Hello,
Last year I went from a sealy premier x I believe because it was a twin size bed and
purchased an icomfort prodigy queen size. I’m now thinking it is causing
me upper back pain. The unfortunate part is I bought the icomfort off of eBay
because i could not afford the 2500 in store price and it was a factory second
because it had scuffs from original shipping. So there is no manufacturers warranty
and no way to return it. I’m 5’10 and about 175lbs. I’m not sure what to do next or
what kind of mattress I should be looking to purchase as I initially liked the feel of
the memory foam and my boyfriend has a memory foam bed that I sleep great on
which I’m assuming is because it is more high quality and perhaps has better density.
I’m also wondering if there is anything out there like the premier x I had? Thank you
for any advice. 
Sarah
Also wanted to mention I’m located in the East Bay Area, CA if that helps at all.
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
Back pain is usually a function of undesired mattress deformation, which is determined by firmness in the short-term, and density in the long-term (low density memory foam will permanently deform over time). It sounds like your iComfort is relatively new so it’s likely too soft or too firm.
Your boyfriend’s mattress is a great place to start. Decide whether it’s firm or soft, then consider purchasing a corresponding high-density equivalent.
Cheers,
Novosbed
Thank you for the reply. The type of bed he has is Sealy Posturepedic TrueForm model which used visco memory foam. I believe they don’t sell that model anymore and I’m not sure what is similar to that. It is somewhat firm but it is also soft it conforms to body shape. I would say it is firmer than my icomfort prodigy.
Hi sarah645,
As Novosbed mentioned … back issues are most commonly caused by comfort layers that are either too thick and soft originally or deeper support layers that are too soft for the person sleeping on the mattress (or layers that have become that way because of the use of lower density or quality materials). This allows the pelvic girdle to sink in too far and “tilts” the pelvis or bends the spine into a non neutral position which can cause the back ache…
A mattress that is too firm can also cause alignment and back issues but this is less common and I would think that “too soft” describes your situation better. Too firm is also easier to “fix” because you can add a topper but too soft means that the most effective solution would be to remove or exchange some of the layers and replace then with firmer or thinner ones which of course isn’t possible with most mattresses.
If your issue is that the mattress is too soft (which seems likely since the Prodigy is on the softer side) then post #4 here may provide some temporary or partial solutions which may help in the short term but the only long term solution would probably be a new mattress.
If you are looking at buying a new mattress … then the first place I would start is post #1 here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make good choices.
You are also in a good area because there are some good quality and value choices available to you in the San Francisco Bay area and the better options and possibilities I’m aware of are listed in post #2 here.
As you can read in post #2 here there are really only three ways to try to match another mattress which is by feel, by design specs, or by equivalence. It may be helpful if you knew what was in your boyfriend’s mattress which could at least give you a starting point but if you don’t then I would “rate” it by the criteria that are linked in this post and then use your more objective ratings for each of the different criteria to decide which mattress was either similar or better. This would give you a much less subjective way to choose a more suitable mattress that is a better fit for you in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences).
Hope this helps.
Phoenix
Thank you for the information Phoenix. I also have a firm mattress which I decided to sleep on last night instead of the icomrfot and my back felt better this morning but I think I need a mattress topper for it so its not so hard as I sleep on my side. I believe the mattress is a BeautyRest Elegance Firm queen size spring mattress. I have tried the 3 inch gel novaform topper from costco on this mattress before and woke up with horrible pain so I know something was not right with that. Can you recommend any toppers that are not too expensive? Thank you for the help.
Sarah
Hi saraht45,
I don’t know the details of the materials that are in your Beautyrest Elegance firm (and Simmons and most major manufacturers don’t disclose much information about the materials they use anyway) and the mattress thatyou use as a base for a topper … and the amount of softer foam that is in it’s upper layers … can affect your choice of topper.
The best way I know to choose a topper is to use your own experience on a mattress as a guideline in combination with the topper guidelines in post #2 here (and especially the posts it links to as well which also include some of the better sources for toppers) which will give you the information and insights that can help you substantially improve your odds of making the best possible topper choice.
Phoenix