Scoliosis low back pain mattress issues

I was having really severe low back pain at night. Could barely get up and walk to the bathroom. Usually fine during the day though. Realized it must be my old mattress sinking in. I’m a stomach sleeper. And I have scoliosis. I tried sleeping on the other side of the bed which was still firmer and that helped a lot. So I decided to invest in a nicer bed. I bought the wink bed luxury firm. But my first night sleeping on it, I woke up the next day with such seriously painful
front rib cage and chest wall. However, no low back pain! But I can’t decide if I can stand sleeping on this for a few more nights to see if it gets better, or if I just made the wrong choice. Any advice on the best mattress for me? How long do I give this wink bed before I give up?

Hi Melgeremu

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I am sorry you are experiencing “severe low back pain at night”. Lower back pain, short of injury or congenital condition, is primarily a result of poor spinal alignment through the lower back (lumbar) and hips so you were right to suspect sagging of the mattress. The fact that you are “usually fine during the day” and the “Sleeping on the other side” experiment confirm this.

There is one more experiment that you need to perform in order to eliminate the foundation as a possible cause for your lack of deeper support and misalignment. Have you checked the support system/foundation under your mattress? What are you using for both a frame and support system under your mattress? Whenever sagging or lack of alignment comes into play, I always suggest a “ground up” assessment to make sure that there is nothing under the mattress that may be contributing to the issue. Bed sizes above a twin should have good center support to the floor to prevent any flexing under the mattress and the people sleeping on it. In all cases … the mattress needs to rest on an evenly supportive base that will not sag or weaken over time under the weight of the mattress and the people on it. You can verify if the support system you are using is appropriate if you place your mattress/spring unit directly upon the floor to see if that makes any difference for you. if you feel any improvement then it is possible that the support system is contributing to the sagging… or … there is a combination of faulty/flexing foundation, the mattress sag, and possible the core layer being too soft for your prone sleeping.

While I’d make sure to perform the foundation assessment with your current mattress as well to eliminate this as a possible cause from the symptoms, you describe it looks like the mattress is unsuitable for your needs and sleeping position. If you sleep truly prone, as you may be aware, this is the worst posture for your lumbar region, regardless of core strength. Everyone needs good deep support to assist with alignment. Your muscles relax a bit when sleeping at night, so maintenance of alignment falls mostly to the mattress itself.

Your choice of a firm version for the mattress is correct for a stomach sleeper, but this does not mean that the product you currently own is a good match for you. It all depends on many interconnected variables and personal stats (BMI, weight, and height) For your stomach sleeping position you may wish to review the guidelines in this [url=Your sleeping style, preferences, and statistics - Your sleep positions - The Mattress Underground] Sleep Positions Article [url] so that you avoid hyperextension in a swayback position that can cause back issues.

There is still a possibility that you may adjust a bit to the mattress and the mattress to you as part of a new mattress adjustment period but it from your description it sounds like the pains are extreme and I would try to find some alternatives while looking for a better match mattress.

A forum search on scoliosis (you can just click the link) will bring up all the forum posts and topics that mention it (along with any linked posts that mention scoliosis in the title) but I would always keep in mind that there is no such thing as a mattress that is “best for scoliosis” or any other health or medical condition … there is only a mattress that is “best for YOU” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP. As mentioned above, each person is unique and a mattress that is perfect for one person with scoliosis may be completely unsuitable for someone else with scoliosis to sleep on if they have a different body type, sleeping style, sensitivities, preferences, or differences in the severity of their scoliosis.

As far as any advice for the best mattress for you I am afraid that you have some leg work to do as your circumstances, needs and preferences are unique to you and what is good for one person in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure Relief, and Personal Preferences) may be totally unsuitable for you.
I’d start by reading the The mattress shopping tutorial here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about how to test a mattress for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices. The weak link of a mattress is almost always in the use of low-quality materials in the comfort layers and if you don’t know the specifics of what is inside your mattress you have no way to identify any weak links in the mattress or make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses so you would be making a completely “blind” purchase much like the winkbed mattress you purchased.

I would completely change the way you are looking for a mattress and if you follow the steps in the tutorial post linked above you’ll have much higher odds of success.

If you are finding products that you are considering e and provide the mattress information listed here to compare the quality of the materials and components to the mattress durability guidelines here and wish a second opinion we’ll be here to guide you

I hope the information provided in this post puts you on the right track when shopping for a suitable mattress
Phoenix