Memory Foam for joint trouble?

Lotti · 31-10-2008, 20:11

Well I was going to ask this on a USA based support group for my specific condition but I appear to have been dumped from the mailing list

I am having more and more trouble sleeping due to joint pain (particularly in my knee) and was considering a memory foam mattress but due to their price, thought I'd ask if anyone with joint trouble has any experience with memory foam?

Ta!

medusa · 31-10-2008, 20:15

I know of two people who bought memory foam mattresses due to joint problems, one of which thinks it's fabulous, and the other thinks it's fabulous but can't sleep on the mattress because she constantly overheats when she sinks into it.

Come to think of it, that could be an extra benefit for you

Lotti · 31-10-2008, 20:20

It could, but the blood doesn't pump around my leg so my leg and foot tend to get very warm, which could also make it very uncomfortable...

Decisions decisions!

Thanks

pattricia · 31-10-2008, 20:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lotti

Well I was going to ask this on a USA based support group for my specific condition but I appear to have been dumped from the mailing list

I am having more and more trouble sleeping due to joint pain (particularly in my knee) and was considering a memory foam mattress but due to their price, thought I'd ask if anyone with joint trouble has any experience with memory foam?

Ta!

I do not have joint trouble, but do have a Memory Foam Mattress. They are fantastic, and its like sleeping on a cloud. Well worth the money.

Lotti · 31-10-2008, 20:48

Thanks Pattricia

Any idea where I could get a good quality one at a reasonable price?

duckweed · 01-11-2008, 08:41

Ponden Mills have a memory foam topper which might be an answer if you can't afford the whole mattress. Personally I've found even a good foam mattress can make a difference and you can get one of those even in Aldi these days if you are looking for a single bed one.

Dozy · 01-11-2008, 16:49

T J Hughes quite often seem to have them on special offer.

Edit: linky.

smsm · 01-11-2008, 23:18

I have Hypermobility Syndrome so got a mattress for my joint troubles (mostly upper body). It was very comfortable to sleep on but I woke up every morning feeling like I had flu (the achey in every joint feeling). Now I sleep on a reasonably firm cheap mattress from Ikea and I find I feel much better in the mornings. I prefer to take mornings slowly but at least now I can jump out of bed and get up rather than it taking me ages to because everything hurt and I was tired. I think part of the problem is that it was a very soft one, the whole mattress was foam so it was very squishy. The other part may be due to the fact that I spent a lot of the day in/on the bed as I was sharing a house but as I was mostly sitting up in bed I still think the ache and stiffness in my back was made worse overnight. I do think they could be very helpful but mine was far too soft. I still use a memory foam pillow and although it takes a while to get used to and is never as comfy as a normal one, I now find a normal one strange to sleep on and the pain in my neck is much better after a night on the memory foam one. It's on of the ones that is shaped like two Vs (raised at top and bottom with a dip in the middle) so it might do for your knee? You could put your knee in the dip and see if it helps.

smsm · 01-11-2008, 23:21

P.S. I had a cheap mattress with a memory foam topper on it before I bought the whole mattress (which I am looking to sell if you decide you want one, it was only used for a short time, it's a double) which I found fantastic. It was probably better for me than the whole mattress and I'd still have one if I didn't have a stupid Ikea sized mattress.

Lotti · 02-11-2008, 22:54

smsm, that's a great idea about the pillow! I never even thought of that!

Thanks all for your help. It turns out my BIL had a single MF mattress topper bought for him shortly before he moved in with my sister and got a double one, so he's going to go home and take it off his bed as he says it's barely been used.

So I'll see if that helps!

And I might see about getting a pillow for my knee!

Yellowrose · 07-11-2008, 16:07

I find it helps. I have a memory foam mattress topper. I still get achey but I am better when I sleep on the memory foam than without it. I have fibromyalgia which causes joint pain. Just a normal firm mattress is too hard and causes aches around the knee and hip. Additionally in a morning I have ankle pains when I start to mobilise.

Mind you, I do get quite hot with the mattress topper so this might be a problem for you.

hennypenny · 07-11-2008, 16:31

I have a sprung mattress with a top layer of memory foam, which is absolutely blissful for me, I no longer have anything like as much joint pain as I had before on my old mattress.

The only problem for us is that we do get much hotter with this mattress than the old one, but there are various ways of helping with this, we use layers of thin covers now so we can pull them on and off as we get hotter or colder, rather than using one huge duvet, we have put a cotton topper on over the foam mattress to buffer the heat effect and there are special cooling sheets that you can buy to use with memory foam although we haven't tried them yet.

I have a memory foam topper that I use when I borrow my dads camper van and that has made going on holiday more possible as I can sleep in reasonable comfort.