Buying the best mattress to help with sciatica can be a challenge. Finding a bed that can provide the right pressure relief and help alleviate the pain, or at least not make the pain worse, will depend a lot on your specific sleeping preferences and body type. The overarching idea is to try to find a bed that will put minimal pressure on your lower back while still being supportive.
Firmness level
This will depend on how you like to sleep and finding a mattress to match. Side sleepers will generally want a softer mattress to provide enough pressure relief for shoulders and hips. If you have sciatica and you put lots of pressure on your hips, the pain can be made worse.Â
On the other hand, back and stomach sleepers generally want a firmer mattress to maintain spinal alignment and avoid the lower back and hips sinking below the legs, which can also be bad for sciatica.
Firmness is always subjective based on a person’s body weight, so that is something to keep in mind when shopping for a mattress.
Zoned support
The best mattress for sciatica will offer zoned support. In general, these designs provide more support underneath a person’s hips, which promotes spinal alignment. Maintaining proper spinal alignment can be a pathway to pain relief.
Trial period
For any mattress purchase meant to provide pressure relief and reduce pain like sciatica, taking full advantage of the in-home trial period provided by the brand is critical. If after the first 30 nights of the trial window, your pain levels haven’t improved, it might be worth considering returning it and trying something else.
In our experience, returning a mattress is a pretty easy process, so don’t be afraid to do it. The trial period is there for a reason.