Latex Configuration Causing Hip and Back Pain

Hello!

My husband and I recently purchased a 12" blended talalay latex “Adjustable Plush Mattress” from AZ Premium Mattress Company. We originally wanted just the 9" mattress, but because we are both tall, we wanted a little more height. So, we purchased an extra 3" layer just to add height, and also thought it might be beneficial if we needed extra softness or firmness. From top to bottom, here is the configuration:

3" 19 ILD
3" 28 ILD (I was told that this was the next level that was in stock for a 3")
6" 32 ILD (This core is split. I have the medium core at 32, husband has firm core at (I think) 36 ILD).

We’ve had the mattress about 3 weeks now, and the problem is that with the above configuration, I was having backaches (upper and lower), as well as hip pain. I’m 5’ 8", 128 lbs. I’m mainly a side sleeper, but also sleep on my back. My husband is 6’ 1", 170 lbs., and is also a side/back sleeper; however, he has not had any real problems with any of the adjustments we’ve made. After sleeping on the above configuration for a few days, we put the 28 ILD on top of the 19, thinking I needed firmer support That didn’t help. So, we placed the 28 on the bottom as basically a spacer, put the core in the middle with the 19 on top. That felt a lot better, however, I still had slight hip/back pain. Next, we tried the 28 on top of the core, with the 19 on the bottom, and the 28 felt too firm for me. We went back to the 19 on top of the core with the 28 on the bottom, and for now, it is the best of all of the configurations, however, I’m still having slight back/hip pain. I’ve also tried sleeping with the 19 on top of my husband’s firm core half, and that didn’t feel as good as sleeping on my medium core. I made a phone call and the suggestion was that if the 28 on top of the core was too firm, that I might switch the 19 for another 28, and sleep on two 3" layers of 28 ILD over the cores. I don’t think this will work since I feel that sleeping on a top layer of 28 ILD was just too firm, and actually, my husband agrees.

Right now, I’m back to the initial configuration, and am wondering if sleeping on a 19 over a 28 is not enough of a transition? I can’t understand why sleeping on both the 19 AND the 28 has caused me hip/back pain, although with the 19, it has been better. AZ Premium does not have a 22 ILD in a 3". I don’t know if they have a 24 ILD either. I believe they have a 25 ILD, 3" NATURAL latex topper. But our layers are “blended,” so I don’t know if mixing natural with blended is fine. Should I switch out the 28 for a layer that’s not such a jump from 19? And, should I place one of these (22-25 ILD) on top, or place one of these underneath the 19? My husband suggests that I’m not giving enough time to adjust to any of these configurations. We’ve been to Wynn in Vegas twice this past year, and for a total of 7 nights of sleeping on the Wynn Dream Bed, (which I think is a Sealy made to Steve Wynn’s specifications), I never once had any aches or pain. We were even contemplating buying one, but I worried about the sagging issue with spring mattresses. There was no adjustment period with the Wynn bed, so I guess I was assuming that with any configuration on the latex mattress, if it was right for me, I wouldn’t need an adjustment period. I would be pain free immediately.

I don’t know which way to go now, and my husband’s patience is wearing thin with trying to find the right balance for me.

Sorry for such a long post! Any and all help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

KJHB

Hi KJHB,

While only your own experience can really know for certain whether a particular combination is a good “match” for you because of all the unknowns and variables involved … there is more about the most common “symptoms” that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most likely reasons for them in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

Lower back pain is most commonly a result of a mattress that is too soft and is allowing your hips/pelvis to sink in too deeply. Hip pain is most commonly a pressure point issue coming from a sleeping surface that is too firm but it can also be caused by a mattress that is too soft where your hips are outside of their “neutral” range of motion.

There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress (or a mattress/topper combination) in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.

If I had to guess (which is really all I can do) I would say that overall your mattress may need a little firmer support to help with spinal and hip alignment when you are sleeping.

There are a couple of combinations that may be worth trying before exchanging a layer to see how they affect your sleeping experience.

1… I would try sleeping on your husband’s side for a few nights (with the 19, 28, 36) to see how it affects your symptoms. While it may not “feel” good at first … feel is very subjective and it would be valuable to now how it affects your specific symptoms in terms of pressure relief and alignment regardless of how it “feels” at first.

  1. It may also be worth trying just the single 3" layer of 19 ILD on top of your medium 6" core without putting the 28 ILD on the bottom. Since this combination with the 28 on the bottom seemed to help somewhat … removing the 28 ILD layer may be enough to firm up the support a little more and this would also be well worth trying for a few nights even though your cover will be loose.

Your husband is also right that when you are making changes to a mattress you need to give your body enough time to “catch up” to the changes you are making and to be able to identify a pattern in your experience rather than just the results of just a night or two which can be an anomaly or even the result of change itself.

Phoenix

Phoenix,

Thank you so much for your suggestions and your valuable time in answering my post. I believe you are right in that I may need to “firm up” my mattress. I am going to try your first suggestion and sleep on my husband’s side with the first configuration you mentioned. It never occurred to me to take out the 28 ILD layer completely! If I end up removing the 28 ILD layer and it works, I guess I can just buy a 9" cover!

I also agree that I’ve been too hasty in not allowing myself time to adjust to any of the changes I’ve made.

Thank you again!!!

Kind regards,
KJHB

Hi KJHB,

The other alternative would be to add a 3" layer of ultra firm material (latex or polyfoam) that had the least possible amount of flex to fill in the thickness of the cover that you have.

Phoenix

Hello Phoenix!

Yet again, another great suggestion that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own! If your first suggestion doesn’t work, then I will definitely look into this one because with this, I wouldn’t be losing any height.

Thanks again for all of your great ideas!

Kind regards,
KJHB

I suspect it’s too soft also. Does AZ Premium Mattress have a layer swap program you could take advantage of, or did you already mention that? At your weight, without knowing your body shape, and being a side sleeper, I’m thinking 22-24 ILD for the Talalay comfort layer is perhaps about right. So you’re on the soft side of where you ought to be right now… At least, I have seen other women of similar weight align well on that firmness with similar cores underneath. And, again, it’s just a guess.

Hi LJGMDAD,

They do have layer exchanges available (KJHB outlined their exchange options in their first post) but it’s probably a little premature to consider layer exchanges (and any costs involved) until they have tried some of the other options that they have available that can help identify or confirm the cause of their “symptoms” without exchanging a layer.

There wouldn’t be a lot of difference between 19 ILD and 22-24 ILD in practical terms since most people can’t really feel a difference that is less than about 4 ILD and both are well within a “normal” range for a comfort layer for lighter body weights.

Phoenix

Hello LJGMDAD!

When my husband and I purchased this mattress, AZ Premium did mention that we could exchange any layers. I was thinking exactly what you just suggested, that maybe the 19 ILD was too soft and that I needed around a 22-24 on top. I even called last week and asked if they had a 3" 22-24 ILD. It was suggested that I try placing the 28 on top of the core with the 19 on the bottom, which we did but the 28 felt too firm for me, which is why I decided to post on this forum to get some other suggestions.

For tonight, I’ll try Phoenix’s first suggestion and go from there. But, I agree with you. I realize that what I really need is a little more firmness.

However, now that I’ve read Phoenix’s last post, I guess I’m surprised that I probably wouldn’t feel much of a difference between the 19 and the 22/24. I believed that the latter would really do the trick!

Thank you so much for your input! I really appreciate it!!

Phoenix–Thanks so much for enlightening me!!

Kind regards,
KJHB