Can sleeping regularly on a hard bed cause permanent damage to one’s hip bones (arthritis, etc.)? Is the pain in the muscles, tendons, etc., or is the bone being damaged?
There are billions of people in the world who sleep on a hard floor, the ground, or a thin mat, and they aren’t any more prone to arthritis than us Americans who all sleep on varying degrees of soft mattresses. I think it’s impossible that a hard sleeping surface would hurt your body.
I suspect (but as usual IANAMD) that it’s close to impossible for a hard sleeping surface to hurt a healthy body. However, anyone with severe mobility issues or poor sensation can certainly get bedsores from lying in the same spot too long and hard surfaces will obviously make that worse, and bedsores can get nasty if they are not looked after.
I sleep on the floor. I love it. Best is to sleep on the back, but on the side is good too.
If your body hurts, it’s probably because the muscles are being stretched. When you get more flexible, the pain will go away. This is all very healthy.
Good luck damaging a calcified rock by sleeping on it, btw.
Yes, if you are prone to problems anyhow. I have an oddly connected sacroilliac area, and if I sleep on a hard surface for a few nights in a row, my burstitis in my left hip flares badly, to the point where it affects my gait. That throws everything else out of whack. My doctor suspects that I have arthritis now in my left hip.
Switching from a futon to an air bed has cured the bursitis, though!
The pain started after I began sleeping full-time on my husband’s hard bed a year and a half ago. My body has not adjusted to it and the pain and stiffness are not getting better. We intend to get a new bed, but I was wondering whether there might be a reason to get it sooner rather than later. Hence the question about permanent damage to the hips.
If any of the replies above are based on medical evidence, I would be interested in knowing. If anyone new would like to respond who has medical evidence, I would be interested in hearing it.
(You’re not my doctor, I’m not your patient, etc…)
You mean your pain is specifically in your hip joint? And you sleep on the side? And the pain is not in the tissue (skin, muscle, etc) that gets pinched between your hip and the bed?
Yes
Your hip has many other things going on that will create and/or exacerbate problems. I would say the sleeping position and or bedding material won’t cause a problem, but if you already have a hip problem, you might have to change how you sleep and/or what you sleep on.
Some people are prone to hip problems… then there are things like lifestyle, gate, nutrition, overall health and weight that would come into play.
If it hurts to sleep on your hip, you should train yourself to sleep on your back instead. MDs and chiropractors agree that this is the healthiest sleeping position for both your muscular-skeletal system and your digestion (flat on back, arms at sides, small firm pillow supporting your neck and head).