How To Relieve Hip Pain From Side Sleeping
Hip pain is never a pleasant experience, but side sleepers experience this frustrating problem more than others.
Side sleeping can contribute to hip pain by placing excess pressure on the joints and muscles. Poor sleeping posture and lack of support make this worse. It’s a common problem, but one you can luckily address!
Knowing how to relieve hip pain from sleeping on your side is critical to a better night’s rest. In this article, we’ll examine why side sleeping causes hip pain and how you can prevent and relieve it so you feel better throughout the night and day.
With these tips, you can boost your overall well-being and enjoy counting sheep!
What Causes Hip Pain From Side Sleeping
Hip pain from side sleeping is mostly caused by prolonged pressure on the hip joint, which leads to discomfort or pain in the area.
The pain can then lead to poor sleep quality and fatigue throughout the day, generally lowering your quality of life. Some studies have shown a link between sleep quality, greater fatigue, and hip pain exacerbation (Fu et al., 2019). So, it’s essential to break this cycle for your well-being.
Other factors may also contribute to hip pain beyond simply sleeping on your side. For example, an unsupportive mattress or the wrong pillow height may lead to improper alignment or a poor sleeping position. This can put even more stress on your hip.
Hip pain during sleep can also stem from muscle tightness or imbalances. Static stretching before and after sleep is a good remedy (Page, 2012).
Medical conditions are another common cause of hip pain while sleeping — bursitis, arthritis, or hip injuries. These are exacerbated when you sleep on your side, causing more pain than they would if you slept in a different position.
Preventing and Relieving Hip Pain From Side Sleeping
Hip pain from sleeping on your side doesn’t have to become a regular occurrence! Once you’ve determined the cause, you can make positive lifestyle changes to relieve pain and prevent future issues.
Here are some best ways to resolve hip pain from side sleeping.
Try Back Sleeping
If sleeping on your side is directly causing hip pain, it might be time to experiment with different sleeping positions. Adopting a new sleeping posture might initially feel unnatural, but you can train yourself to sleep in a healthier position.
Back sleeping takes the pressure off your hip, as you’re instead resting on your back, where your weight will be more evenly distributed.
Sleeping on your back also keeps your spine straightened, meaning you won’t wake up with residual back or neck pain. Other back sleeping benefits include reduced tension headaches, better deep breathing, compression reduction, and many more.
Use an Adjustable Pillow
You can also continue side sleeping, but with a sleep aid to ensure you’re in a healthy side position — with proper spinal alignment and less strain on your hip.
An adjustable or ergonomic pillow helps you maintain proper side sleeping posture while adding extra comfort to your rest.
The Groove Pillow 2.0 adjustable pillow is designed to give side sleepers the support they need. This innovative pillow supports all body shapes with four adjustable panels. Adjust the panels to match your height, and you’ll instantly be more supported overnight.
Pillow Between Your Knees
Similarly to the above, you can add a knee pillow to your sleep routine to enhance the comfort of your side sleeping.
Pillows between your knees relieve hip and lower back pain by reducing extra stress and cushioning the space between your knees. They also help you stop twisting into unhealthy spinal positions during the night.
Learn how to use a knee pillow now
The Groove X knee pillow relieves hip and lower back pain. It provides fast-acting relief and improved sleep quality. Perfect if you’re ready to wake up without hip aches!
Upgrade to a Supportive Mattress
An old or unsupportive mattress may affect your hip pain more than you’d expect.
Upgrading to a supportive memory foam mattress can reduce pain and prevent further aches. This material cushions pressure points and helps align posture overnight. The benefits of memory foam are endless!
Stretch Before and After Sleep
Lastly, you might want to gently stretch your hips before and after bed.
The NHS advises gradually adding these into your routine, starting with one or two until you feel comfortable (NHS inform. (n.d.).
Popular hip stretches include:
- Bridging
- Sideways hip lift
- Standing hip extensions
- Sit-to-stand stretches
When To Seek Professional Help For Hip Pain
You can treat hip pain from side sleeping at home with the techniques above.
However, if the pain persists for more than two weeks, affects your daily mobility, or is accompanied by other symptoms (e.g., swelling or fever), it’s time to seek medical attention from your GP.
Your doctor may refer you to a physical therapist, a professional who can work with you to address the hip pain through targeted exercise and other personalised treatments.
If you experience extreme pain and can’t complete daily tasks or have hip pain due to an injury, consult emergency medical care.
Hip Pain From Side Sleeping - The Conclusion
Experiencing hip pain from side sleeping might make you dread bedtime. However, there are at-home ways to solve this problem, such as through new sleeping positions or ergonomic pillows.
Begin your journey to better sleep today with Groove’s range of specialised memory foam pillows. Read more about the Groove Pillow 2.0 adjustable pillow or see the Groove X knee pillow.
Or learn a little more about us. Read the Groove Pillows story here.
REFERENCES
- Fu, K., Makovey, J., Metcalf, B., Bennell, K.L., Zhang, Y., Asher, R., Robbins, S.R., Deveza, L.A., Cistulli, P.A. and Hunter, D.J. (2019). Sleep Quality and Fatigue Are Associated with Pain Exacerbations of Hip Osteoarthritis: An Internet-based Case-crossover Study. The Journal of Rheumatology, 46(11), pp.1524–1530. doi:https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.181406.
- NHS inform. (n.d.). Exercises for hip problems. [online] Available at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/muscle-bone-and-joints/exercises/exercises-for-hip-problems/.
- Page, P. (2012). Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. International journal of sports physical therapy, [online] 7(1), pp.109–19. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273886/.