BEst kind of mattress for a bad back, and where to buy it from!

babyblooz

We think we may need a new mattress. Current one (was expensive) is about five years old. Hubby has had a problem with his back for a few years now. It feels like sciatica, but its not a nerve that is trapped, but very tight muscles that seize up, so it feels like sciatica. He has spent a lot of money discovering just what it is that is giving him the pain, and now he has physio exercises that he does every morning to help free the muscles up.

He is of the opinion that if he slept on a bare hard board every night, then that would be the best thing for his back, but I tell him otherwise, and that a mattress needs to be supportive in the right places. By the way, I am fine with the mattress as it is, and don't really want to get a new one if we dont need it, as there are lots of things we should be spending our money on right now!!

Anyone bought one recently, and knows what types to avoid, and where the bargains are? We bought a memory foam one before this current one, and it was awful, really hot and sweaty so we exchanged it for this one and hubby had been happy with it up to recently.

I thought about buying one from argos, cos they have a 16 day deal where if youre not happy, you can have a refund, but I don't know if they would be the best place to buy a bed from, as you cant try before you buy.

Oh, and thought I had better mention that out bed is a metal framed bedstead, with metal slats underneath, kind of old fashioned sort of thing.

Any ideas folks?

never_enough

Am pretty sure that most places say mattresses are exempt from return unless faulty due to hygiene reasons. Argos may be the same.
The only way to choose a mattress, especially if you have any back issue, is to go & try them in a store.
Five years is not that long for a good mattress to last. Some people use theirs for twenty or more although I believe an often quoted figure is every ten years to replace a bed. Expensive doesn't necessarily mean good, or long lasting though. I paid over £500 for my last one, turned it every time I changed the bed & still it became increasingly uncomfortable after only about 7 years.
A bed with slats is probably a good firm support which is what most people need. Having a mattress too hard can cause just as many problems as too soft. If he wants to sleep on the floor why not let him & see how he gets on? I did it for a few weeks when I'd had a bad fall. It helped, although getting up & down was quite difficult! :rolleyes:

simgranny

I used to need a firm mattress for my back problems, now I need a soft one - everybody is different.

If your Hubby feels that he would be better off on the floor he obviously needs a firm one. Have you tried the old remedy of putting a board underneath the mattress on his side of the bed? - it works for some people.
qvc do all kinds of matress toppers (and sometimes beds and mattresses)
they do a mattress topper that they call "airflow" because it claims to keep you cool because of the cone-shaped construction.

http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail/walk.yah.UKHG~U077

The good thing about getting something from QVC is that they do a 30 day money-back guarantee. Unlike the argos one, you are allowed to use the item and then return it within 30 days for a refund.

wendym

Is the base wide enough to use two separate mattresses?

Not only do I need a much firmer mattress for my back - I need support that is not altered by the weight of someone else lying on the same mattress.

darich

Slightly off topic but if your hubby feels like it's tight muscles then that's not sciatica.
Sciatica is when the sciatic nerve is affected and pain appears in a location remote from the source. I've had it due to a prolapsed disc - i had sciatica because the sciatic nerve was being touched by the swollen disc and i had a sore leg as far as my knee, sore groin and sore bum...all on the right side.
That may be pretty much what your hubby has but it's not totally clear (or important i suppose! ) from your post

babyblooz

Thanks all, hubby hasn't got sciatica, although he was treated for that initially, it was only after spending lots of money of physio's. private and on the health service, that we discovered that the real reason were his extremely tight muscles catching the nerve!

Have tried sleeping with a board underneath the bed and hasn't made a lot of difference.

Argos, yep, it definitely said that you could try the mattress and return it if its not what you want, although I expect they may try to wriggle out if it in reality. Still, if you can't try before you buy, I expect you would have to have a get out clause.

I wondered if any physio's out there had any advice?

cheekymole

Why don't you order from Argos but keep the plastic on and try for a couple of nights with a cover over the plastic (might be a bit noisy when you turn over though!)

misgrace

babyblooz wrote: »

Thanks all, hubby hasn't got sciatica, although he was treated for that initially, it was only after spending lots of money of physio's. private and on the health service, that we discovered that the real reason were his extremely tight muscles catching the nerve!

Have tried sleeping with a board underneath the bed and hasn't made a lot of difference.

Argos, yep, it definitely said that you could try the mattress and return it if its not what you want, although I expect they may try to wriggle out if it in reality. Still, if you can't try before you buy, I expect you would have to have a get out clause.

I wondered if any physio's out there had any advice?

Slightly off topic too, but just have to comment on your hubbys back, I have had back problems for the last 8 years, and did all the phsio, acupunture, and months doing those poxy excersises etc, spent a small fortune, but in the end had injections.

I think what I have is similar to your hubby, my muscles go into spasms, and the nerves round the muscles go haywire, and everytime the physio fixed it, a few days later it would come back again.

Its like a miracle having those injections, I still have to be careful and not lift anything too heavy which is awkward in my job as a P&D, and get up slower now, and turn slower, but all in all the end result is fantastic.
Perhaps your hubby should enquire at his GP.

Getting back to the mattress, believe it or not I have a softish one, but I always have a meduim pillow under my back, and again this helps a lot.

darich

misgrace wrote: »

Slightly off topic too, but just have to comment on your hubbys back, I have had back problems for the last 8 years, and did all the phsio, acupunture, and months doing those poxy excersises etc, spent a small fortune, but in the end had injections.

I think what I have is similar to your hubby, my muscles go into spasms, and the nerves round the muscles go haywire, and everytime the physio fixed it, a few days later it would come back again.

Its like a miracle having those injections, I still have to be careful and not lift anything too heavy which is awkward in my job as a P&D, and get up slower now, and turn slower, but all in all the end result is fantastic.
Perhaps your hubby should enquire at his GP.

Getting back to the mattress, believe it or not I have a softish one, but I always have a meduim pillow under my back, and again this helps a lot.

Everyone's back problem is very different and i never advise people to do certain things incase what helps me, makes another's problem worse.
Going to the doctor is always the best bet but be careful when advising in case someone takes your advice and causes themself some more harm.

KLB

Everyone's back is different so it would be impossible to advise what mattress to get. I've had back problems down to my mattress also. I saw an osteopath and his advice was to go somewhere like John Lewis and try their beds out, they don't hassle you in there and you can take your time lying on the beds. Then when you've found the type you like, make a note of it and go see if you can buy it cheaper elsewhere.

I haven't bought my new mattress yet, but will be going to John Lewis soon to try them out. The latex mattresses apparently are quite good and if you go for a mattress with springs, the more springs the better. The memory foam mattresses mold themselves to body heat so maybe that's why they were too hot.

nickj_2

i've just got a new rest assured matress , it's got 2000 pocket springs + a 4 inch layer of memory foam , i would rate it as one of the best purchases i've ever made , it's so comfortable and i have a bit of back ache ,
my advice would be to go around to various places and try the matresses out