Shoulder Sore 5 weeks into mattress trial period?

[phoenix]

Hi abbygrant,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!

I’ve had a heck of a time finding a mattress that works for me. I’m a side sleeper and right now I am in trial period for BB BME in a medium firmness. The mattress felt great for about 4 weeks. I have no lower back pain and not much pressure on shoulders. Now I am into the 5th or 6th week and I am getting shoulder soreness. What I am wondering is why a mattress would feel great for 4 weeks or so, then all of the sudden I get shoulder soreness. The soreness goes way after I get up and move around. But it does wake me up about twice during the night. But when I am asleep I am sleeping soundly.

Unfortunately, there are too many individual variables, unknowns, and differences in strength and flexibility for me to provide very specific suggestions about your shoulder issues, but I can hopefully help with a bit of general information.

Shoulder and arm issues can come from many sources, such as a mattress that is too firm and puts direct pressure on the shoulders, the shoulder blades, or on the back muscles and can also cause soreness or numbness and tingling in the arms. It can often come from postural issues. If the mattress is too firm, then if you sleep on your side your shoulders may not sink in enough to relieve pressure and your upper body can “twist” away from the pressure so your upper body is “twisted” more forward while the lower body is still on its side. This spinal twisting or torsion can twist the spine in the upper body and lead to soreness in the area of the twist. There is some much more detailed information, including some sleeping postural tips, on shoulder and arm issues in posts #2 and #3 here .

Shoulder issues can also come from sleeping in the same position for a longer period of time than normal. If you are sleeping deeper/longer on your new mattress, you may be repositioning less often, and this could be causing your shoulder issues, as you may be staying in the same position longer than your body is used to. I can’t speak to why you’re suddenly experiencing a different sensation. Usually when that happens it points to something changing in your flexibility, strength or fatigue. A new mattress will soften slightly as it breaks in, but there wouldn’t be as much of this with latex as there would be with polyfoam, and you’ve stated that your alignment is still good (which sleep ergonomic research would prioritize over surface plushness).

I would also make sure that your pillow is the proper thickness to keep your neck in a more neutral alignment. Using a body pillow can be a good thing and resting your free arm upon that can be helpful. Placing a pillow behind you to slightly lean against can also take a bit of stress off of your shoulder joint area.

I am a side sleeper but I do use a body pillow. Should all side sleepers except a bit of shoulder pressure with any mattress?

You’re correct that you’ll always have some pressure on your shoulder joint, and repositioning approximately 20 times a night is normal.

As you’ve still only had your mattress for a short period of time, I would see if you adjust further and become more comfortable. It could be that you may wish to investigate a thin 1"-2" latex topper down the road if you desire just a bit more plushness, but I would hold off on that until you’ve had some more time on this mattress.

Phoenix