HELP: Struggling to balance pressure relief and support!

Hi everyone!

First post, so I’ll start by sharing a few things about myself. I’m 5’9", 155lb, almost exclusively a side-sleeper, and someone who struggles with back pain. I saw a bunch of great info on this forum so decided to join.

About two years ago I purchased a Serta iComfort Insight mattress, which is gel memory foam. I found that it provided good support but was too firm for side-sleeping, so I’ve tried out a couple memory foam toppers with little success. I’m now on a 2" 5lb Sensus topper. The problem I’m experiencing now is that, especially after a few hours of sleeping, the topper seems to sink too much at my hips and not enough at my shoulders. The result: Great pressure relief at my hips but mediocre relief at my shoulders and support for my spine. FYI, prior to my current setup I tried a 3" 4lb topper (amzn.to/UcITMu), which was worse.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jeff

Hi svmaker,

The dilemma you are facing about how to “allow” some parts of the body that are generally wider and lighter (such as the shoulders) to sink in “enough” to provide good pressure relief and at the same time to “stop” other parts of the body that are heavier and narrower (such as the hips/pelvis) from sinking down too far and solve the conflict between the opposing requirements of support/alignment and comfort/pressure relief is part of the “art and science” or all mattress construction and there are so many variables involved between different mattress designs, body types, and sleeping positions that there are no simple solutions that can be predicted based on a formula, specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance”. In most cases it boils down to an “educated guess” and some trial and error to assess how well a particular combination works out in real life.

In most cases … the simplest way is to go by the specific symptoms you are experiencing which can help “point towards” a solution that provides the best balance between pressure relief and support and hopefully find the middle ground where both are inside the “range” that is suitable or comfortable for you. There is more about primary and secondary support and their relationship with pressure relief in post #4 here and more about the various symptoms that people can experience on a mattress and some of the possible causes for them in post #2 here that may be helpful with some of the “detective work” that may be necessary to decide which types of changes or which topper may work best for you.

In looking at what you have tried already it’s possible that you might have “jumped over” the thickness and softness of a topper that may have worked best for you. The thickness of a topper and the firmness of a topper work hand in hand (thicker toppers will “act” softer than thinner toppers) and it’s possible that the 5 lb Sensus is too firm to provide good pressure relief for your shoulders and the 4 lb topper may have been soft enough for good pressure relief under your shoulders but may have been too thick and “allowed” your hips/pelvis to sink down too far before they were “stopped” by the firmer layers in your mattress. It’s possible that a 2" 4 lb memory foam topper may provide “enough” pressure relief for your shoulders but also be thin enough that you are closer to the firmer support layers of your mattress so your hips don’t sink down as far which would maintain better alignment.

It’s also possible that the middle of your mattress may have developed a soft spot under your hips/pelvis (the 4 lb particulate memory foam in your mattress isn’t the most durable material) and if this is part of the underlying cause of your symptoms it can make things much more difficult because a topper will tend to “follow” any soft spots or impressions underneath it. There is more about this and some suggestions that may help on a partial or temporary basis in post #4 here.

Finally there are some body types where it’s much more challenging to resolve the conflict between pressure relief and support/alignment and one of the methods that can help in these cases is different types of zoning which use softer layers under the shoulders to “allow” the shoulders to sink in more and relieve pressure while at the same time using firmer layers in the middle of the mattress under the hips/pelvis to “stop” them from sinking in as much. This can be very helpful in achieving a balance between pressure relief and alignment. There is more about zoning in post #11 here.

Based on your feedback and descriptions though … it may be well worth trying a 2" 4 lb memory foam topper that is a little softer than the Sensus topper you have to see if it is in the “range” for both pressure relief and alignment that may work for you.

Phoenix

Thanks Phoenix! Very thoughtful response with a bunch of great info. I’ve decided to try out the Aerus 2" 4lb topper. Fingers crossed.

Hi svmaker,

I hope it works out well for you as well and I hope you have the chance to share your feedback.

Phoenix