Question
Hi Dr. Biggs,

My 20-yr old son has mild scoliosis and we're about to buy him a new mattress. Do you have recommendations as to brand, firmness etc? Is there a special mattress pad that he should have?

Thanks very much!
Sharon

Answer
Dear Sharon,

This is the question that I get all of the time in private practice, and the truth of the matter is that there is no one particular mattress that is the best for everyone. I wish that there was a more solid answer, but there just isn't.  Some patients have loved the feel and support of water beds, others hate them. The same can be said for memory foam, box springs, etc.

I generally encourage a more firm mattress.  I currently sleep on a conventional box-spring mattress myself, but have thought that if I were to replace it, this is what I would do...

1) Find a select comfort or other air mattress bed, preferrbly one that has little or no cover on it.  This way, the firmness is adjustible through adding more air or releasing some air.

2) Purchase foam, sheep skin, or memory foam mattress toppers to adapt the comfort of the surface to my personal preference.  I would do it this way so that I could throw away or change the mattress toppers as needed. This is the part of the bed that breaks down first under heat and pressure. Also, if your son finds outs that he hates the memory foam pad, for example, you can easily change it to an "egg crate", or other mattress topper with minimal expense.

I hope that this helps you a little bit.  I wish that it were a more definitive answer.

Good luck, and I hope and pray that your son is minimally affected by the scoliosis.

Dr. Biggs

www.eastmesachiropractor.com