Spinal Stenosis

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

I have Spinal Stenosis which causes me to spend most of the time in bed. When awake I lay on my side to use a computer. I weigh 250. I say all that so you’ll understand when I say I seem to ruin mattresses about every 6 to 8 months. I have an adjustable frame which I raise no more than about 8 inches at the head. My ongoing problem is the hip area. They go flat on me and I start feeing what feels like a metal rod across my hip when lying on my side. I recently learned you can put things between the mattress and base to raise the mattress and provide support when it goes down too far. I’ve used towels and different foam mats for that purpose. That little trick has helped a lot.

I was wondering if there were any suggestions for the best thing to put under the mattress or ideally a mattress that wouldn’t lose it’s support under the hips so quickly. I have been buying from the Original Mattress Factory and they are wonderful until they go bad on me. I can’t describe the pain it causes once they do. I can’t be the only person who has this issue. btw I do flip it about once a month, more often once when they start going. Oh, and I use twin XL’s.

I just ran across this site and love it. Thank you!

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Hi bap,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I’m sorry to hear of your spinal stenosis. I wish there was a product I would recommend that would cure your issues!

With your specific situation, there are a few things you’d want to address.

Placing towels or other items under a mattress that isn’t performing to your needs is of course more of a band-aid, addressing the symptom instead of the underlying problem (materials in the mattress not appropriate for your use).

One thing to consider would be materials that are appropriate for someone of a higher BMI. You spend more time in your mattress than is usual, with a bit more of a specific weight concentration in certain areas, so you’ll want materials that are durable and can provide for you a more extended comfort life. The same overall guidelines apply with those of a higher BMI though that PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) along with using high quality durable materials that will maintain their feel and performance for longer periods of time are the way to make the best choices. Higher BMI people in general will need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter, and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights and prolonged continuous use, the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any types of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about higher BMIs that you should review.

The key will be finding componentry that will be of appropriate quality for your specific situation, which will then give you the best chance at have a successful comfort life, 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. Those in a higher BMI range want to be especially prudent in the choice of their components. For those in a higher BMI range, there is more information about selecting a mattress in the durability guidelines here. Specifically, if your BMI is 30 or higher:

Higher BMI ranges will need more durable materials and components in a mattress and in a BMI range of 30 or higher I would include any 1.8 lb polyfoam or 4 lb memory foam as a “lower quality/density” material (relative to a higher BMI only) and minimize their use to a total of “about an inch or so or less” in the mattress.

Polyurethane foam: If your mattress is one sided then I would look for 2.0 lb per cubic foot density or higher. If the mattress is two sided then I would use a minimum density of 1.8 lbs per cubic foot or higher.

Memory foam (or gel memory foam): If your mattress is one sided then I would make sure that any memory foam is at least 5 lb per cubic foot. If the mattress is two sided then I would use a minimum density of 4 lbs per cubic foot.

As you didn’t list the specific OMF mattress you’ve been using, I can’t comment upon the exact specifications, but it may be that you are responding to the initial settling and loss of false firmness of the mattress(es) you’ve chosen, which will happen more with polyfoams and lower density polyfoams, and this might be something you’d wish to address in your next purchase. It’s possible you may desire something with more resilience and less flex fatigue, and perhaps something along the lines of a latex mattress using either springs or latex for the support core would be more appropriate, or perhaps something using true high resiliency polyfoam (2.5 lb density and at least 2.4 compression modulus).

Overall, I really can’t select a mattress for you, as there are entirely too many individuals variables involved and they can’t possibly be accounted for in any sort of a mattress selection algorithm, so the focus here is upon assisting you with the “how” to select a mattress. To that end, be sure to review the mattress shopping tutorial here, as it provides the necessary steps to assist you through your entire mattress buying process.

Hopefully all of that information gets you on your way to making a more informed decision for your next mattress and helps you to find something that is more appropriate for your application, and if you do come up with more specific questions after reading through this information I’ll do my best to answer them.

Phoenix