Best mattress for chronic back pain? I've tried everything

[phoenix]

Hi vegister,

I put on my bed a 2" topper of “extra firm” 1.44 lb/cu ft. foam that I had around. This should be a vast improvement over the firm mattress, as it squishes down a bit but not too much and reduces the space under my lower back–but I still wake up with that low back pain. I can still easily put one hand under my lower back–so maybe it is still too firm?

While I can’t know for certain and I don’t know the specific firmness of your topper (you only provided the density) … it sounds like it could be too firm.

The upper layers of your mattress need to be soft enough and contouring enough to fill in the gaps in your sleeping profile (secondary support) and keep you in good alignment and the extra firm may be even firmer than the comfort layers of your mattress.

It’s also possible that your mattress or topper may have a soft spot under the heavier parts of your body (hips/pelvis area) so you may be sinking down too far under your hips/pelvis which would also put you out of alignment. If your topper is older and only 1.44 lbs density then this is a good possibility.

It may be worthwhile trying some of the suggestions in post #11 here about zoning to see if putting something under the center third of your mattress to “lift” the hips/pelvis area helps at all which may help you identify the cause of your back issue (at least as far as it relates to the mattress).

Phoenix