Hard or Soft Mattress to Alleviate Head, Neck and Shoulder Pain?

I had my cervical spine fused in two locations 2.5 years ago and had lots of pain as the same areas you do. I stayed in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to test drive a sleep number bed. Wow, did I find out a firmer matress was what worked for me!

This brand of bed:
"Aireloom."
My friend, who has scoliosis and back/hip/leg pain, got this and invested in it, and her pains are gone.
She has the "Verbena Plush" model.

Also, you may try and getting better fitting shoes. Because it affects posture.
Some places custom fit it for you etc., per physical ailments.

Or, it could be that your office chair, is not adjusted at the proper height etc. Ergonomics is very important.

Or the way you sit or stand... this can affect the body too and cause pain.

Or, if you tend to clench your jaws when sleeping or even while working at a desk, this can cause shoulder/neck/head pain too. This happened to my Mom. She had to learn how to relax her jaw...

Our mattress is 10yrs old and it is a pillow top... I went and looked at a memory foam one it was 5000. We don't have that right know. So I went to Macy's with my coupon and bought a super thick memory foam mattress topper it was around 300 dollars no more neck and back pain... Amazing!

We had a hard mattress. I had a lot of hip and back pain. Now we have a medium mattress (I wanted softer, hubby did not, we bought the first one we both agreed on) and it has made so much difference.

I feel for you having back problems. I hate back problems! (The rest too!) I guess I'm like Goldilocks, needing something in between Papa Bear's hard bed and Mama Bear's soft bed.

When you go shopping for mattresses, spend at least an hour laying on them. I know that sounds hard to do, but you should do it anyway.

The last mattress I bought is a Kingsdowne specifically because I have these troubles, and occasionally both me and my husband have sore hips. I chose a litte softer side than him, but when he goes out of town, I always sleep on his side and have found that I wish that I had gotten the same level of firmness as him. (His is red and mine is blue - as in color coding). We could have both gotten red and it would have possibly have been better for me. (Grass is always greener, maybe? LOL!) And just so you know, THAT red is not the firmest. A really hard bed will put me in misery. Kinsgdowne has you lay down on a bed that kind of measures your body conture and you tell them where your problems are. Then the computer tells them what level seems to be for you. The man told us never to go softer than the computer recommends, but going a little firmer is okay. That's what we did.

I don't know if this helps you, and A., it's really expensive, but I figure that if it lasts me for 10 years, it is worth having a mattress that is supposed to be theraputic for our bodies.

Good luck - I KNOW how hard it is to pick the right mattress!

Dawn

hard-but the pain may be from your pillow-when you on your side, you want to fill the space between your shoulder and the side of your head-no more, no less.

Definitely, you need a firmer mattress.

I have suffered a lot of injuries in my life and have chronic Fybro, plus a borderline auto-immune issue. We just recently invested in the Orthopaedic Foam Mattress....OMG...it is amazing.

I was having excruciating hip pain this last year, and could not walk upon rising. I invested about $1k in accupuncture treatments, which helped but do not fix it. She recommended a firm bed. My husband and I researched it, talked to reputable bed stores, and discovered that the Orthopaedic Foam Mattress is proven to help alleviate joint pain. So much so, that in Canada, the tax is deductible on medical expenses.

We found what we were looking on at Sears, in a store that was closing. We lucked out and saved a couple thousand dollars on that sale. But honestly, it is sooooo worth it. My hips have improved about 95%. Now if I just did my therapy on a regular basis...they'd be perfect.

What about a Sleep Number bed and you could fiddle with it until it's perfect? I think that's what I'm going to try to talk my husband into for our next bed. That way, it can change with whatever your needs might be based on different situations.

my next bed will be FIRM mine has become softer w/ age & having a big husband dealing w/ lots of back pain from my mattress.My chrio sayes to be a back sleeper & it's improving not 100% pain free but getting there

Yes definitely a new mattress. At 10 or more, I'm sure ANYTHING you get will be an improvement. But pay attention to what pillow you use as well. I know many nights (now that I am in my 40s) I just push the pillow completely away and rest my head directly on the mattress. It just feels better that way sometimes. Some pillows are too much...

I have a firm mattress with a cushiony top. The top isn't as soft as a pillow top but soft enough to make the firmness more comfortable. I, too, have head neck and shoulder pain and have found that a memory foam pillow with a wave on top helps.

I'm a side sleeper and have learned that what is most important is the ability to relax my neck and shoulder muscles. When I find myself curling up and tense I force myself to relax my muscles. I straighten out my body and take belly breaths. I've also learned that PT during which I strengthen my neck and shoulder muscles also help. I do the exercises at home.

And putting a pillow between my knees is helpful.

It's important to work on relaxing those muscles during the day too. I tend to lean on my chin when eating and typing. That intensifies the pain.
Posture is also important. Slumping down tightens those muscles.

Having a firm mattress should help. I think that even a pillow top on a firm foundation would be helpful. What happens with older mattresses is that they "soften" in the shoulder and hip areas from your body's pressure and thus do not keep your spine aligned.

Have you tried chiropractic? PT alone can strengthen the muscles surrounding a misalignment of the spine, prolonging your problems in the long run by allowing it to stay out of alignment, wearing on the disc, and eventually the nerves.

Somewhere in between soft and firm is best.

Yes, that is about the life of a mattress. I bought my new mattress at Dubuque Mattress. They build it right there so you are getting factory prices. And they have a satisfaction guarantee that can't be beat. They have all the different types of mattresses but you pay a lot less! Tell them L. sent you. Their address is 3220 Dodge Street. I too used to have neck and shoulder pain but don't anymore.

I just wanted to tell you that you should look at the reviews for the sleep number beds. I am also a belly sleeper and we have own two sleep number beds, if your husband wants it soft and you need it hard you will always have him rolling into your hole. I was the one who always rolled and I hated it. we now own a regular mattress with a foam topper and I love it my husband has a little more foam topper on his side than I do on my side (this is what our chiropractor recommended.) good luck I hope you find something that works well.

Have you talked to your dentist? If you grind your teeth in your sleep you could be experiencing the head, neck and shoulder pain because you are tensing up the muscles while sleeping. Talk to your dentist about getting a bite or mouth guard. A neck roll might help also.

All mattresses are made firm, with comfort padding on top. A plush top and a pillow top are made with the same materials, just put together a different way. Memory foam is HOT and really does little for comfort, it a buzz word. Memory foam simply bounces back to shape and makes the bed look like it doesn't sag.