don’t underestimate the impact of mattress firmness
I found out the hard way once again that mattress firmness is no joke.
My mattress at home is rather firm. I sleep worse on it in my opinion, and hipbones and other prominent parts might be a little sore at times, but it’s good for my spine - lets me get up without back pain. A friend’s bed that I sometimes sleep in is very soft and I sleep well in it, but when I try to get up in the mornings, I deal with a lot of back pain. The second I tense up to lift myself up, I gasp and can’t breathe - that’s the level of pain, likely due to my Ankylosing Spondylitis. I often need help getting up after sleeping in there.
So, after days of sleeping like that, my back was cooked. During a drive that took over four hours, pain repeatedly shot like lightning into my leg and into my shoulder. The second we arrived at our destination, I tried to twist and stretch it out right there in the parking lot at 10:30pm, looking like I’m performing a really bad dance routine while twerking in slow motion. It didn’t get better.
Next day, after a night in my bed, it was already a bit better, but still felt unusual pain while in the office at my desk, and like something just isn’t sitting right between spine and hip.
Later in the evening, I decided it was floor time. I love rolling out my back with a peanut ball (very carefully) and stretching as well as just lying down against a hard surface, so that’s what I did. Laid on my back and let the soles of my feet touch with knees bent outward, and lo and behold, the joint crack of the century happened my right sacroiliac joint (that is also where the pain shot out from, and a joint I have always had issues with due to AS). You could have heard that one rooms away. Finally, so much relief and the pain was gone.
Proceeded to do further stretching, bending and rolling and I cracked everywhere like a glow bracelet. My spine is still a little mad at me, but I’m about 90% back to normal now.
Don’t underestimate how much mattresses contribute to issues. You spend a lot of time on them.
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Published 15 Sep, 2025