Best Mattress for Scoliosis (2023): Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Scoliosis occurs when there is a sideways curvature of the spine. The condition typically occurs during the growth spurt just before puberty. It can also be rooted in conditions such as muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy, but the cause of most scoliosis cases is unknown.

If you are a scoliosis sufferer, sleeping can be a challenge. Without the right mattress, you could find yourself waking up in pain every morning. You might also toss and turn throughout the night.

“We are all aware of how important good posture is when sitting at our desks,” says Dr. Nayantara Santhi. “The same is true when we sleep. We don’t normally consider posture when we go to bed. But a good sleeping position is just as important as having a good sitting posture.”

“A good sleeping position relieves pain, including that of the lower back, and in turn can help you sleep better. This is because sleep posture may influence the load applied to spinal tissues when sleeping. Having a good mattress or pillow can facilitate a good sleeping position.”

Our guide will provide you options for the best mattress for scoliosis as well as tips for how to find the best bed for your sleep needs.

Our Top Mattress Recommendation

View on Amerisleep
Read AS2 customer reviews

AS2 Highlights

• 100-night sleep trial
• 20-Year Warranty
• Designed to reduce pain points
• Heat reducing mattress cover
• Comes in King, Queen, Twin, Full, and Splits

Our Runner-Up

View on Zoma
Read Zoma customer reviews

Zoma Highlights

• 100-night sleep trial
• 10-Year Warranty
• Designed for faster recovery
• Triangulex™ technology promotes healthy posture
• Comes in King, Queen, Twin, Full, and Splits

People with scoliosis will find the multi-layered Amerisleep AS2 one of the most therapeutic options available. This supportive mattress is medium-firm and offers excellent support for those with scoliosis.

Amerisleep offers a 20-year warranty with this mattress. The first 10 years fully protects against manufacturer defects. The second 10 years protect against defects at a prorated charge based on how long you’ve owned the mattress.

Customers will also receive a 100-night sleep trial with any Amerisleep mattress. The company recommends using the new mattress for at least 30 nights before determining whether you’d like to return it. If you’re not satisfied with your bed after the adjustment period, you can return it for free.

How Lying Down Feels

As we mentioned, the Amerisleep AS2 is the company’s medium-firm model, so there’s a touch of firmness but it’s not a hard surface that mimics a board. Recurring words that reviewers used to describe the AS2 include “good support” as the top phrase customers repeat, followed by “comfortable,” “holds shape,” and “durable.”

Some customers also thought the mattress has a “soft feel” for a firmer mattress, so it can be a good for sleepers who want the support needed to alleviate scoliosis without feeling like they’re lying on a brick.

Inside the Mattress

The mattress is topped with a soft, breathable cover that helps keep air flowing throughout. The increased air circulation will prevent any sleep disruptions due to overheating. This cover is also made with specialty Refresh fabric that converts body heat into infrared energy.

The first layer contains 2 inches of Bio-Pur®— this unique, plant-based memory foam is more breathable than traditional memory foam. Its open-cell structure encourages air circulation while you sleep to keep you cool and comfortable.

The Bio-Pur® layer is followed by 3 inches of Affinity foam featuring Harnessing Intelligent Ventilation & Energy (HIVE®) technology. HIVE® contains hundreds of hexagon-shaped cutouts grouped into five comfort zones— the head, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. The HIVE® layer has a cloud-like feel to provide pressure relief to problem areas for those with scoliosis.

Lastly, the 7-inch Bio-Core® layer is a high-density poly-foam to enhance the longevity of the mattress and prevent sagging.

SEE ALSO: Best Medium-Firm Mattress

The Zoma Mattress is a medium mattress designed for athletes and performance-focused individuals, but its design also works well for those with scoliosis.

Zoma offers a 100-night risk-free trial. The mattress also comes with a 10-year warranty providing full replacement and repairs and protecting against structural defects and workmanship.

How Lying Down Feels

The Zoma Mattress balances cushion with lift, thanks to its responsive middle layer and supportive base. Its cool-to-the-touch surface also maintains a pleasant chill as you sleep for a deeper, longer recovery. It disperses heat quickly, ensuring the bed is about just as cool in the morning when you get up as it was when you went to bed.

Inside the Mattress

The first layer is a breathable polyester cover that wicks away moisture and heat, helping you stay cool throughout the night.

The next layer is 2 inches of gel memory foam with Triangulex™ technology. This pain-relieving layer contains hundreds of triangular-shaped segments placed specifically into comfort support zones to reduce discomfort and promote spinal alignment.

Below this is a dynamic response layer of Reactiv™ foam. The 2-inch Reactiv™ layer contours to your body, reducing motion transfer while providing continuous support. This adds “bounce” for greater comfort, but you won’t ever feel like you’re sinking too deeply. When you have scoliosis, you want to relieve pressure while keeping your back in alignment.

Finally, a 7-inch high-density base of Support+ improves the durability of the mattress. It also provides even support and encourages healthy spinal alignment, ideal for those with scoliosis.

SEE ALSO: Zoma Mattress Review

The Vaya Mattress is fairly new, but its quality materials and simple design make it a great mattress for any household and budget. The latex-like comfort foam will keep your spine supported and deter pressure points, two things those with scoliosis need from their mattress.

The Vaya Mattress comes with a risk-free 100-night sleep trial, as well as free shipping, free returns, and a 10-year warranty.

How Lying Down Feels

The Vaya Mattress cushions the body as a sleeper lies down, yet regains its shape near instantaneously after the person moves away. This responsiveness keeps the top layer from feeling overly plush, ensuring that most sleepers won’t feel uncomfortable as they stretch out and prepare for sleep.

Inside the Mattress

The top layer, known as Vaya Comfort Foam, sits under a breathable cover. The open-cell design makes this foam breathable and responsive, so you don’t need to worry about sleeping hot or feeling trapped inside the bed. The perfect medium feel offers a balance of softness and support for side, combo, and some back sleepers.

Beneath the Vaya Comfort Foam is Vaya Base Foam. This thick, sturdy layer minimizes sags and soft spots in the Vaya Comfort Foam while ensuring your spine stays neutral while you rest.

SEE ALSO: Vaya Mattress Review

Scoliosis sufferers who want an all-natural mattress should consider the Natural 11 by Nolah. This mattress features organic textiles, pure natural latex, and recycled steel. Not only does that make it fantastic for those who want natural comfort. It also makes it a more eco-friendly choice, as it’s made with biodegradable and recyclable materials.

How Lying Down Feels

The Natural is a latex hybrid. When you combine springy latex with bouncy coils, you get a mattress that’s almost as responsive as an innerspring—without all the noise and the motion transfer and the sagging.

Unlike the open coils found in most innerspring beds, pocketed coils can move independently of one another. That means this naturally bouncy mattress can adapt much better than an innerspring mattress, and it also means the Natural won’t transfer your motion all over the rest of the bed. The coils will just bounce underneath you.

Inside the Mattress

The Natural features two layers of Talalay latex. The comfort layer is two inches of plush, pressure-relieving latex foam that can contour to your shape and keep your pressure points pain-free. The denser, firmer latex transition layer helps increase buoyancy in the comfort layer and also provides an extra buffer between you and the coils.

The Natural features Nolah’s patented HDMaxTM Tri-ZoneTM coil system. This pocketed coil system offers 25 percent more support than traditional coils to keep you lifted onto the sleep surface. These coils are also arranged into three distinct zones to offer each area of your body its optimum mix of support and pressure relief.

On top of all these layers of comfort, you’ll find an organic cotton cover certified under GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). A GOTS certification means you can rest assured your mattress’s cover is nothing but pure organic cotton without all the synthetic ingredients and processing chemicals you’ll find in other fibers.

Directly under the cotton layer rests a layer of natural wool. Wool is breathable and excellent for temperature regulation. It also provides a natural fire barrier without the need for added chemicals.

The fantastic thing about all these ingredients is they’re recyclable or biodegradable. So when it’s time to replace your mattress, you don’t have to worry about it sitting in a landfill for the next thousand years.

SEE ALSO: Nolah Mattress Review

Scoliosis sufferers may enjoy a plush mattress that hugs their body, relieving pressure points as it does so. When it comes to mattresses that balance softness with bounce, our top recommendation is the Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid. Its soft feel is excellent for side sleepers of all body types.

Amerisleep guarantees the AS5 Hybrid’s quality with a 100-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

How Lying Down Feels

The soft feel of the AS5 Hybrid ensures the owner is transported off to weightless, restful sleep. It’s swift to embrace all of the body’s curves, yet while the sleeper will feel pleasantly enveloped they won’t feel as if they’re sinking too far, thanks to the bed’s responsive pocketed coils.

Inside the Mattress

The Amerisleep AS5 Hybrid is 14 inches high and contains four layers, wrapped in a soft, breathable cover of Refresh fabric.

The first layer is 3 inches of Bio-Pur® foam, a material designed with sustainability and comfort in mind. By using plant-based material with petrochemicals, Amerisleep created a foam more responsive and breathable than traditional memory foam.

Next is 2 inches of Active Flex foam, which adds buoyancy without impacting the bed’s soft feel. Active Flex keeps you from sinking too far into the bed, causing spinal misalignment and other discomforts.

The bed’s support core is 8 inches of pocketed coils with firm edge support. Each coil inside the AS5 is wrapped in fabric to increase motion isolation, keeping one partner’s movements from disturbing the other person. A base layer of foam, an inch-thick, structures the bed and gives the coils a surface to push off from for reinforced support.

SEE ALSO: Amerisleep Mattress Review

Innerspring mattresses are going out of fashion in favor of newer sleep technologies. However, if you just can’t live without the feel of an innerspring, the Saatva Classic uses an innovative design to fix the problems inherent in most innerspring mattresses, namely, their lack of motion isolation, their sagginess, and their inability to contour. That means this is one of the few mattresses that scoliosis sufferers can use comfortably.

How Lying Down Feels

The Classic uses a combination of a thick Euro topper and dual support cores to offer you adaptive and pressure-relieving support. That means when you lie down on the Classic, it can follow the curve of your body as well as any hybrid. This gives you fantastic pressure relief and spine-aligning support.

The Classic might upgrade the adaptability and motion isolation of the innerspring mattress, but that doesn’t mean it loses the innerspring bed’s best qualities. The Classic is still just as responsive and just as cooling as an innerspring mattress, thanks to its open coil bottom support layer. So if you like the breathable and cool feel of an innerspring, you will get it with the Classic.

Inside the Mattress

The top layer of the Classic is the contouring three-inch Euro top with lumbar support quilting to give you more support under your lumbar region. The cover over this Euro top is made of organic cotton for cooling breathability.

Under the Euro top, you’ll find a layer of high-density memory foam for pressure point relief and enhanced back support. This memory foam layer sits on top of the first of two coil support cores.

The first support layer is made of individually wrapped 14.5-gauge steel coils. The layer of pocketed coils gives the mattress adaptability so that it can contour to your curves and keep your spine neutrally aligned. This coil layer also reduces motion transfer because it only responds to your movements. It doesn’t send your motion traveling across the bed.

Below the pocketed coils, you’ll find the open-coil layer. This layer is what gives the bed its traditional innerspring feel. The open coils allow for better airflow to keep your mattress cool from top to bottom. These coils are also ultra-bouncy to provide the same responsiveness you’d find in a regular coil mattress.

The GhostBed Flex is one of the coolest and most contouring beds for scoliosis sufferers who sleep hot. If you want layers of cooling and breathable foam on top of bouncy and adaptable pocketed coils, this is the mattress for you.

How Lying Down Feels

The GhostBed Flex is a medium-firm mattress that doesn’t skimp on the contouring. It offers three layers of pressure-relieving foam to alleviate hip and shoulder joints and follow the curve of your spine for optimal alignment.

These layers of cushioning foam are extra-special because they’re infused with cooling gel. The gel swirls have thermoconductive properties that help pull body heat away from you and push it down towards the coils to be dispursed. That means the Flex is cool to the touch when you first lie down. And it stays cool all night.

Another amazing feature of this mattress is its responsiveness. Not only does the Flex have bouncy coils. It also features GhostBed’s proprietary Ghost Bounce layer. This layer bounces like latex without the allergy risk. Combine the Ghost Bounce layer and the coils, and you’ve got one responsive mattress.

Mattress Construction

The Flex starts off with a quilted cooling cover. The cover itself is breathable, but what makes it truly chilly is the one-inch layer of cool burst fiber woven directly into it. This cool burst fiber keeps air flowing and means your mattress will be cool the second you touch it.

Underneath the cover and cooling fiber layer sit two layers of gel memory foam. The cover and fiber technology give the mattress a cool-touch feel. But the gel memory foam is what keeps it cool all night by pulling body heat away from your skin. ‘

Underneath the layers of gel memory foam, you’ll find the Ghost Bounce layer. This layer works with the coils below to ensure that your mattress springs back into place as soon as you move. So you can toss and turn as much as you like without worrying about body impressions or slow response time.

The pocketed coil support layer works to increase the bed’s bounce and adaptability even further. They also feature an edge support system that doesn’t impede the cooling technologies. Instead of using edge support rails that can impede airflow, the GhostBed Flex uses their Spirited EdgeTM reinforced coil system around the perimeter of the mattress.

On the bottom, the Flex boasts a layer of high-density foam to add stability and durability to the pocketed coil layer above. This increases motion transfer control as well as the mattress’s longevity.

Hybrids are excellent mattresses for keeping cool at night, and coolness is a key factor when it comes to undisturbed sleep. That’s why we recommend the Brooklyn Bedding Sedona Hybrid, which has numerous features to maximize the hybrid’s cooling potential.

The Sedona Hybrid has a 120-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

How Lying Down Feels

What separates the Sedona Hybrid from Brooklyn Bedding’s other hybrid model, the Aurora Hybrid? Well, as Brooklyn Bedding explains, while the Aurora Hybrid’s design focuses on keeping cool, the Sedona Hybrid is designed to provide a luxurious sleep experience.

Stretching out on the medium feel Sedona Hybrid, many reviewers noted there was a pleasant squishiness to the bed, thanks to how quickly it was ready to conform to their bodies. Yet it also felt supportive, allowing them to rise refreshed and free of any little aches and pains that might have troubled them on a lower-quality mattress.

Inside the Mattress

The 14-inch thick Sedona Hybrid has six layers, with the mattress surface consisting of a knit cooling panel to make it easier for heat to escape the bed.

First is an inch of proprietary comfort foam that contours to the body. Next is a 2-inch layer of gel memory foam that increases heat-wicking while also offering responsive support.

An inch of slow-response memory foam forms the third layer, deepening compression for greater comfort. This layer also has a gel infusion for added coolness. This is followed by the fourth layer, a high-density transition foam.

Next is 8 inches of Brooklyn Bedding’s Ascension X® coils. Each coil is wrapped for responsive support and pressure relief, while the design also limits motion isolation. At the bottom is an inch of high-density base foam for a more stable structure.

SEE ALSO: Best Luxury Mattresses

The Bear Pro mattress has a medium-firm feel designed to relieve stress on the hips and shoulders and also support the spine. The mattress contains both copper poly-foam and gel memory foam to relieve pain for those with scoliosis.

The Bear Pro mattress comes with a year-long sleep trial. If you’re not satisfied within this time, Bear will pick up the bed for free and provide you with a full refund.

Bear offers a lifetime warranty to protect against indentations or sagging greater than 1 inch. The warranty also protects against any manufacturing flaws causing the foam to crack.

How Lying Down Feels

The Bear Pro is one of Bear’s softer models, thanks to its thick top of cushioning, cooling foams. However, it’s still a touch on the firmer side, as Bear designs all of their mattresses to fall in the “sweet spot” between medium and medium-firm.

This mattress’s feel still suits most sleepers seeking a supportive yet lightly conforming mattress, but lightweight individuals who prefer their sides may need a touch more softness.

Inside the Mattress

The mattress starts with a breathable, FDA-determined Celliant® cover to promote blood flow, which can help relieve pain. Beneath the cover is a 1-inch thick layer of copper-infused foam to help keep you cool and comfortable at night and reduce inflammation. A 1.5-inch layer of gel memory foam wicks away unwanted body heat.

Beneath the gel memory foam is a 2.5-inch layer of responsive transitional foam to relieve pressure points with balanced support. Finally, there is a 7-inch layer of high-density support foam to improve the durability of the mattress.

SEE ALSO: Mattress Size and Dimensions Guide

Scoliosis sufferers who want the ideal mattress to alleviate their condition should check out the T&N Hybrid. This mattress offers the perfect balance of pressure relief, contouring, and support to relieve back pain caused by scoliosis so that sufferers can get a great night’s sleep and wake up with less pain in the morning.

How Lying Down Feels

The T&N Hybrid features cooling ceramic gel, which is 30 percent more conductive than even graphite. That means this foam offers a cool feel that will keep even the hottest sleepers sweat-free all night.

The contouring and plush foam in the comfort layer also offers a lot of pressure relief. So side sleepers don’t have to worry about waking up with pain in their hips and shoulders. And back sleepers can enjoy the comfort of lumbar support customized to their unique body shape.

Mattress Construction

The T&N Hybrid starts off with a quilted pillow top for extra pressure relief and a two-inch comfort layer of plush T&N Adaptive® foam. These layers work together to create a softer feel in an otherwise supportive mattress. That makes this a perfect bed for those who need tons of pressure relief.

Next, you’ll find a layer of nano coils for extra cooling breathability before you go down to the Mint foam layer that adds even more cooling and pressure relief. After the nano coils and the Mint layer, you’ll find the main coil layer. These pocketed coils feature lots of adaptability and a firmer perimeter for fantastic edge support.

Wrapped around all these layers is the plush and breathable cover. This soft knit cover lets cooling air flow freely around your body while keeping things cozy at the same time.

All in all, the T&N Hybrid features lots of cooling infusions including ceramic gel and graphite. It also boasts carbon fiber foam that can stand the test of time, retaining its shape and resisting body impressions for a full decade.

SEE ALSO: Tuft & Needle Mattress Reviews

What is Scoliosis?

Scoliosis is the unnatural curvature of the spine, in either a “C” or “S” shape viewed from behind the body. A healthy spinal curve should look like an “S” from the side. If left untreated, scoliosis could lead to spinal deformities worsening with age.

What Scoliosis Sufferers Should Look for in a Mattress

Those with scoliosis experience pain in the lower back and neck, muscle spasms, and heat sensitivity, all of which affect sleep quality. The right type of mattress evenly supports the body, relieving pressure points and reducing inflammation of affected areas.

Potential buyers should look at the mattress type, preferred sleep position, and cooling features before committing to a mattress. A few moments of consideration can be the key difference between ending up with the most comfortable mattress for your style or an uncomfortable bed.

Mattress Type

Each type of mattress offers sleepers its own unique set of benefits and drawbacks. While each contains a comfort layer and a support layer, some mattress types may help reduce symptoms of scoliosis better than others.

Memory Foam Mattress

Memory foam mattresses are one of the most popular mattress types on the market today. Memory foam, or viscoelastic foam, conforms to the body’s natural curves to relieve pressure points. Memory foam beds may run the risk of retaining heat, but this is easily fixed through cooling infusions, like gel memory foam, copper, or graphite. Some manufacturers take it a step further by developing plant-based or open-cell memory foam.

A typical memory foam mattress contains a top layer of memory foam and a support layer of high-density foam.

Innerspring Mattress

Most likely, you grew up sleeping on an innerspring mattress. Innerspring mattresses lean towards the firm side with exceptional cooling due to the coiled support layer. The open structure allows for better air circulation within the mattress.

An innerspring mattress contains a thin comfort layer— usually a topper of foam or fiberfill with a support layer of steel coils.

Latex Mattress

Latex foam is either created through a synthetic process or extracted from rubber trees. There are two types of natural latex— Dunlop and Talalay. Dunlop latex is denser and more durable, while Talalay latex is softer and includes a zoned support system from strategically-placed holes in the material.

Generally, a latex mattress contains a comfort layer of latex and a support layer of either high-density foam or latex.

Hybrid Mattress

By combining memory foam and innerspring coils, manufacturers created the perfect mattress— the hybrid. Hybrid mattresses offer the body-contouring pressure relief of memory foam and the cooling and responsive bounce of innersprings. However, hybrids also come with the drawbacks of both materials, including the risk of overheating and less pressure point relief.

A hybrid mattress contains a comfort layer— usually at least 2 inches thick of memory foam with a coiled support layer.

Sleeping Position

Now that you know about different mattress options, it’s time to focus on sleeping styles. This will help you choose the best mattress for scoliosis.

Odds are, you know whether you sleep on your side, stomach, or back. What you may not know is your sleeping position should drive what type of mattress you buy. Manufacturers offer different firmness levels for different types of sleeping positions.

Side Sleeping

If you are a side sleeper, a soft to medium mattress is a good idea— it will give you the support you need as well as enough contouring to let gravity align your spine without sinking too much.

If you have scoliosis and prefer side sleeping, use a pillow between your legs and a rolled-up towel under your ribs. The main goal is to keep your spine as supported and aligned as possible.

Back Sleeping

If you’re a back sleeper with scoliosis, using a thin pillow under your shoulder blades can reduce pressure and ease pain. Look for a medium to firm mattress to offer enough support to ensure you sleep with your spine in neutral alignment.

Sleeping on a bed which is too soft can cause the hips to sink lower than the shoulders and feet. This could cause a host of back problems, including tightness and anterior pelvic tilt.

Stomach Sleeping

If you sleep on your stomach, you will want to consider changing sleep positions. This is especially critical if you have scoliosis, since stomach sleeping places more pressure on the spine.

If you’re committed to sleeping on your stomach, make sure you have a medium-firm to firm mattress. A softer mattress can cause your hips to sag into the bed and throw the spine out of alignment, causing pain. Stomach sleepers can also place a flat pillow underneath the hips to align the spine.

Cooling Features

A cooler sleep environment is key to improving sleep quality. Ideal bedroom temperature for better sleep is 60 to 70 degrees. For those with scoliosis, a mattress with cooling features may reduce inflammation and pain. These features include:

• Plant-based foam
• Open-cell technology
• Gel memory foam
• Memory foam infused with copper or graphite
• Innerspring coils

Other Things to Consider

Can a bad mattress cause scoliosis?

A bad mattress doesn’t cause scoliosis, but it can make symptoms worse. A cheap, unsupportive bed can cause pain and disrupt sleep. So while a bad mattress isn’t a direct cause of scoliosis, it can undoubtedly lead to worsening symptoms.

How should you sleep if you have scoliosis?

Generally speaking, the best way to sleep if you have scoliosis is on your back. This position helps with the natural alignment of the spine and distributes weight proportionally. You can also add extra cushioning to help relieve pain.

For instance, if you have chronic shoulder pain from scoliosis, you can add thin towels beneath your shoulder blades and neck for support. If you have pain in the lumbar area, placing a rolled-up towel underneath your lower back can alleviate discomfort.

Is a firm mattress better for scoliosis?

Firmer mattresses are better than softer mattresses for sleepers with back pain because they can better promote healthy alignment. However, you don’t need a super firm mattress to ease aches and pains. Many sleepers with back pain find medium-firm mattresses the most comfortable.

What’s the best mattress type for scoliosis?

When it comes to soothing pain, our top recommendation is memory foam. Memory foam contours to the body to relieve pressure and prevent pain, so it’s great for easing discomfort in all parts of the body.

Memory foam mattresses with zoned technologies are better for those with scoliosis because the targeted support they offer maintains neutral alignment. Hybrids with memory foam comfort layers are also excellent at adapting to the body, thanks to their responsive support.

What mattress do chiropractors recommend for scoliosis?

Chiropractors typically recommend supportive mattresses that still provide ample pressure relief, such as memory foam, latex, or hybrid beds. From there, choose a mattress firmness based on your sleeping position—side or back sleeping is optimal when you have scoliosis.

Side sleepers need medium or soft mattresses to cushion the joints, such as the AS5 Hybrid, Zoma Mattress, or Brooklyn Bedding Sedona Hybrid. Back sleepers with scoliosis should use medium-firm or firm mattresses, including the Amerisleep AS2, Novosbed, or Bear Pro.

Conclusion

If you are a scoliosis patient, you are likely always searching for ways to relieve your back pain. Your current mattress could be a significant contributor to your discomfort. This is especially true if it is unsupportive or not designed for your sleeping position.

Consider this list when shopping for the best mattress for scoliosis. Take advantage of sleep trials to find a mattress to suit your sleeping position and specific needs, particularly if you choose an online mattress. It is possible to have a good night’s sleep.