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

babyblooz

nickj, we tried a memory foam mattress and we didn't have a minutes sleep on it, because it was just way too hot, and then we got very sweaty, and then just couldn't get to sleep on it, we ended up returning it.

just goes to show you that what suits one person doesn't always suit the other.

Tim_Deegan

Sorry, but there are quite a few things that you have mentioned that aren't quite right:

never_enough wrote: »

Am pretty sure that most places say mattresses are exempt from return unless faulty due to hygiene reasons. Argos may be the same.

There are companies who do give a 100% satisfaction guarantee. These tend to be companies who only sell high quality brands, and have confidence in the products they sell. Otherwise it would cost them too much money.

never_enough wrote: »

The only way to choose a mattress, especially if you have any back issue, is to go & try them in a store.

This is a complete myth. There is no way that anyone can be 100% sure that they have selected the right bed for themselves just from 10 mins bouncing on it in the shop.

never_enough wrote: »

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.

It's true what you say about good quality mattress lasting much longer than 5 years. However some non turn mattresses won't last much longer due to the fact that you can't turn them over so that they wear evenly. There is actually one very well known bed manufacturer whos mattresses seem to last on average only 2 years.

never_enough wrote: »

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:

Traditionally orthopaedic mattresses were just firm mattresses that felt like you were sleeping on the floor except for a little quilting. However there have been a lot of advances in mattress design since then.

We recently sold an Eros and a Calypso mattress to an osteopath. So we asked their professional opinion on the best type of mattress for back support. They told us that most of their profession recommends a combination of pocket sprung and memory foam. They also went on to say that if you can't afford pocket sprung with memory foam, then the next best option is just pocket sprung, and that they are far superior to latex (or reflex) foam and memory foam mattresses that seem to be the most common memory foam mattresses on the market.


You can make some huge savings on mattresses on ebay as long as you follow a few guidelines:
I know that many people are very wary about buying items like beds from ebay. However if you follow a few guidelines then you can save up to 75% on the shop prices:

1) most important of all make sure that the seller gives a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

2) check previous feedback for the seller, and even contact previous customers to ask them about the seller.

3) use a company who display their phone number, so that you can talk to someone about your requirements (they want you to make the righ choice because it will cost them if you return it).

4) check the sellers return policy. Many sellers charge for postage on returns.....can work out very expensive if you have unpacked a vacuum packed mattress, and you don't like it.

5) try to use a seller who delivers using their own transport. Couriers often damage or misplace goods (believe me I know from experience).

Obviously you can't try before you buy, but for the saving it is worth the risk if you follow the guidelines above.


I've been trying to convince people for ages that Argos isn't as cheap for beds and mattresses as many people think. Now I have the proof:j .

Argos sell the Bloomsbury King Size Antique Brass Finish Bedstead for £349.99. We sell the same model under a different name for £178. What you get for your money would also apply to divans and mattresses.

Argos may be cheaper than many high street stores, but compaired to many internet based companies they are still very expensive.

Tim_Deegan

babyblooz wrote: »

nickj, we tried a memory foam mattress and we didn't have a minutes sleep on it, because it was just way too hot, and then we got very sweaty, and then just couldn't get to sleep on it, we ended up returning it.

just goes to show you that what suits one person doesn't always suit the other.

there are a couple of reasons that some people say that memory foam makes you too hot:

1) some manufacturers use very deep layers of memory foam, and tell people that the deeper the foam the better. The truth is that the optimum thickness for memory foam is 2" to 2 1/2". Less than this and it won't be enough to contour to your body. If the foam is too deep, then you will sink into it, and it will wrap around you making you too hot.

2)mattresses with latex foam and memory foam don't allow air to circulate under the memory foam to remove the heat. This obviously isn't an issue with pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses. Memory foam does actually absorb heat from your body which then reacts with it to soften it. So as long as the heat can then disperse there is no problem.

Personally I find that I sweat less with my memory foam mattress than I did with my previous one.

V_Chic_Chick

I know that they are different back problems, but I had a large chunk of my spine fused 22 months ago for scoliosis, and ever since then I have found that sleeping on an airbed has been the most comfortable thing for me. When I say an airbed I don't mean the ones that are mean for a swimming pool, but one that is meant for sleeping on, like this one -


I used to put it on top of my mattress, but now I don't bother, and I just sleep with a bit of plywood over the bed boards and then the lilo.


Also, Tempur do a 60 night free trial and their mattresses are meant to help with back pain - perhaps you could try them?

Tim_Deegan

V_Chic_Chick wrote: »

Also, Tempur do a 60 night free trial and their mattresses are meant to help with back pain - perhaps you could try them?

Tempur are way over priced, over rated, and came out bottom in the which magazine report.

There are other sellers who give a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

milkydrink

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

Sorry, but there are quite a few things that you have mentioned that aren't quite right:



There are companies who do give a 100% satisfaction guarantee. These tend to be companies who only sell high quality brands, and have confidence in the products they sell. Otherwise it would cost them too much money.




This is a complete myth. There is no way that anyone can be 100% sure that they have selected the right bed for themselves just from 10 mins bouncing on it in the shop.




It's true what you say about good quality mattress lasting much longer than 5 years. However some non turn mattresses won't last much longer due to the fact that you can't turn them over so that they wear evenly. There is actually one very well known bed manufacturer whos mattresses seem to last on average only 2 years.




Traditionally orthopaedic mattresses were just firm mattresses that felt like you were sleeping on the floor except for a little quilting. However there have been a lot of advances in mattress design since then.

We recently sold an Eros and a Calypso mattress to an osteopath. So we asked their professional opinion on the best type of mattress for back support. They told us that most of their profession recommends a combination of pocket sprung and memory foam. They also went on to say that if you can't afford pocket sprung with memory foam, then the next best option is just pocket sprung, and that they are far superior to latex (or reflex) foam and memory foam mattresses that seem to be the most common memory foam mattresses on the market.


You can make some huge savings on mattresses on ebay as long as you follow a few guidelines:
I know that many people are very wary about buying items like beds from ebay. However if you follow a few guidelines then you can save up to 75% on the shop prices:

1) most important of all make sure that the seller gives a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

2) check previous feedback for the seller, and even contact previous customers to ask them about the seller.

3) use a company who display their phone number, so that you can talk to someone about your requirements (they want you to make the righ choice because it will cost them if you return it).

4) check the sellers return policy. Many sellers charge for postage on returns.....can work out very expensive if you have unpacked a vacuum packed mattress, and you don't like it.

5) try to use a seller who delivers using their own transport. Couriers often damage or misplace goods (believe me I know from experience).

Obviously you can't try before you buy, but for the saving it is worth the risk if you follow the guidelines above.


I've been trying to convince people for ages that Argos isn't as cheap for beds and mattresses as many people think. Now I have the proof:j .

Argos sell the Bloomsbury King Size Antique Brass Finish Bedstead for £349.99. We sell the same model under a different name for £178. What you get for your money would also apply to divans and mattresses.

Argos may be cheaper than many high street stores, but compaired to many internet based companies they are still very expensive.

Hi Tim,
You say to turn your mattress, I have a memory foam pillow top pocket sprung mattress now, so I can't turn it. Otherwise the pillowtop would be on the bottom.
I do turn it so I sleep on the top to bottom & then the bottom to the top, if you know what I mean.

My hubby has a bad back (has had major back op a few years ago) & he loves it.
But after our last holiday when we had a 6 ft bed, he now wants to get a new one again, a 6 ft wide one. Ours is a tiny 5ft LOL

Tim_Deegan

kimevans wrote: »

Hi Tim,
You say to turn your mattress, I have a memory foam pillow top pocket sprung mattress now, so I can't turn it. Otherwise the pillowtop would be on the bottom.
I do turn it so I sleep on the top to bottom & then the bottom to the top, if you know what I mean.

My hubby has a bad back (has had major back op a few years ago) & he loves it.
But after our last holiday when we had a 6 ft bed, he now wants to get a new one again, a 6 ft wide one. Ours is a tiny 5ft LOL

The only two sided pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses I know of are the Calypso and the Eros (both made by Apollo Beds).

milkydrink

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

The only two sided pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses I know of are the Calypso and the Eros (both made by Apollo Beds).

No, ours just has the pillowtop on one side, so I can't turn it. So does this mean it should last half as long?

I have started hoovering it though & its amazing how much dust (AKA dead skin) comes out, got a Dyson, so I see it all.

Tim_Deegan

kimevans wrote: »

No, ours just has the pillowtop on one side, so I can't turn it. So does this mean it should last half as long?

I have started hoovering it though & its amazing how much dust (AKA dead skin) comes out, got a Dyson, so I see it all.

Yes it does mean that it won't last as long.

dz1

babyblooz wrote: »

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.

Healthbeds Memory Flex is an excellent mattress. It got the highest score out of all the mattresses tested in last years Which magazine test report for memory foam mattresses. It received very high marks in how well it supports the lower back, so that one would be ideal for your husband's back problems. I own it myself and can definitely recommend it for comfort. Mine came with a Coolmax cover, so overheating shouldn't be a problem.

It is quite expensive but will last much longer than a combined spring/memory foam mattress.