Mattress recommendation for back pain

Talk To The Experts DLX Mattress
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Hello! Looking for a DLX mattress recommendation. A year ago I herniated a disc and my wife and I traded our Dreamfoam latex/coil hybrid (too soft) for a firm Saatva Innerspring, hoping the added support would help the back pain. It did not make much difference, and I switched from a lifelong back sleeper to a side sleeper to deal with the discomfort. Now, I regularly wake with shoulder soreness, which I suspect is because our current mattress is too firm. Perhaps we went in the wrong direction

Both my wife and I are side sleepers so we’d probably want something medium firm with a bit more give for the shoulder. I would like to resume back sleeping at some point so something not too soft either. If it helps, I am 180 lb. Our biggest complaint about the Dreamfoam bed we had was very poor edge support, which made the mattress effectively much smaller. Our current Innerspring has great edge support.

Thanks,
Matt

@DLX

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@mstern, thanks for your interest in DLX and sharing your experiences – it is very helpful.

Shoulder pain is often related to the pillow, although a mattress that is too firm can also contribute. It’s best to look for a pillow with the right thickness and firmness that keeps your neck in a neutral position. If the pillow is too soft or thin, causing your head to tilt toward the mattress, it can drive your shoulder into the mattress, creating pressure and possibly leading to shoulder pain.

We believe our mattresses provide good edge support—though your experience may vary. The LatexLux likely offers the best edge support because its primary comfort layer is a 3" piece of latex. Latex is more buoyant, resilient, and supportive than other foams, which should help when sleeping close to the edge.

Keep in mind that a lot of mattresses typically don’t have the same edge support as mattresses with a border rod and edge springs. While rare today, some pocket coil mattresses still use a border rod. The best edge support comes from open coil mattresses with edge springs. I know the Saatva mattress doesn’t use this feature. We don’t have firsthand experience with the Dreamfoam Hybrid, so we’re not sure how its edge support compares to the DLX.

It’s also important to note that the firmer the mattress, the better the edge support, which could explain why the Saatva may perform better in this regard. However, Saatva uses a foam encasement around the perimeter, which can initially help with edge support, but it may break down at a different rate than the springs. In the long run, it might not be as durable. I know @Maverick has opinions on foam-encased mattresses.

Personally, we don’t believe any mattress will completely fix back pain. While some companies market their products as a magic solution, we don’t subscribe to that belief. At best, a mattress can help mitigate some of the pain.

Based on the information provided so far, we’d lean toward recommending the LatexLux in Medium. Plus, your mattress has a zipper, so if needed, we can change out the firmness or adjust anything with the 3" layer.

Hope this helps, and feel free to reach out with any more questions!

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Awesome, thanks for much for the detailed response. If we start our with LatexLux medium on both sides, is it possible to switch to split medium/firm later on?

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Yes, with our 120-night trial and the LatexLux mattress design featuring a zipper, you can change out the layer. If you start with Medium but want the flexibility, we recommend starting with the layers split. This is an off-the-menu item, so if you decide to order, please email us immediately, and we will revise your order to note that the medium layer would be split.

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Wow, I love the secret menu!

Is there any downside to the split? Or strictly better for future flexibility?

Thanks!

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Hi Mstern,
I am going to hijack DLX here for just a minute, as I have ordered this mattress for my MiLaw who has had an artificial knee and hip. She destroyed a BR mattress in less than a year and a half, by sleeping in the same spot as you might expect and 86yo woman to do with limited mobility.

I ordered her a split queen internal comfort, Firm/Med, in a queen. Turns out, she loves the firm side. I check the comfort layer about every 3 months. I thought I would need to flip it. The slept on firm layer was unremarkable! In the same amount of time she created a pothole in her BeautyRest mattress, that she had previous purchased the year and a half prior (without my consultation :rage:) this mattress showed no signs of distress at all. I did pair it with a yawnder4 adjustable base, and DreamFit sheets. The DF sheets were a great accessory for the mattress on the adjustable base as they stay securely in place, regardless of adjusted position.

I am not sure DLX mentioned this, but the foundation and sheet selection can make a profound difference in how any mattress performs. Even on my non adjustable base mattress, the DF sheets make a difference in mattress performance.

I would say that if your preferences of each sleeper indicate a split internal comfort layer, it will provide options long term if one of the sleepers preferences or needs change. Either way, you can always exchange individual or full comfort layers. I would have considered this for my MiLaw, since she only sleeps on one side, in the same position, I found it unnecessary to swap out the individual sides for a single firmness one. For the reasons previously stated.

I am sure @DLX would give you additional details on your question, since I have experienced this mattress for a family member, it was important for me to chime in on that experience.

Maverick

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Thanks, @Maverick. As always, thanks for sharing and I appreciate your help and insight. Feel free to chime in anytime.

@mstern, great question about the split firmness. Like anything, there are trade-offs. The split option is popular with people who have different preferences or those who want to keep their options open.

Why go with a solid piece? If people tend to sleep in the middle and snuggle, they may notice a transition in firmness. With 1.5" of high-density foam above the split layer, it does help mellow out the transition.

The main advantage of a solid piece is the ability to rotate it. Here’s an insider tip for King-size mattresses: typically, a King-size mattress develops a ridge in the middle because no one sleeps in that area, leaving it practically unused, while the parts where people sleep become softer. This can create an uneven feel, making it important to distribute wear more evenly and make use of the middle section.

Although a King-size mattress isn’t a perfect square and is longer than it is wide, you can still address this issue effectively with an unconventional approach:

Rotate the King-size mattress 90 degrees, letting it hang over the sides. Rotate it so that approximately 80 inches of the mattress extend beyond the edge by about 2 inches on both sides. This way, you’ll start sleeping on and utilizing the previously unused middle portion.

While this may seem unusual, allowing the mattress to hang off the edge by two inches shouldn’t pose a problem for a week or two. If you repeat this process every 3 to 6 months for a couple of weeks, you’ll notice a significant improvement over time. It may seem unconventional, but it works.

Again, it’s a matter of personal preference. If having two firmness options is most important, then the ability to rotate and even out the wear won’t matter as much, because one person will still be comfortable.

With our mattress, you can replace the layer down the road if the normal wear or softening becomes too much.

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Ah that’s interesting. I should have mentioned that we’re looking at a queen sized bed, which I’m assuming isn’t amenable to the rotation trick. So maybe the split will give us flexibility without too much downside. Especially if we do a medium medium split, so there wouldn’t be a firmness transition, I would think.

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Sorry about that — most people get split Kings, but we shouldn’t assume things, as we do have customers with split Queens.

With a split medium, there may be some level of transition you can feel. We estimate that 90% of people won’t notice the split layer, but 10% might feel something due to the split.

One thing to consider is how close to the center of the mattress you sleep.

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Got it. In the 120 trial period, seems like we can switch things out anyway, so theoretically even if we got a medium (non split), we could still switch to a split scenario later on?

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FYI, my mother in law’s is a split queen. As a single person, she does not have to worry about the size of each side of the split queen or the section where the two sections meet. Having tested the queen, even with one side firm and the other medium. I was hard pressed to notice the connection point.

Sorry to hijack again. I thought it would be pertinent.

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@Maverick No worries at all, thanks for sharing! That’s great feedback and it’s helpful to know that even with the split setup and different firmness levels, you didn’t notice the connection point much. It can be a common concern, but your experience highlights that it may not be as noticeable as some expect, especially in a queen size. Appreciate you chiming in!

@mstern Yes, that’s correct! During the 120-night trial period, you can switch things out if needed one-time. If you start with a medium (non-split) and later decide you want to switch to a split setup, that can be arranged as well. We do ask that you sleep on the mattress for 30 days to allow your body to adjust to the comfort and for the mattress to break in. After that, let us know if anything is missing, and we might have a few follow-up questions or even some in-home tests to determine how best to adjust the comfort for you.

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Thanks so much for the help! Just purchased a Queen Medium LatexLux. To keep things simple, we’ll just do a non-split and see how we like it and we can always adjust later on.

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You’re very welcome! Congratulations on your purchase of the Queen Medium LatexLux! Keeping it non-split is a great choice to start with, and as you said, there’s always the option to adjust later if needed. Let us know how it works out for you, and if you have any questions along the way, feel free to reach out. We’re happy to help!

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