Asklemmy

I don't know your age, health, etc, but there are lots of reasons we hurt other than age. Ergonomics, repetitive stress injuries, regular old injuries. It doesn't take much to compound these issues into something that interferes with your life.

I spent the last twenty years sleeping on a mattress that wasn't right for my sleep style. It didn't feel great sleeping on my side and it has a slight divot. I didn't wake up in pain, but it definitely impacted the quality of my sleep.

I recently moved and bought a new tempurpedic. I went in, went through a calibration test of sorts and tried the top recommended matches. Ended up buying the top match, which was way expensive, but I now consistently get the quality of sleep I used to get at best once a week.

Two things: the mattress was $3k, and I still have chronic shoulder pain I manage with home physical therapy.

I guess my point is, the best mattress won't fix a problem not caused by a bad mattress. You might need PT, stretching, or some other physical routine to help manage your particular pain, just like I have special exercises for my shoulder that if I stop, it will start hurting again and prevent me from sleeping on my side, no matter the mattress.

So before you throw down money on a mattress, make sure you rule other reasonable things out, and make sure you understand the return policy. E.g., of you remove the tags you can't return, of there is any discoloration, no return, etc. Just make sure you have the details down pat.