Finally, wake up pain-free again!

"I always wanted to become a professional," says Roman Schaad (26) from Unteriberg (SZ), who was practically born into cross-country skiing thanks to his parents’ involvement in the sport. He completed his first World Cup race at the age of 20, and today he belongs to the sprint world elite.

Roman, at that time still a belly sleeper, had a relatively soft mattress. His sofa was much firmer, so he decided to sleep on it for one night. "It went so well that I slept on the sofa for almost a year afterwards." But the back pain came back again. The away nights at competitions were especially bad, because the mattresses were often too soft for him there as well.

To ease the pain, Roman left no stone unturned: "I tried to support my hips with extra pillows under the mattress." He changed from sleeping on his belly to sleeping on his side and tried to achieve more stability through additional training of his core muscles. But even that was of little use against the pain.

Roman was already enthusiastic about swissbiomechanics (a collaborative partner of Swiss Sleep Science at Sihlcity in Zurich) due to previous experience with custom insoles for his shoes. During an appointment his back pain came up in conversation. "swissbiomechanics drew my attention to the new back and sleep position analysis from Swiss Sleep Science. When they also explained to me that they were collaborating with riposa on this I became curious.”

After the analysis Roman received a personal Sleep ID with detailed information about his own biomechanics when lying down. On the basis of this data, Swiss Sleep Science advised him to choose a mattress that provides good support in the pelvic area.
"The first two nights on my new mattress took some getting used to. I had the feeling that my shoulders were lower than my hips. However, I felt that I was well supported in the pelvic area and my shoulders were able to sink in properly. Previously, I had a lot of pain in the morning when waking and getting up. I found sitting especially difficult. But the pain has subsided in the meantime and I can also sit in the mornings without any problems. Besides this, I also sleep much better when I'm away from home. I think my back is just generally stronger and better recovered."

"I am not 100% pain-free because of my physique. But the situation is much better now. When I go to bed at night I can now rely on waking up refreshed again. In addition, I can also dare to do more in training again. I can do jumps again, and traditional races. After intensive training weeks and overnight stays away from home I feel increased pain in my back. In these situations, however, physiotherapy is sufficient and I feel well again.

Undergoing analysis at Swiss Sleep Science and changing to a new mattress were definitely worthwhile for me. I can recommend it to anyone."