A Firm Simmons Beautyrest Mattress, Latex Topper Sleep System for a man with scoliosis in The UK.

Gavin writes:


Hi Peter
Many thanks for the last email. I took a while to digest its contents, hence the lengthy delay before reply.

I wondered if I might ask a question regarding pocket sprung mattresses and scoliosis. I have tried 13 mattresses in the last 3 years. (Custom foam slabs (1), pocket sprung (5), open coil (7) )

I have, (viewed from my rear), a left spinal curve in lower back and a right curve in upper back. The upper right curve is malformed vertebrae and immobile.

The lower left curve is compensatory and formed of normal vertebrae. Overall my trunk is shortened by approx. 6 inches. Viewed from rear it is 'S' shaped.

I tend to lie on my left side and my mattress sort of holds in the left curve. Because the springs are joined together, an opencoil mattress (correct me if I am wrong ;) ), 

has a limit on how much spring can be compressed relative to pocketed springs
But in a pocket sprung mattress I think the independent depression ability of individual springs means my left side can push in more?

I have come to believe that the apex of the left curve of my side can depress the spring at B more in a pocket sprung mattress than on an open coil mattress due to the independent nature of the springs. 

This is a simplistic way of describing things as the left side may be on more than one spring at a time but I hope it gets the point across.

My old and now dead mattress was an open coil very heavy and firm mattress. The surface had not much in the way of tufts and was fairly flat.

(Ability to make a lot of contact with the mattress also seems to be important.) It generated a large amount of force up into me as I sleep and, using 2 firm pillows under head, ensured nightly correction of the spine. 
(The force was so much it compressed nerves but I’ll leave that for now)

Multi-zone open coil (by Sealy and Silent Night etc) I think the problem was not fixed with a 3 zone Sealy posturepedic (still an open coil) for a different mattress related issue. 

This issue concerns needing a consistently similar force applied upwards to me all along the mattress and not a differential in the centre of the mattress. 
(Actually I find my fascia is pulled tight on a 3 zone mattress and I begin to wheeze until I can't really breathe.)

So in conclusion, a 1500 pocket probably won’t work ever. A 3 zoned open coil won’t work mentioned above. A good open coil could work, but I found it very hard to get one that was
-Firm enough, or-Had enough quality of filling material that it ‘made contact’ fully with me, the sleeper. (I have 3 mattresses in my bedroom , and one is an open coil that is firm enough but you can feel hard bits of stuff though the surface. 

I was not able to think up a way to fix it save ripping off the entire filling an upgrading it which I can’t do).
Would you have any advice and much thanks for reading!
Gavin

Hi Gavin,
Nothing Sealy makes will help you. They have been owned by Tempurpedic since 2013 and it will be the memory foam they now use, that will cause you pain.

Concerning the coil units.
Scoliosis is difficult to accommodate. The curve can go side to side or front to back.
Which coil unit to use will depend upon your preferred sleeping position.
As a back sleeper with a side to side curve, the interlocked coil units are best. For a side sleeper, a pocketed coil is best.
Even so, a pocketed coil unit needs to provide so degree of firmness to keep every thing in place over the long term.

Scoliosis is not correctable with the mattress you buy. The mattress is not a fix. So, you have to focus on support and comfort.
After-all, getting a good night's sleep...night after night...year after year, is the point of this exercise. 
In your case, the contouring support of a firm Simmons Beautyrest, where the coils actually do move independently from one another, is your best choice.

The Simmons coils are barrel shaped, pre-compressed into the pocket, the pockets are heat sealed in the center for independent movement.
The Sealy pocketed coils are hour glass shaped, not pre-compressed, heat sealed at the top and bottom, and do not move independently from one another.
It's a cheap copy of the Simmons.

Simmons also uses memory foam in their mattresses. The difference being that it's more resilient, less temperature sensitive, and doesn't off-gas the chemicals from which it's made.
I'm not saying that it's good memory foam. There is no such thing. It's not as bad as the memory foam that Tempurpedic uses in their Sealy & Stearns & Foster models, which is far worse.
We recommend a firm Simmons often because of the benefit provided by their coil system. But when we do, we also recommend a latex topper to go with it.
The latex topper is all natural and has been thee best upholstery material available for the last 100 years. It will absorb much of your body weight and the mattress will last longer because of that.
It will also insulate you from the memory foam, which will allow you to sleep cool.
You should be able to find in the UK:
1) Simmons Beautyrest World Class, luxury firm tight top. (Simmons is international)
&
2) Pure Bliss 2" Soft Talalay Latex Mattress Topper. (Pure Bliss has a factory in London)

You will enjoy, for many years, the support and comfort they provide.

Thanks, Pete

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