Can A Soft Mattress Cause Shoulder Pain

Back Neck And Shoulder Pain From A Tempurpedic Memory Foam Mattress

HomeImportant BlogsBack, Neck and Shoulder Pain from a Tempurpedic Memory Foam Mattress.

Hi Pete,We have a Tempurpedic mattress, which has not been very pleasant to sleep on. After several months of discomfort, we purchased a three inch memory foam topper, with memory foam pillows, thinking that was our problem. This situation has worsened and the bed is sleeping hot. I now have neck pain and shoulder pain, and my wife has lower back pain and shoulder pains. Both of our arms and hands tend to tingle and fall asleep. Im currently up typing this, because I can not sleep, due to the severe pain in my left shoulder and left side of my neck. Ive noticed you mentioned using a latex topper.Will that help us and why would it help our situation. Please help, we are in pain!!! Thanks, Charles

Exploring The Reasons For Sore Shoulders

Aching shoulders can be caused by a wide variety of different conditions. A common reason is rotator cuff injuries where the muscles, tendons and shoulder joints of the rotator cuff have become strained or torn leading to dull aches that make sleeping on your shoulder without considerable pain impossible.

Shoulder bursitis is another reason. When the fluid sac that protects your rotator cuff tendons, called the bursa, becomes inflamed it causes swelling, redness, and pain.

Frozen shoulders can also make joints become stiff and painful. This is often more so at night, making a restful night unattainable and leaving sufferers uncomfortable in the morning.

Shoulder impingement syndrome involves your shoulder bones encroaching on the tendons or bursa which can cause your arm to become weak. Like a frozen shoulder, the pain will often get worse at night-time.

Tips To Avoid Shoulder Pain From Sleeping Side

How do you sleep at night? If youre a side sleeper who sleeps on their left side, pain in left shoulder blade could be eased by sleeping on your opposite side. Remember to put a pillow behind your back to prevent you from rolling over to the affected shoulder in your sleep.

How to sleep on your side without hurting your shoulder:

• A quality pillow under your head will support the delicate neck area, preventing additional pain radiating to the shoulders
• Dont sleep on your stomach as this puts your shoulder out of alignment
• a pillow between your knees helps to align the hips
• Sleep on a soft and supportive mattress that provides pressure relief

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What If You Can Only Sleep On Your Side

If you can’t bring yourself to change sleep positions, we highly suggest you invest in a mattress topper for side sleepers. These types of mattress toppers are generally soft and supportive and can help alleviate some of the shoulder pain associated with sleeping on your side.

If you have pain while sleeping, let us know! We may be able to recommend a good product to help you sleep better. But in the meantime, make sure your shoulder pain isn’t another underlying issue and try out some of this advice to help alleviate some of the pain.

Courtney is the reason The Sleep Shop exists. Shes a Seattle native with a passion for healthy sleep. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a major in marketing. She started The Sleep Shop to help friends and family choose a good mattress, and helped grow the site to what it is today. She does most of the product testing and reviews.

How I Chose These Mattresses

This guide is meant to provide you with some options to consider as you try to reduce the amount of shoulder pain you experience at night. To that end, I focused on mattresses specifically built to offer pressure relief and support. Take a look at my picks below, and check out the end of the article for more information on how to choose a mattress for shoulder pain.

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Best Hybrid Mattress For Shoulder Pain: Zoma Hybrid

The Zoma Hybrid is a highly viable option thanks to its great pressure relief capabilities. Zoma built their hybrid model to help people sleep deeper, boost muscle recovery, all while staying cool and comfortable. The medium-soft Zoma Hybrid is 12 inches thick and contains three unique layers.

Covering the mattress is a stretchy AirCloth, a moisture-wicking fabric designed to maximize airflow and keep sleepers cool.

The top of the mattress contains 2 inches of gel-infused foam with Triangulex technology. The foam features triangular cutouts to provide targeted support and evenly distribute body weight to keep the spine aligned.

Up next is 2 inches of Reactiv foam. This transitional layer adapts to your movements and springs back into its original shape quickly. This prevents people from sinking and makes it easier to shift positions in bed.

The Zoma Hybrid has a 7-inch pocketed coil support layer. Each coil is wrapped in a lightweight fabric, minimizing motion transfer and noise. For couples, motion isolation is important so you wont disturb your partner. The coils also provide excellent edge support, making getting in and out of bed easier.

You have 100 nights to try out the Zoma Hybrid at home. The mattress also comes with a 10-year warranty for defects and sags deeper than 0.75 inches.

ZOMA HYBRID

The Best Sleeping Position For Shoulder Pain

Your shoulder is what the doctors call a ball-and-socket joint. This means that the top of your upper arm bone is rounded – the “ball” – and it rotates around in the concave part of your shoulder blade – the “socket” – leading to the range of motion your shoulder has. That ball is kept in the socket by a bunch of muscles, soft tissues and tendons.

The group of muscles and tendons around your shoulder joint is called your rotator cuff. When these muscles and tendons are strained by laying in one position for a long time , this is broadly called a rotator cuff injury. One type of common rotator cuff injury involves the strain of the rotator cuff tendons by an awkward sleep position: aka, “sleeping on it wrong”. The compression of your shoulder into an unforgiving mattress can also restrict blood flow to your arm, resulting in the pins-and-needles feeling. These various issues with side sleeping can make you wake up sore, or worse, interrupt your sleep.

What can you do to remedy this? If you have shoulder problems, try a different sleeping position to relieve the injured shoulder of having to support your weight, which will help it heal faster. To get the pain relief you need without creating more injuries, you should try to sleep on your back, because it will help your spine remain aligned while keeping your weight off your injury.

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So Why Do My Shoulders Hurt When I Sleep

Most of us go to bed in the hopes of having a good nights sleep, right? When we wake up with shoulder stiffness or pain in the middle of the night or morning, its only natural to wonder whether our sleeping posture caused the problem.

If your shoulder feels out of whack after sleeping, it is very likely that the pain is being caused by poor sleep hygiene and improper sleeping positions. If you dont sleep in a neutral position, you are putting excess pressure on your cervical spine as well as on your neck and shoulder muscles, which is why you wake up in pain.

Heres what to remember when choosing a sleeping posture for you:

Is My Mattress Making My Shoulder Hurt

Getting a good nights sleep allows us to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go about our day. We all need proper rest in order for us to focus and feel energised during our waking hours, but unfortunately those suffering from shoulder pain can find it extremely difficult to enjoy quality sleep. A stiff or sore shoulder can make it hard to fall asleep and can wake you up throughout the night. So, lets talk about some of the possible causes of shoulder pain and what you can do to sleep better!

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Benefits Of Side Sleeping

To be fair, side sleeping isnt all evil. Various studies prove that there are more benefits to it than the downsides. The key point here is to properly sleep on your side with the best mattress for side sleepers with shoulder pain.

Here are some good things about side slumber:

Good for heartburn

Experts found that sleeping on your side will help calm heartburn symptoms. Although solid proof is yet to be established, its said that side sleeping on the left eases the lower esophagus.

Stops Snoring

This is a known benefit of side sleeping. When you sleep on your back, the soft palate and the base of the tongue collapses back to the throat. This makes a louder vibrating sound when youre asleep. In comparison, when you sleep on the side, the vibrations are reduced.

Lymph draining

When you sleep on the left side, many believed that youre helping your body detoxify. Its thought that since the thoracic duct is located on the left side of the body, the lymph can easily drain and be flushed out of the body.

There are more benefits to side sleeping as long as the best mattress for shoulder pain is used. But as much as this sleeping position is great, the preference varies from person to person. Take note that some people have to sleep on their sides for medical reasons. Pregnant women who are past their first trimester are discouraged from sleeping on their back.

Sleep And Shoulder Pain

The amount of pressure you put on your shoulder as you fall asleep depends on your sleep position.

Side Sleeping

Side sleeping is the position that puts the most pressure on the shoulder and hip joint. However, since you only sleep on one side at a time, you should favor the non-injured shoulder as you sleep.

If changing the side you sleep on is too difficult, opt for a side sleeper mattress with some give. If your mattress is too firm, it will press against your hurt shoulder and make your shoulder pain worse.

Back Sleeping

Sleeping on your back is the ideal position for people with shoulder pain. You place virtually no weight there, and with a firm mattress meant for back sleepers and good pillow support, maintain the natural curve of your spine as you rest.

Stomach Sleeping

Sleeping on your stomach falls somewhere in the middle. It isnt as much pressure as side sleeping, but it certainly isnt great for your shoulders . People who are stomach sleepers need firmer mattresses to maintain alignment, but people with shoulder pain should shoot for medium firmness. Head over to our best mattress for stomach sleepers page for recommendations.

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Best Mattress Toppers For Shoulder Pain

As I mentioned above, using a mattress topper can help address mattress-related shoulder pain. If youre sleeping on a bed thats too firm, or even a new mattress you havent quite broken in yet, a soft topper can do a lot to relieve shoulder pain and pressure. If youve already got a great, supportive mattress that you dont want to part with, but need a bit more pressure relief, a topper is likely the best option for you.

Toppers are also much more affordable than a new mattress, which can be a nice perk for shoppers on a budget. Plus, if you struggle with shoulder pain but arent sure if a new mattress would help, a topper is a great way to see if some additional cushioning could be beneficial without spending a lot of money.

In general, Id recommend looking for soft memory foam mattress toppers that offer a mix of body-contouring and pressure relief if youre looking to address shoulder pain. Our best soft mattress toppers and best memory foam mattress toppers roundups are great places to find some toppers that might work for your needs.

Best Organic Mattress For Shoulder Pain

Happsy Organic Mattress

• Type: Hybrid
• Height: 10 inches

Made with certified organic and eco-friendly materials, this mattress leaves out chemicals , which may help with nighttime breathing.

GOTS-certified cotton and wool are cooling, while the firmness supplied by latex and the innerspring system is meant to be kind to achy shoulders.

Most reviewers with sore shoulders say this mattress works well for them, though a few people say its too hard or soft. If you do want something softer, Happsy offers an optional pillow topper that you can order risk-free and return after a 120-night trial.

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Mattresses For Back Pain

If you wake up with morning back pain, your mattress may be sagging or have lost its initial responsiveness. Alternatively, its possible that your mattress isnt appropriate for your body type.

For someone who has had a back-related injury, its important to choose stable, reliable support to prevent new pain or worsening chronic pain.

If you have frequent muscle and/or joint pain, normally increasing the degree of softness or cushioning on the mattress surface helps relieve pain. A mattress topper is a popular way to add a little extra pressure relief.

How To Choose A Mattress Topper For Side Sleepers With Shoulder Pain

There are several things to consider when looking for a mattress topper for shoulder pain. Your sleeping position is a big factor if youre a side sleeper, you probably need a style thats on the softer side. A softer surface can reduce the impact and pressure on your shoulder when you lie on your side.

However, you need something thats supportive as well. If your mattress topper is too soft, you wont have enough support to maintain a healthy sleeping posture, which can strain your joints and increase shoulder pain.

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Best Mattress For Shoulder Pain With White Glove Delivery

Tempur-ProAdapt Mattress

• Type: Foam or hybrid
• Height: 12 inches

Layers of memory foam cradle and relieve pressure on your achy spots with this mattress. Reviewers say it feels like sleeping on a cloud, and that their hip, back, and shoulder pain is gone.

You can purchase this in three firmness levels. The medium firmness comes either all foam or hybrid. A removable cover zips off and can be machine washed, ensuring your mattress stays fresh.

There is a modest 90-night trial, but white glove delivery is free, which means theyll come set up your mattress on your bed and remove and discard all packaging. This removes the potential heaviness and hassle of bed-in-a-box brands.

Understanding Shoulder Pain From Sleeping And Beyond

Underslept. In pain. A full day of agonizing movement ahead of you. Is this what waking up is supposed to feel like? I dont think you need us to tell you that the answer is unequivocally a no.

If sleep is supposed to be a time for the body to heal, why is it that so many people feel shoulder pain from sleeping? We totally get why you want to press the snooze button on shoulder pain, but trust us when we say that this isnt one to ignore.

There are numerous reasons why you might be experiencing shoulder pain, ranging from injuries to overuse and yes, even your sleeping position. Shoulders are one of the most complex parts of the body, so its no surprise that complaints about pain in this area are relatively common, particularly when you first wake up.

If youre tired of feeling pain and ready to get back to living life to the fullest, take the first step in solving that mysterious shoulder issue that has been nagging you. By pinpointing the exact problem, you can find the right treatment plan and get on the fast-track to health!

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Sleeping On Your Stomach

Dr Smycz said that your sleep posture is an additional factor to back and neck pain. Stomach sleepers, take note!

Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position to sleep in because you have to turn your head, which puts a strain on the neck and upper back, said Dr Smycz. Sleeping on your stomach compresses the solar plexus, anddigestionis affected as well. It doesnt allow you to properly rest and repair throughout the night.

So whats the ideal sleeping position to avoid back pain?

The ideal sleep posture is lying on your side, explained Dr Smycz. When lying on your side, imagine a line going all the way from the neck through to the spine. You want that line to be straight. A nice, supportive mattress will keep that spine aligned.

We know thatside sleepers often prefer a softer mattress, but its important to find a firmness level that correlates to your weight. Thebest mattress for side sleepersis amemory foam mattress.