Hip pain from mattress being too hard. Bought several in 9 months PLEASE HELP

[CLK26]

After our mattress was starting to sag a bit me and my boyfriend decided to get a new mattress. I had never had any back pain before and am 24 years old but after a night on our new slumberland mattress from dreams I had awful hip pain. We got told firm is better for your back and although it said firm on it, it didnt feel too firm in the shop but I guess that's because it was on a spring divan base.I'm a 9 stone side sleeper so I guess firm isn right for me. The pain would go away after being awake for a few hours but now I have it all day everyday and it radiates around my hip and shoots down my leg, sometimes just to my knee and sometimes to my foot! It's been about 9 months now and we have tried several other mattresses including a hypnos in medium but it's just getting worse and worse. When I'm asleep I'm constantly waking up trying to get comfortable so I never feel like I have slept properly along with having the pains.

So the question is, has anyone had this problem and can anyone recommend a soft mattress that will ease the pain? I never had this before so convinced it is from hard mattresses.

I have decided I definately need a soft one as all the rest have been firm or medium. I have tried a shetland in soft and it feels amazing but worried as I don't want to get a really expensive bed on credit and then it makes it worse or gives me another pain because it's too soft. I have tried it in medium but that just feels too hard. I feel like every mattress in every shop is too firm apart from this one, which costs so much! If anyone could recommend something soft that has sorted their hip pain out I would be so grateful! I don't know what to do anymore..

Many thanks :)

Just to add, we have recently bought a cheap one year old vispring spring divan base but my pain is still the same. My boyfriend says it's firm but he is 4 stone heavier than me so isn't experiencing pains from it.

I'd suggest going to the GP about the pain, as that level of discomfort's not normal at all.

It's good that a soft enough mattress can relieve the pain, but there's clearly something wrong.

I think if you are a side sleeper firm is not for you. A memory foam one would probably suit better. Go somewhere that does returns.

A memory foam topper might help.

It sounds like you have a hip problem that was underlying and the firm mattress has just highlighted it. Please see your GP.

I would also suggest seeing your GP, in the meantime I'd get a 14 tog duvet to use as a mattress topper, as they really soften up a firm mattress.

I had hip pain so bad that I thought I would need a hip replacement. .. it turns out I have one leg slightly longer than the other and have a insert now... flat shoes and no insert brings it all back...

Hey CLK. It probably is your mattress. However, there are some other things that it could be, the vast majority not serious, a tiny minority more serious. I would really advise you to see your GP and push for an MRI scan to put your mind at rest and get to the root of the problem.

Bear in mind that it is probably a 1% chance of being something more serious but if it is then getting to the doc as soon as possible is a good idea.

I agree with the advice to see your doctor. Another option you could consider is a water bed.

At your weight you need a soft mattress. Have a look at this website which has great advice
www.factory-beds-direct.co.uk

in the meantime you could try a pillow between your legs and upper leg forward of the lower leg while side sleeping. Softening the mattress by lying on a duvet may help. Also you may be able to self -refer to your local physiotherapy department. Your gp receptionist or website should be able to tell you.

thanks for all the replies! I have read some horror stories about NHS gp's giving people injections in their hip and it getting worse ect so before i see a GP i wanted to try a soft mattress to see if that helped as the first time i ever had the pain was on our new mattress.

I forgot to put the brand of the one i liked in the post, It was called a vi spring shetland in soft. If anyone has any experience with one of these please let me know!! Or if you have something soft which is nice please let me know :)

I have tried foam and really dont like latex or toppers unfortunately. I just want a mattress that feels like they used to feel, non of this hard ortho business.. every bed in shops like dreams just feels like a rock.

Factory beds has some good advice but someone has already asked them if they have something as soft as a vispring shetland and they said theirs are firmer so i dont want to get one of theirs, although i must have read every post and comment on their website.

I just dont know what to do, scared of spending 3500 on a vi spring and it doesnt help my back, which will result in me having to sell it for half the price and still be paying it off years later. However, if i knew this would fix my pain i would do it tomorrow and pay anything!!

I have done every bit of research possible and the only conclusion i have come to is to try what i had before and what i havent tried since the first new mattress came... a soft mattress! If that doesnt help i will have to go and see the GP, but in the meantime if anyone could recommend a good soft mattress or share their thoughts on the Vi spring i would be so grateful. My partner just doesnt understand how bad it is and i can hardly do any housework or get up off the sofa, i want to just sleep the pain off but nowhere to sleep it off, even the sofa makes it painful now.

Thanks for all your help :)

Don't be put off from seeing your GP through stories like that- the person could have had a chronic degenerative condition like arthritis. Their reason for hip pain could be entirely different from your situation.

I think the guys on that website would give you advice even if they know they won't sell you a mattress.

Hip pain here too but couldn't afford a decent new mattress. Spent just in under 100 quid on a 3 inch memory foam mattress topper and can't believe the difference! Hip pain has disappeared. No more waking at night in agony. And its lovely and warm too! Can't recommend it highly enough.

I'd second the advice to use a duvet as a mattress topper. I used one for both my pregnancies and it was a life saver (also cheap!!). Random thought about the v sprung. They are a quality make and might be used in swanky hotels. Maybe phone them up and see if they supply any hotel chains. A night or two in a hotel would be a cheaper than spending on a v v expensive mattress that doesn't work. Might also be worth seeing an osteopath. I was deeply skeptical but she sorted out my SPD in pregnancy and gave some great advice about sleeping positions to relieve pain.

We have a vi-spring, can't remember the model but Shetland does ring a bell... My side is soft (I'm 10 stone) and DH's side is Medium (he's 12 stone).

I find it really comfy - it's soft but not sink-into-it-soft. Vi-spring are very good in that if you're not happy after 90 days you can change the softness free of charge.

We do find that the bed gets very hot...I think it may be due to the filling inside the mattress (although we also have the actual vi-spring divan which is also sprung so that might be why it's quite warm?!)

The other thing I want to mention is that I got awful pain like you are describing when I was pregnant with DS1 and was diagnosed with Pelvic Girdle Pain. It felt like I had been sleeping on concrete rather than a soft bed. Heat seemed to help a lot, as did having lots of warm baths.

Hello,

I hope by now you have solved your problem. I have the same pain issues that you described. My weight is just under 9 stones and husbands over 15 stones. We have bought a medium tension mattress but it is to firm for me, as I am unable to sleep on my side on this mattress, but my husband seems to be ok with. We also have bought a sprung divan but unfortunately it hasnt made much of a difference. The manufacturer has checked the mattress and it is as they expect. I have tried different types of topper, it has helped but has not solved the problem, I am thinking buying a wool topper, but I am not sure if it be worth the money, if it does not improve my sleeping experience. I am waiting for the results of mri scan to check if there is another issue apart from the mattress.
Looking forward for your reply!

Medium tension is just too hard if you're a 9 stone side sleeper. I have a soft vspring and it's brilliant. So much better than the medium I had before. I found it really hard to find soft mattresses though. It seems everyone wants to sell you a medium.

Watching with interest as I'm also a 9st side sleeper but have fibromyalgia so get a lot of joint pain anyway.
A friend of mine has recently got a Simba and is really pleased with it, they offer a 99day returns policy.

I can only handle soft mattresses too. I didn't realise it was to do with weight/sleeping on your side. I'm another 9stone side sleeper. Glad I'm not alone.

The only way I could find a soft mattress when living in Aus (not sure if same issue here in U.K.) was to have one with a built in topper. Not really what I wanted, as I find the memory foam stuff just means I get stuck in a set position, which isn't great for my back - I'd rather still move around a little when asleep. Also, like another poster said, I find the foam topper really hot. I'm sure you used to be able to get proper soft mattresses. Normal mattresses I mean.

Anyway, can't offer much advice except my mother (same issue) swears that having a sprung divan base makes a big difference (not what the salesmen say in the Aussie shops I went into - but they wouldn't as NONE of the manufacturers did sprung bases!! I couldn't believe it).

My aunt had a good soft mattress - think she actually bought it from M&S, so might be worth giving that a try. Don't give up!

I know you say you like sprung mattresses, but you should consider hybrid ones like the simba mattress- they have them in john lewis so you can try them out, and they and I think all the hybrid ones have 100 day satisfaction guarentees. Honestly the best and most comfortable nights sleep ive ever had.

I'm a sidesleeper who has also experienced tremendous pain due to bad mattresses. I'm like the Princess and the Pea. Too soft hurts my back, too firm hurts my hips.
Last year we bought a john lewis firm mattresses with built in topper (not memory foam). It is amazing! They were also brilliant about not being bothered how long I lay in store checking them out :)

I had the most uncomfortable mattress in history (true fact!) and I bought a memory foam mattress topper, because I couldn't afford to replace it. Unbelievable difference :eek: It was like having a whole new bed, and, about 18 months on, it's just as fab as it was that first night! You can check out cozzy I'd definitely advise looking into just getting a mattress topper - same result, but with a lot less money!

Hi CLK26 I hope you are still viewing this thread as I would love to know if you found a solution. I've been going through the exact same thing after replacing an old Ikea mattress (which we had no issues with) to a Medium Sealy. I was having awful hip pains in the middle of the night and need to sleep on the sofa for relief. I really didn't realise it was the mattress until I went away for a few week sleeping on other mattresses. When I cam back home, the pain started again. With Myotherapy, yoga and pilates it is still bad and coming more into the day. I bought a memory foam mattress topper though it hasn't helped at all. Wondering if it is the mattress or as we have a slat bed if that's the issue. Either way I need a solution, we only have had the mattress for under 12 months though they likely wont return for exchange unless there is a manufacturing fault. I think that this much pain, it is a fault of the mattress! Please let me know if a soft mattress helped. Thanks.

I just came back off holiay a had a very hard hotel mattress and it caused me back ache. I came hoe and slept in my own bed which had a softer mattres and the pain was gone