How To Choose The Best Mattress For Hip Pain Relief

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Updated on April 1, 2023

Causes of shoulder, neck, back, and hip pain in the morning after sleeping are varied. Using the wrong sleeping position and wrong mattress can cause or aggravate these pains extensively.

No pain is fun, especially when it comes to experiencing hip pain. The hips support your entire body weight and allow you to perform most of the daily movements, even without us noticing when they’re being used.

Sleep is supposed to accelerate body tissue recovery and rejuvenation. But that only occurs if you have the right mattress. Worn-out or incorrectly matched mattresses for the sleeper, on the contrary, won’t offer enough support, and that leads to hip pain at night.

If you are unfortunate enough to have hip pain while sleeping, it’s time to hit the market for a new mattress. Some mattresses perform better than others and can help you manage such agony.

Before you take the plunge and buy a mattress purported to help manage pain relief, it’s a good idea to read our buying guide below. We have also rounded up the top 5, which we believe can help if your hips hurt. Remember though, your sleeping needs or the particular cause of hip pain may not be similar to others, so check through each tip and ensure it fits your needs. Nevertheless, there are general factors that you can consider, so you land on the best mattress for hip pain.

Hip Pain Mattresses and Pain Relief

woman with hip pain in the morning

The older population are a category of people most affected by pain in the hip area. However, anybody at any age can experience hip pain and can be for reasons such as pregnancy, injury-related, arthritis, a pinched nerve, bursitis of the hip,  or numerous other conditions. Anyone having the discomfort will know that severe hip pain can disrupt your sleep, something that can contribute to daytime fatigue, increasing the risk of accidents, and reducing your level of concentration. That’s why people with hip issues need to look for the right mattress based on their specific condition. Let’s take a look at some of the main factors of interest below:

Support

The support that a mattress offers has a direct effect on your spinal alignment. Ideally, support means the extent to which a bed remains level or offers a straight sleeping surface to a sleeper.

Of course, some factors affect support, such as body weight. But the right mattress should offer a perfect balance of softness and firmness. A mattress that is too firm or too soft does not offer a suitable sleeping surface, making it the least supportive.

Mattresses sink at the mid-section/hip region, courtesy of the weight and shape of hips. This is sagging, and it isn’t suitable for people with hip pain. It affects how the mattress feels in terms of support. A mattress that sags beyond an inch at the hip region can have a significant adverse effect on the hip of the sleepers if they suffer from hip joint pain.

Firmness

The immediate feeling you get when lying on a mattress defines its firmness. Now, this feeling greatly varies among sleepers. It varies with the weight, body shape, and sleeping position.

If you are lightweight or around the average mark, you will most probably feel more comfortable on a softer mattress than a firmer one. On the other hand, if you are overweight, you’ll feel more comfortable on a harder mattress. Check our roundup of mattresses for heavy people if you’re over 250 pounds and have hip pain.

If your weight falls in the average category, then a medium mattress might sit well with you. Before you buy, it’s good to look at its firmness, which is usually expressed in values ranging from 1 to 10, or simple Soft, Medium, and Firm. Generally, 1 stand stands for soft, 5 is medium, and 10 is firm.

Some manufacturers offer mattresses with different firmness options to choose from, while others only sell their model with 1 particular firmness level. In our opinion, the former is better as it offers more variety. Additionally, some mattresses are flippable (2-sided) while others you can only use one side.

Always buy a mattress that you feel has a comfortable setting for your preference. If you aren’t sure about firmness, you can opt for flippable mattresses like the Layla. You can use the side that gives the ideal relief from hip pain when lying down.

Durability

This is the life span of the mattress or the amount of time it will serve you before yielding. During this period, you should get decent support and a comfortable sleeping surface.

For the low-quality mattress, within two or three years, their mid-section will begin sagging. This isn’t good because it will initiate pain and pressure at the hips, shoulders, joints, and back.

So, opt for a durable mattress – typically those with over 10 year’s warranty. Such mattresses are an assurance of quality.

Conforming

Some mattresses conform closely to the sleeper’s body. Typically, they create a cradle-shaped impression around the sleeper’s figure, which helps align the spine and common pressure points.

Mattresses with a thicker comfort system conform well to the sleeper’s body shape. Similarly, all-foam beds or hybrid mattresses provided above-average support to all parts of the body, which means less pain when lying down.

Mattresses that can aggravate hip joint pain are those that offer unbalanced support. For example, traditional spring mattresses and air mattresses do not conform to your body’s shape. Thus, they increase pressure on sensitive parts of the body resulting in intense pain.

If you are a side sleeper, a conforming mattress might be the right one for you. Anything less of a conforming mattress can generate pressure in the hips, shoulders, and other sensitive parts.

But you shouldn’t have a “stuck in the mattress” feeling. You should be able to switch positions easily while getting pressure relief. The Nolah Original 10″ is a decent choice for those with sore hips and shoulders.

Sleeping Position

Remember, mattress choice aside; your sleeping position is also a reflection of the intensity of your pain. Side sleeping promotes improved spine and hip alignment hence reduced back pain. By contrast, back sleeping can alleviate hip joint pain, while stomach sleeping might strain your back unless you place a pillow under your stomach. Stomach sleepers are more prone to hip malalignment, thus need to be more concerned with choosing the perfect mattress.

Sleep Trial

Perhaps one of the handiest times when a sleep trial is appreciated most is when the user experiences some type of discomfort or pain when lying down.

Most mattresses sold online come with an in-home trial period. This means you can try the mattress at home, with your bed set up, for the given number of nights it comes with. If it doesn’t meet your expectations, you can send it back, usually for free.

Most people tend to keep their mattress and don’t return it within the trial period. However, people who have specific issues (such as lower back pain, hip problems, fibromyalgia, sciatica, arthritis, and others) will often welcome and utilize this perk.

Warranty

A good warranty that covers indentations and lasts over 10 years is ideal. Sagging of the mattress surface will only worsen over time and no doubt will increase discomfort around the hip area. Most of the better quality mattresses on the market come with at least 10 years warranty, but some companies like Idle Sleep offer lifetime warranties.

Bed Compatibility

If you have an adjustable bed, it’s worth noting that not all mattresses are compatible. However, not to worry, because all of our recommended options here are compatible. Adjustable beds are common with people who suffer from various types of hip pain when sleeping on either side. That’s because these types of bed can elevate the back or leg area and can even enter a zero-gravity mode, thus allowing an experience of painless weightlessness.

Motion Isolation

This is particularly important for couples who share a bed. It’s bad enough having to deal with disturbed sleep due to pain at night, but experiencing movement from your partner moving around in bed can also be a pain in itself. A good motion isolation mattress will reduce the effect of motion being transferred across the surface of the bed, which is typical of what happens in poor-quality mattresses.

Memory foam and hybrid mattresses that contain pocket coils are perfect for isolating movements. You’ll most likely not feel anything when they switch position or get in and out of bed.

Price

Let’s face it; the saying goes something like “you really do get what you pay for,” right? And yes, this is the scenario when it comes to mattresses too. If you want to enjoy good, restful, and rejuvenating sleep for years to come, you need to consider it as “investing” in a mattress. Buying a cheap, low-budget mattress may be fine for the first few months. However, you’ll often find that soon after the trial ends, it begins to sag and quickly loses all signs of comfort and support. Also, the warranty is usually much shorter and more restrictive.

On the other hand, there’s no need to overspend on a mattress. In our opinion, the 5 mattresses shortlisted below offer great value, come in at a mid-level price, and in terms of performance, will be just fine.

Our Favorite Mattresses For Hip Pain Relief

Conclusion

Each of the above are fully competent and high-quality choices when it comes to choosing the best mattress for hip pain. They may not be guaranteed to solve your hip problem, but they’ll certainly help you manage it.

We have chosen the Nolah Original as our Editor’s pick due to its outstanding performance, durability, long sleep trial and an excellent warranty. However, that’s not to say the other four options are bad. Each selection is good for hip pain relief in its own way. So, hopefully, you’ll make the right decision and will be well on your way to a better night’s sleep and painless mornings.