I have a surgically repaired lower back and shoulder and I am a side sleeper. I’m about 6 feet tall and 190 pounds. I just purchased a Helix Midnight Lux mattress, which has a firmness of about 6 and is good for my shoulder and hip but I wake up every morning with a sore lower back. I had a firmer mattress before that had been causing me a bit of shoulder and hip pain, but no back pain. I am looking for a firmer mattress than the helix, but one that would cradle my shoulder and hip.
I have tried in the store the Helix Twilight Luxe and WinkBed Luxury Firm and find they feel supportive for the back but not so much for shoulder. I also tried the Leesa Sapira Chill firm and it felt firm/supportive to the back and ok for shoulder.
Hi Kittp, welcome to the community!
What would happen if you placed a board under the mattress to firm it up a bit? And/or added a topper for cushioning if it is too firm. I will let someone else address the mattresses.
What you are experiencing does not surprise me, since I see it so frequently. It was why I worked nearly 20 years on designing the best mattress to address the low back, while still reducing pressure in the shoulders and middle to upper spine. As a Doctor of Chiropractic, I have always wanted to ensure that any mattress I design will offer pressure relief and to do that properly, the mattress has to contour your body. Unfortunately, most of the time that leads to a hammocking of the low back and hips, since that is the heaviest area of most individuals.
With the Back Science mattress, I helped create a special interlocking specially zoned Lumbar-Flex support and I have been able to test and verify that it really does work to produce the most optimal alignment thanks to hundreds of customers that I have measured using the Mattress Checker sleep posture App. In your case, you are a side sleeper, so I would recommend the Back Science Series 3, which offers a much higher level of shoulder pressure relief, while still giving you that unprecedented spinal support. If that doesn’t work for your budget, then I would look into the Back Science 2, which will still be good for reducing shoulder pressure, but not quite to the level of the Series 3.
Either way, please note that while a recent survey we had Trust Pilot run found that 97% of our Back Science mattress customers felt that the Back Science mattress reduced their back pain, we also have 365 Night comfort guarantee, with completely free customizations. So, you don’t have to just discard the mattress if it does not work the first time and those comfort or firmness adjustments usually work perfectly when needed. I hope that helps, but feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions whatsoever!