Mattress for back pain

[kingrollo]

Unfortunately my back pain returned with a vengeance !
Whilst I am not expecting a mattress to cure a knackered spine - I wonder if anyone has any decent recommendations for a reasonably priced mattress?

Disclaimer: GP and physio in the loop .

 

[vickster]

I have a nice firm Hypnos one from Furniture Village. Only company open for bed purchases when I ordered during the pandemic!
However, you (and your partner) should go and lie on as many as you can before you buy!
Personally I can't stand memory foam, only a high quality pocket sprung

 

[Dave7]

I have had what you call a knackered back since 1966. A lifting accident at work before the days of being taught how to lift.
I was told to get a firm mattress which I did......it lasted a month before going to the spare room.
I then went to an independent store and talked it through with the owner. Tried the one he recommended......perfect.
My back still 'goes' and did so 2 weeks ago but I now get a comfortable sleep.
So.........my advice, go independent as they are not paid commission and can give you good advice.

 

[wafter]

I'm currently enjoying this rollercoaster and have now committed to spending more than my car cost on a mattress...

It appears that mattresses are pretty subjective as well as bloody expensive, so it seems essential to try before you buy. I was recommended the local Dreams (would rather go with independent but not really sure there are any left round here) and tbh was pretty impressed. They have a diagnostic machine you lie on that looks at load points etc and makes suggestions which you can then test out; based on the result of the test and the bits you identify as most knackered.

The last time "I" had a new mattress was when my ex did all the homework and bought a memory foam thing (which was being pushed hard at the time). This was OK but during testing this time I ended up preferring a decent med-firm pocket-sprung job with a thin foam top - all the deeper foam jobs seemed too soft and I didn't much like the feeling of sinking into them..

General consensus is that for a knackered back you want something pretty solid and the one I ended up committing to felt noticeably more supportive than the others I'd tried when lying on my back.

Another thing worth noting is that the bigger places seem to constantly offer discounts / promos... the bloke who took me through it all in-store suggested that I check the website on Sat / Wed for promos and sure enough they did a 10% off offer over the weekend. I imagine these are regular and if you took a step back and bide your time you could probably get a signifcantly better deal than the regular offerings; however in my case I need it ASAP so I was happy to take the 10% and run.

The dude who handled my order also forced upon me a "free" topper and I suspect if you haggled hard in store you could probably get a good deal of stuff thrown in, although I imagine that peripherals are high-margin and if paying money for pillows, duvets etc you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

 

[Bonzothechippy]

I spent near £1400 on a firm bed. What a total waist of good money. All I got was back pain throughout the night.
Six months ago I spent £1200 on a decent Templar mattress, absolute dream to sleep on, never had any pain in the back at night since. I’m sure is doesn’t mean the mattress works for everyone. Many people have different back problems, best test at dreams first, then search the net for a good price👍

 

[Electric_Andy]

My partner and I both have bad backs, she has it worse than me and also bad hips. We bought a firm one years ago, we've had memory foam and sprung, but nothing seems to make a difference. The eureka moment for me was using a firm pillow under my knee i.e I sleep in the recovery position with a pillow supporting my bent leg. Have you tried different positions before buying an expensive mattress?

 

[Tenkaykev]

https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/feb/06/how-i-tested-mattresses

 

[vickster]

The base is also as important as the mattress as I was told by the orthopaedic surgeon who fixed my back 30 years ago. Pillows are also incredibly important to put you in a good position when asleep 👍

 

[Chief Broom]

I can only sleep on something very firm or im in serious pain. A camping mattress which has long lost any air containment [its hard!] is perfect and i never get any disc slipping trauma. When someone with back trouble buys a super soft 'comfy' mattress it makes me wince as imho thats the worse thing they could do. *
* though im no authority on back troubles only what works for me

 

[JtB]

Two single mattresses joined together rather than one double mattress works better for Mrs JtB and myself. We have a couple of Slumberland pocket sprung mattresses; one firm and the other extra firm with me sleeping on the extra firm mattress. We tried quite a few memory foam mattresses all of which were agony to sleep on before finally deciding on a pocket sprung mattress. As someone mentioned ‘up thread’ a good base is essential to a comfortable night’s sleep so we ended up having to get rid of our slatted bed and replacing it with a more supportive (hard board type) base. Before getting rid of our old slatted bed I tried re-slatting it, but there was nothing I could do to make it comfortable. Finally, even though I ended up hating memory foam mattresses I did end with a thin memory foam topper on top of each of the pocket sprung mattresses to make the firmness of the mattresses more gentle on the hip and shoulder. After using this configuration for about 3 years I still find it very comfortable, however I am careful to rotate the mattresses (and toppers) frequently and I also do a bunch of back/neck stretching and core strength exercises before going to bed most nights.

PS. Personally I wouldn’t go for any mattress with an integrated topper as I would imagine that after a while the soft topper could end up with a permanent indentation where you sleep which could become uncomfortable. At least with separate toppers you can replace them without having to replace the entire mattress.

PPS. Also, two single mattresses are easier to rotate than one king size mattress which I don’t think I’d be able to do with my back.

 

[fossyant]

Two single mattresses joined together rather than one double mattress works better for Mrs JtB and myself.

We definitely should have done this. I liked our really expensive Tempur mattress I bought, after breaking my spine. Only lasted a few years as MrsF hated it. We've something else now that she picked, and it's no good for me, even worse now I have a broken pelvis.

 

[Marchrider]

terrible spinal injury 17 years ago, started sleeping on an "egg box foam mattress" on the floor, been there ever since - I sometimes sleep in a bed with the wife and when staying in hotels etc, but sleeping on the floor on this very thin mattress is where I'm the most comfortable. A few nights in a proper bed is about all I can tolerate.

All back problems are different, what works for one person may be terrible for someone else

 

[lazybloke]

I occasionally suffer from upper back pain, and seem to need a very firm mattress combined with a memory foam topper.

Both supplied by Ikea, after a looooooong search in other shops.

 

[Sharky]

We've been using Emma mattresses for the last few years. We don't have any significant back issues, but they offer a 200 night trial and free returns. The 200 night trial might be an option of interest.

 

[Lightning CycleQueen]

I have had what you call a knackered back since 1966. A lifting accident at work before the days of being taught how to lift.
I was told to get a firm mattress which I did......it lasted a month before going to the spare room.
I then went to an independent store and talked it through with the owner. Tried the one he recommended......perfect.
My back still 'goes' and did so 2 weeks ago but I now get a comfortable sleep.
So.........my advice, go independent as they are not paid commission and can give you good advice.

What independent store did you go to?