning if it’s too firm or not supportive enough, we can adjust the internal layers instead of you having to start over.

For you specifically, I’d lean toward something like the Series 2 (luxury firm). It’s designed to give that balance of strong support underneath with enough contour on top to keep pressure off your joints, and it’s built to work for back sleepers who still occasionally shift positions. The key thing to understand going in is that it may feel a bit different at first—less sink, more support—but that’s usually what your body actually needs right now.

1 Like

Thank you I actually ordered a series 2 last night! BackSci-1811
I appreciate all the answers and I’m very excited