Best Mattress Recommended By Chiropractors

Chronic pain can feel relentless, and even with the help of physical therapy and a chiropractor, you may struggle with restless nights. But the right mattress can help! Sleeping on a supportive mattress can soothe chronic pain, stiffness, and soreness, making it easier to sleep at night and feel restored in the morning.

The wrong mattress can worsen chronic pain by feeling too firm or soft or throwing your spine out of alignment. Conversely, the right mattress can soothe spinal pain, relieve pressure points, and promote healthy spinal alignment.

Professor Dagmara Dimitriou states that, “There is a large body of evidence that a range of pain management strategies should be considered for the best outcomes. One such adjustment ought to include seeking comfort in the bedroom to increase an opportunity for better quality of sleep, a common problem in people with chronic pain.”

Today, we’ve made a list of the best mattresses recommended by chiropractors. With that, we chat about what to look for when choosing a new mattress for pain relief.

If you’re specifically concerned about chronic back pain, look no further than the Amerisleep AS2. Rated Best Mattress for Back Pain by countless sources, the Amerisleep AS2 is awesome for back and stomach sleepers! Dr. Jordan Burns states “research has shown that firmer mattresses, like the Amerisleep AS2, provide pressure-relief support to help to reduce pain and keep your spine in a neutral alignment.” 

The AS2 includes a 100-night trial and a 20-year warranty.

Inside the Mattress

The Amerisleep AS2’s breathable knit cover keeps air flowing throughout the bed all night. It doesn’t trap or moisture so hot sleepers can rest peacefully.

At the top of the AS2 is Bio-Pur® plant-based memory foam. Rather than traditional memory foam, Bio-Pur® doesn’t trap body heat, is durable, and is better for the planet. Still, it’s great on achy muscles and relieves pressure build-up.

Next is a layer of Affinity foam, which contains patented HIVE® technology. HIVE® is divided into five support zones around your head, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. It helps distribute your body weight to protect your joints and muscles, helping you sleep pain-free.

The base of the AS2 is made with Bio-Core® foam. Not only does it support your spine, but it protects your bed from sagging, lumping, or going soft.

SEE ALSO: Amerisleep Mattress Review

Originally built for athletes, the Zoma Mattress is a stand-out mattress for its pain-relieving technologies and cooling materials. It keeps you sleeping cool while enhancing your sleep quality and pain relief. At 12 inches thick, the cooling Zoma Mattress has a medium firmness.

“The medium firmness and cooling gel features of the Zoma mattress provide an overall more comfortable sleeping surface to help alleviate pain, pressure and discomfort in the body,” notes Dr. Burns.

When you purchase the Zoma Mattress, you receive a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

Inside the Mattress

You won’t have to worry about waking up in your sweat with the Zoma’s AirCloth cover. It draws heat and moisture from your body so you sleep soundly.

The Zoma Mattress’s comfort layer is made from gel memory foam with Triangulex™ zoned technology. The gel infusions in the foam dissipate body heat and keep your bed cool. Meanwhile, the Triangulex™ technology is divided into three targeted zones to distribute your body weight and relieve pressure point pain.

Next is a layer of springy Reactiv™ foam. Similar to latex, Reactiv™ foam snaps back into shape near-instantly when you move positions or get out of bed. This ensures your spine doesn’t fall out of alignment and so you don’t feel “stuck” in your bed.

At the base of the Zoma Mattress is Support+ foam, which maximizes the bed’s durability while supporting your spine. The durable and high-density foam ensures the Zoma Mattress will last you years!

SEE ALSO: Zoma Mattress Review

Shop sustainably and affordably with the Vaya Mattress. This eco-friendly bed is both made in the USA and CertiPUR-US® certified, meaning it’s free of heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and low in VOCs. It won’t off-gas, either! So there’s no need to worry about that “new mattress smell” when buying this bed!

As a 12 inches thick mattress with ample material, the Vaya Mattress has a medium feel suited for all types of sleepers. Plus, the Vaya Mattress comes with a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

“The Vaya mattress promotes a healthy spinal alignment whether you are a back, side or stomach sleeper and is a great option for memory foam mattresses,” says Dr. Burns.

Inside the Mattress

The polyester knit cover of the Vaya Mattress is plush, yet wicks away heat all night long. Under the cover is two foam layers.

The top layer is Vaya Comfort Foam, a plush foam that contours to your curves for optimal pain relief. At the same time, it aligns your spine and bounces back into shape rapidly when you switch positions. This prevents motion transfer and makes it easy to get in and out of bed.

The bottom layer is Vaya Base Foam, a durable material built to promote healthy spinal alignment. Regardless of what position you sleep in, you’ll feel well-supported and wake up feeling refreshed!

SEE ALSO: Vaya Mattress Review

Hybrid mattresses, like the Amerisleep Organica, are one of the best options when it comes to dealing with chronic pain. The Organica provides excellent pressure relief while still supporting your back and spine all night long. With its medium firmness, it’s a great choice for all types of sleeping positions!

The Organica features a GOTS® organic certified cotton cover with hand-tufted rosettes. It’s durable, soft to the touch, and dissipates heat and moisture. Under the cover is 1 inch of New Zealand Joma Wool® batting to regulate heat and act as the bed’s fire barrier.

Next is 3 inches of Talalay latex, a buoyant and natural material. It cushions your achy muscles without leaving you feeling stiff or “stuck” in bed. Plus, Talalay latex is breathable so you sleep cool year-round.

The largest layer in the Organica is its 8-inch pocketed coil system. Each steel spring is wrapped in fabric to prevent motion transfer, noise, and sagging. The coils on the sides of the mattress are extra-firm to reinforce the bed and prevent the edges from going saggy.

The Organica’s bottom layer is 1 inch of Dunlop latex to protect the coils and ensure your bed lasts.

With the Organica, you received a 100-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Best Eco-Friendly Mattress

Side sleepers often deal with hip and shoulder pain, especially when their beds are too firm. The Zoma Hybrid is an excellent mattress for side sleepers due to its pain-relieving properties and medium-soft feel. As a Zoma bed, the Zoma Hybrid enhances sleep while improving muscle pain.

The Zoma Hybrid contains a gel memory foam comfort layer and a Reactiv™ transition layer. The gel memory foam cushions your hips and shoulders to reduce pain while the Reactiv™ layer ensures you don’t sink in bed.

Under the two foam layers are pocketed steel springs. Unlike open or continuous coils, pocketed coils are less likely to squeak, springy, or cause motion transfer. It closely supports the spine, ensuring you wake up feeling restored and pain-free in the mornings. Beneath this layer is a durable foam designed to minimize general wear and tear.

The Zoma Hybrid comes with a 100-night risk-free trial and a 10-year limited warranty.

SEE ALSO: Best Cooling Mattress for Hot Sleepers

While hybrid mattresses can be great, they often start in the thousands, making them unreasonable for most shoppers. But not the Vaya Hybrid. Starting at only $449, the Vaya Hybrid is another budget-friendly bed great for people with muscle or joint pain. It has a medium feel suitable for side, back, and some stomach sleepers.

Like Vaya’s flagship model, the Vaya Hybrid contains Vaya Comfort Foam. It soothes pressure and prevents you from sinking uncomfortably while you sleep.

Rather than a foam base, the Vaya Hybrid contains a layer of pocketed coils. The coils maximize spinal support while being resistant to sagging or breaking. Air can circulate in the spaces between the coils, preventing you from overheating so you sleep peacefully.

Beneath the coil layer is a durable foam base. The foam protects the coils, ensuring your mattress lasts for years without sagging or becoming unsupportive.

You receive a 100-night trial and a 10-year warranty with a purchase of the Vaya Hybrid.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattress for the Money

As a plus-sized person, it might get difficult to get a mattress that’s supportive and gentle on achy muscles. That’s why we recommend the WinkBed, a hybrid mattress specifically designed with heavier people in mind.

The WinkBed comes in four firmnesses, soft, luxury firm, firm, and plus, with the plus option being the recommended mattress for heavy people.

The WinkBed has a Tencel® cover, a eucalyptus-based fabric. It’s designed to absorb heat and moisture so you sleep peacefully.

Under the cover is a quilted Euro top made with gel-infused foam. This thick, cushiony layer provides ample cushioning for your hips, shoulders, and lower back to relieve tension and aches. The gel foam features SleepCalm™ motion isolation technology, which prevents motion transfer and is important if you share a bed.

The base of the WinkBed is a layer of pocketed coils. Not only do they isolate motion, but the coils lift and align your body to relieve low back pain. Winkbeds adds Extra-Edge™ support technology to this layer to prevent sagging and ensure you don’t feel like you’re going to roll right out of bed.

The WinkBed includes a 120-night trial and lifetime warranty.

SEE: Best Mattresses With A Warranty

The Saatva Classic is great if you love the classic bouncy feel of an innerspring bed but still deal with muscle or joint pain. With multiple firmness and thickness options, this bed is sure to suit any type of sleeper!

The Saatva Classic has an organic cotton cover, which is naturally hypoallergenic and cool to the touch. It’s antimicrobial as well to prevent bacteria and mold from developing on your bed. Directly under the cover is a 3-inch Euro top made from both plush fibers and foams.

Chiropractors love the Saatva Classic for its patented back support technology. Saatva combines CertiPUR-US® certified memory foam and patented spinal wires to align your spine and protect your lower back.

Saatva uses two types of coils inside the Classic Mattress for optimal support and cradling. The third layer of the Saatva Classic is made up of hundreds of pocketed nano coils. They contour to your body to relieve pressure and improve blood circulation. The fourth and final layer is full-size steel coils that prevent sagging and maximize air circulation in the bed.

The Saatva Classic includes free shipping, a 180-night sleep trial, and a 15-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Mattress Sizes and Dimensions

Types of Mattresses Recommended By Chiropractors

The type of mattress you buy affects how it’ll feel and perform, including how it’ll impact pain relief. With that, a mattress’s type plays a role in how much it costs and how long it lasts. Let’s take a look at some of the types of mattresses your chiropractor might suggest using!

Memory Foam

Memory foam mattresses are one of the best options when dealing with muscle or joint pain. Famous for their immense pressure relief and “hug-like” feel, memory foam beds conform under your body to soothe your pain.

When shopping for memory foam mattresses, look for plant-based memory foam or memory foam infused with gel, graphite, or copper. These types of memory foam are more durable and breathable compared to the standard foam

Memory foam beds come in a wide variety of prices—both affordable and luxury—and last 8 to 10 years on average.

Latex

Latex mattresses are another type of foam mattress, only it’s more sustainable. Compared to memory foam, latex foam is springier, more durable, and ultra-breathable. It’s a good choice if you love the pressure and pain relief of memory foam mattresses but tend to get hot. It’s also a great choice when you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint!

Although natural or organic latex mattresses are great, they tend to start at $1000 or more. Still, they make up for this by lasting 12 to 15 years on average.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses are popular for their low price and recognizability. They’re made of steel coils that provide lots of bounce, airflow, and back support.

Most innerspring mattresses feature pillow top comfort layers, which are usually made from cotton, down, wool, or polyester. More luxurious innerspring beds contain foam Euro tops, which offer better pressure relief. With that, we recommend looking for innerspring beds with foam comfort layers when dealing with chronic pain.

Innerspring mattresses start as low as a few hundred dollars and can cost up to thousands. Regardless, they typically last 5 to 7 years.

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses are a great choice for people who love the bouncy feel of innerspring beds but are looking for extra cushioning. Hybrid beds contain individually pocketed springs and foam comfort layers for optimal support, pressure relief, and breathability.

A hybrid mattress usually starts at about $1000 and lasts roughly 5 to 7 years.

Consider Your Sleeping Position

Your sleeping position makes a major difference in your physical health and sleep quality. How you sleep affects the mattress firmness you need, also.

Mattress firmness isn’t the equivalent of mattress support. Instead, your bed’s firmness impacts how much cushioning it has. Your mattress’s firmness plays a major role in muscle pain and joint relief and comes down to your sleeping position!

“Finding the right mattress surface for different sleeping styles and body types can be difficult. Overall, research shows that firm to medium-firm mattresses are the best options for reducing pain and keeping your spine in a neutral alignment,” says Dr. Burns.

Side Sleepers

Side sleeping is one of the most popular and healthiest sleeping positions. It’s gentle on your spine, good for your breathing, and safe during pregnancy. One issue side sleepers may face is hip and shoulder pain, and even poor spinal support, so it’s important to get the right mattress firmness. Especially if, again, considering a mattress for pregnancy, when many are prone to restlessness from changes in the body.

Side sleepers do best on soft to medium mattresses. These mattresses for side sleepers provide ample hip and shoulder cushioning while still supporting the spine.

Back Sleepers

Back sleeping is another great choice when dealing with chronic back, hip, or shoulder pain. The position is typically gentle on your body but can cause or worsen lower back pain on the wrong mattress.

We suggest mattresses for back sleepers have a medium to medium-firm mattress to promote healthy spine alignment while still cushioning the lower back.

Stomach Sleepers

It’s unlikely that your chiropractor will recommend a mattress for sleeping on your stomach. Stomach sleeping is aggressive on your spine, inhibits your breathing, and is rough on your skin. It worsens back pain, stiffness, and aches, which is why most chiropractors will recommend switching positions.

Of course, changing sleeping positions isn’t always easy. If you want to stomach sleep, use a medium-firm to firm mattress. Firmer mattresses align your spine and won’t cause you to sink—which would otherwise worsen back pain.

FAQs

What is the best mattress for hip and shoulder pain?

Side sleepers dealing with hip and shoulder need soft to medium mattresses. These beds properly cushion the hips and shoulders to reduce numbness, stiffness, and chronic pain. At the same time, softer beds still provide sufficient support to properly align the spine.

Some of the best mattresses for hip and shoulder pain include the Zoma Hybrid, Amerisleep Organica, and Saatva Classic.

Are firm or soft mattresses better for a bad back?

There’s not a specific type of mattress best for a bad back since so many factors affect back pain. Your sleeping position makes the biggest impact on the mattress firmness you need, back pain or not.

Back and stomach sleepers do well with firmer mattresses as they’re resistant to sinking. Try beds such as the Amerisleep AS2 or Saatva Classic. Meanwhile, side sleepers need softer mattresses to cushion their hips and shoulders while supporting the back. We suggest looking into mattresses including the Amerisleep Organica or Zoma Hybrid.

Is memory foam bad for your back?

A common misconception is that memory foam is overly soft and unsupportive, leading to back pain. But this isn’t true. If anything, memory foam is good for your back. It provides excellent pressure point relief and cushions your lower back to prevent pain.

With that, it’s important to choose the right mattress firmness. Your mattress’s firmness—memory foam or not—can make or break your comfort and pain relief. We often recommend medium-firm mattresses to people with back pain for proper support and mild cushioning.

How do you know if your mattress is the wrong firmness?

There are several clear signs if your mattress is the wrong firmness for your needs.

Your mattress may be too firm if:

• You wake up with back, neck, or shoulder pain and stiffness
• Your arm or hand feels numb, tingly, or stiff
• Your mattress does not contour to your body

Your mattress may be too soft if:

• You wake up with lower back pain or stiffness
• You sleep on your stomach and wake up with neck pain
• You struggle to get in and out of bed
• You feel your mattress “bottoming out” when you lay on it

Do you need a softer mattress as you get older?

Being old doesn’t exactly mean you need a softer mattress. However, older adults and elderly people tend to develop joint issues and chronic pain. So, a soft mattress can provide significant pressure relief for these potential issues.

Despite your age, consider your weight and sleeping position to best choose a mattress firmness. This way, your spine is in healthy alignment and your joints are well-cushioned.

Conclusion

You don’t have to deal with chronic pain forever. With the right mattress, you can protect achy joints and muscles and get a good night’s sleep. Use our guide to compare mattress models and better understand what mattress types and firmness levels works best for you. If you buy a mattress using our guide, let us know how it worked for you in the comments!