Nightly hip pain and after sleeping on a Leesa mattress: what next?

[phoenix]

Hi COJ,

I’m 5’7", 140 pounds and even though I have slight sciatica issues I don’t experience back pain during the day

I’m sorry to hear that you’re still not sleeping well. I remember you have bulging discs in L4-L5. Even if you don’t have pain during the day, the forces upon your spine are of course different than when lying upon your side.

I have also made myself a small latex pillow that I use in the crook of my waist as it seems to help but not enough to sleep through the night.

Depending upon the mattress you’re using, this can help or exacerbate your issues. A mattress that is too firm, not allowing your hips and shoulders to sink in enough, will cause an area to be poorly supported in the lumbar region and a small pillow in this area, as long as it is not too hard, can be assistive. If the mattress overall is too soft, using this pillow can actually make things worse, as it could sharpen the angle of the thoracic/lumbar junction.

So far I’ve tried:

1. a too firm 100% latex mattress. Aside from pressure points + scapular pain and arm numbness I really did not like the bouncy feel of latex which felt like a constant vibration to me. I hurt everywhere.

I remember this mattress, and as I surmised a few years ago, it seemed to be both too firm of a core and not enough surface plushness (both in amount and ILD), and the change from 21 ILD on top to 32 ILD was unfortunately a step in the wrong direction.

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2) a 3 yr old (ish) coil medium firmness mattress made by a local manufacturer and tweaked until I lost patience. Not only did the manufacturer adjust the comfort layers but I purchased a 2" 4lb density memory foam topper and also a high density 1" poly foam topper. I’ve tried every conceivable combination with these and the two toppers together (ie softest) are the worst even though they initially feel like heaven
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Again, as we talked about in 2015, I’m not sure of the layering in this product so I can’t comment upon this configuration. However, it does sound like the addition of a softer surface comfort layer in memory foam was advantageous, at least for a while.

3. Lastly; the Leesa. I actually liked the Leesa better than my coil mattress after having slept on it for almost 1 month. My husband thought it was firmer than our old mattress and we ended up putting our 2" memory foam topper on it for more softness. It still wasn’t “the one” so we returned it. My pain is worse now that I’m back to the coil.

Having some softer material on top, allowing you to “bend into” the mattress a bit more, but with a gentler support core, seems to be pointing you closer to the right direction. I had mentioned in 2015 about using some less resilient materials on top (like memory foam) and this seems to have provided some slightly better results. Adding the memory foam topper might have been too much surface plushness, as that would have been a total of 6" of very soft comfort material on top of the mattress. Perhaps something using memory foam in the upper layer and either a second layer of memory foam or a softer high-density polyfoam as a transition layer might be worth investigating. Another suggestion that I mentioned previously that might be helpful in more difficult situations is some kind of zoning (see post #11 here ).

Unfortunately, as I stated before, I can’t feel what you feel or see you sleeping on the mattress and there are so many variables or possibilities involved that without much more detailed and specific information it’s not really possible to make any specific suggestions based on “theory” in situations such as yours that involve a combination of your mattress and more complex medical issues. It does seem that you are responding better to less resilient materials in the upper comfort layers (memory foam) and deeper support layers like a polyfoam core versus a spring unit.

Have you investigated working with a health professional that is familiar with your specific health situation and also familiar with different types of mattress materials and construction that may be able to provide some suggestions?

My question is: Does it matter if the mattress underneath the topper is medium or firm - does the topper itself determine the mattresses’ firmness or is the reason that more toppers = more pain that I’m then sinking into something not soft enough? Does this make sense?

The layers closest to your body (the uppermost layers) will have the greatest impact upon your comfort and be the most noticeable when changed in a different design. The deeper layers will have less of an impact upon the perceived surface comfort, and they primarily contribute to the overall support and alignment. I know I’ve linked to it previously for you, but 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”.

While it might be more information than you desire…all the layers of a mattress actually compress simultaneously not sequentially and they will each compress to different percentages of their thickness depending on their position on the mattress, the firmness of each layer, the compression modulus of the material, the thickness of each layer, and the compression force that they are exposed to (which depends on the weight of the part of the body in contact with the mattress and the surface area that is bearing that weight which is constantly changing as you sink into the mattress more or change sleep positions).

While “going through” a layer is commonly used as a way to explain things because there is a different amount of force that “goes through” a layer and compresses the next layer of the mattress depending on the hysteresis of the material (how much energy it absorbs) and on how point elastic the material is (how much compression affects or is affected by the surrounding areas of the layer) … it would be just as accurate to say that you will “feel through” the top layer meaning that you will feel the properties of the next layer down to different degrees. Every layer of a mattress affects and is affected by every other layer in the mattress to different degrees.

The compression of each layer (mainly controlled by thickness, firmness, compression modulus, hysteresis, and position along with a few other specs) are what creates the pressure relieving cradle of a mattress in the top layers which re-distributes weight and pressure on the bony prominences and pressure points of the body while the resistance to further compression of the deeper layers is what “stops” the heavier parts of the body from sinking down too far and putting the spine and joints out of their natural alignment. The balance between the opposing needs of pressure relief and spinal alignment is the main factor behind all mattress design and theory and why different mattresses match the body types and sleeping positions and preferences of different people … or don’t. You seem to be leaning toward a bit more substantial less resilient surface comfort.

There is no formula that can predict with any certainty what type of layering you may do best with that can possibly be more accurate than your own personal experience and that was why I recommended you seek out something local with the ability to customize or exchange, and plan on spending a decent amount of time (at least 30 minutes) testing any particular configuration.

I know this isn’t a specific answer of, “Go out and but mattress XYZ,” but if such an answer was possible I certainly would give it to you in a heartbeat! .

I hope that information has been helpful to you, although I know some of it was a little repetitive from a few years ago.

Phoenix