Pain from my pocket coil + latex mattress...advice needed for new one

[phoenix]

Hi eoren,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

We purchased a King size pocket coil with 2" talalay latex topper in 2011. The mattress was made from a local place that prides itself on quality craftsmanship. My wife loved the firm mattress. Within a year, my lower back was killing me. She’s a back sleeper, I’m a side sleeper. I’m 5’7" and 165lb. It got so bad that I would switch to the guest room and sleep on a saggy but so nicely soft queen mattress that was at least 12 years old at that point.

I’m sorry you don’t like the comfort of your current mattress. From your limited description, it seem that you prefer a bit more surface comfort on top than your wife prefers, which can be quite common with side sleepers.

I decided after much review and online searching to buy a 3" latex topper from the same company. I can’t recall the density of it now. That was in Jan 2016 and the back pain disappeared and was replaced with buttock pain (specifically the pyriformis muscle). I added a feather topper from Amazon but that did nothing.

Without more detailed information it would be difficult for me to formulate the exact caused of your complaints, but it seems that your initial mattress may have been too firm and if the back pain was an alignment issue it could have been from the low back not being supported or contoured to enough. With the addition of the extra plushness, it could be that you have addressed one issue but perhaps now your comfort cradle is too deep and it could be exposing a flexibility issue with your outward rotators and perhaps your hips are sinking in too deeply. But this really isn’t anything I can diagnose via an online forum. There is some information about the many different symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes behind them in post #2 here that may be helpful.

I have finally convinced my wife to buy a new mattress and now don’t know what to get. I think an innerspring is the right choice as we slept on a memory foam mattress at a Air BnB and both hated it. I’m just nervous as everyone raves about latex and my 5" of Talalay did nothing for me.

I wouldn’t necessarily rule out using latex just because the two combinations you selected didn’t meet with your comfort requirements, just as you wouldn’t necessarily rule out memory foam because you slept on a particular one and you didn’t like it. It may very well be that you don’t have an affinity for memory foam or latex, but based on your limited comfort selections in each category I don’t know that you’d need to necessarily make a broad-brush elimination of materials.

As for choosing a new product, I’d recommend starting over with the guidelines presented here on the site, as it’s not possible for me to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

The first place to start your research again is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase (these are the same two articles I linked to earlier in my comments about a higher BMI).

In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.

2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your higher BMI range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

3. Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

If you have other questions after going through this material or testing out products, post them back here and I’ll do my best to be assistive.

Phoenix