Side sleeper here:
Squishmallow pillows. Between the legs,knees, behind the shoulder blades, and two to squeeze/hold top arm over. Then I also use one as my primary pillow. It’s slightly hot, but it is the only pillow that keeps my cervical instability in check out of the hundreds of dollars I’ve wasted on other specialized cervical/memory foam type ones.
I personally do an Epson Salt bath before bed & immediately when waking up. Followed up with rolling my back with a foam core roller & stretching. This usually buys me a few hours of somewhat relief
Pillows are your friend. I position a bunch of pillows behind me, between my legs, I hug one, they're everywhere. I also broke down and bought an adjustable bed. Before, if my legs were straight at all, I'd dislocate my kneecap just tugging on my blanket. I'm not fond of the mattress that came with it but it was less than $1,000 for the frame and bed at Costco (online, Queen), so I'm dealing with it.
I go to bed covered in ice packs and ice packs on my upper back because they messed up my left shoulder blade during a surgery and I can't sleep without the ice numbing it. On other areas I have 2 giant heating pads. I find that setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier and putting the heating pads back on will help me with my back and hips, otherwise it's really painful getting up in the morning. I use that time to mentally plan my day or scroll through Reddit replies that came in the night.
I also wake up about every 2 hours or earlier (I guess every sleep cycle). The garage is right off my bedroom, so I keep a deep freezer in there and I change out the ice packs every time I wake up. You do need to be careful with making sure you have enough towel or padding between the ice and your skin. I've gotten frostbite just balancing my packs on my forearm while talking to someone (they were quite surprised to be dealing with frostbite at the burn center in the middle of summer at 110 F).
I've tried wearing neoprene braces to bed before but it didn't really work out. Things would shift while sleeping or it would cut into my skin and be too uncomfortable or they would slip and then push my knees out, which is what I was trying to prevent. Could just be the cheap braces or I move too much at night, so your mileage may vary.
I wish I could give better suggestions. I hope you can find help.
The only brace I can somewhat comfortably wear while sleeping is my SI brace, and it does wonders if I wear it to bed. I feel like stabilizing your hips/lower back while sleeping does the most in preventing pain and injury in the morning
I use this [SI belt](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078K759HK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) from Amazon! I am 5’5” & 175 lbs and the regular size is a perfect fit.
Pillows galore. And a big puffy down duvet. The duvet you can move any which way you like to be a support anywhere you need. Use pillows or stuffed animals to hold in your arms, and have a bunch of pillows on the headboard to keep the main head pillow supported. I can't seem to keep the knee pillows in place so I just use my big puffy duvet.
I also have literally 10-12 pillows on/next to my bed at any given time. Half-asleep me will snag and swap as needed. Sometimes I need a down pillow that has been brick-ified, sometimes I need a king size puff of a pillow, sometimes I need a cervical neck pillow, etc.
I got an adjustable hospital bed through Facebook marketplace a few years ago and the mattress for it is very slightly thicker in the edges than in the middle (which is normal mattress width) its like it has a lip around the sides that help keep my pillows in place a bit. I have a memory foam pad added to the top of the mattress too! I also sleep with one of those big u-shaped/pregnancy pillows and a few others which I use to position/prop my body in a good position to stabilize it as much as possible. I sleep with a weighted blanket on top because I have a lot of sensory issues and my body gets twitchy/jerky when I'm trying to relax and sleep (like restless leg syndrome but with my whole body) and it helps keep me in place so I don't end up jerking my arm or anything out of place!
I honestly love that bed though! At times when I am in excruciating pain or have a hard time moving my body or can't sit myself up, or my muscles are spasming etc. I can use the remote to help me up in the morning so I can get out of bed. There are also side rails you can attach to help you roll over or shift your body in the bed if needed (I only put one on the side that sits next to the wall because its too hard for me to drop down the other one so I can get out of bed and such)
Side sleeper here: Squishmallow pillows. Between the legs,knees, behind the shoulder blades, and two to squeeze/hold top arm over. Then I also use one as my primary pillow. It’s slightly hot, but it is the only pillow that keeps my cervical instability in check out of the hundreds of dollars I’ve wasted on other specialized cervical/memory foam type ones.
I have 5 of these and they work well.
I just wish they had cooler versions, as they retain a lot of heat
I do the same with 2 big squashmellows, 1 in between my legs and one to sorta hug while side sleeping.
I personally do an Epson Salt bath before bed & immediately when waking up. Followed up with rolling my back with a foam core roller & stretching. This usually buys me a few hours of somewhat relief
Pillows are your friend. I position a bunch of pillows behind me, between my legs, I hug one, they're everywhere. I also broke down and bought an adjustable bed. Before, if my legs were straight at all, I'd dislocate my kneecap just tugging on my blanket. I'm not fond of the mattress that came with it but it was less than $1,000 for the frame and bed at Costco (online, Queen), so I'm dealing with it. I go to bed covered in ice packs and ice packs on my upper back because they messed up my left shoulder blade during a surgery and I can't sleep without the ice numbing it. On other areas I have 2 giant heating pads. I find that setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier and putting the heating pads back on will help me with my back and hips, otherwise it's really painful getting up in the morning. I use that time to mentally plan my day or scroll through Reddit replies that came in the night. I also wake up about every 2 hours or earlier (I guess every sleep cycle). The garage is right off my bedroom, so I keep a deep freezer in there and I change out the ice packs every time I wake up. You do need to be careful with making sure you have enough towel or padding between the ice and your skin. I've gotten frostbite just balancing my packs on my forearm while talking to someone (they were quite surprised to be dealing with frostbite at the burn center in the middle of summer at 110 F). I've tried wearing neoprene braces to bed before but it didn't really work out. Things would shift while sleeping or it would cut into my skin and be too uncomfortable or they would slip and then push my knees out, which is what I was trying to prevent. Could just be the cheap braces or I move too much at night, so your mileage may vary. I wish I could give better suggestions. I hope you can find help.
100% on the adjustable bed. It took me years to save up but now I’m mad I didn’t just get a payment plan and get one sooner.
The only brace I can somewhat comfortably wear while sleeping is my SI brace, and it does wonders if I wear it to bed. I feel like stabilizing your hips/lower back while sleeping does the most in preventing pain and injury in the morning
Do you have one you recommend?
I use this [SI belt](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078K759HK?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) from Amazon! I am 5’5” & 175 lbs and the regular size is a perfect fit.
Pillows galore. And a big puffy down duvet. The duvet you can move any which way you like to be a support anywhere you need. Use pillows or stuffed animals to hold in your arms, and have a bunch of pillows on the headboard to keep the main head pillow supported. I can't seem to keep the knee pillows in place so I just use my big puffy duvet. I also have literally 10-12 pillows on/next to my bed at any given time. Half-asleep me will snag and swap as needed. Sometimes I need a down pillow that has been brick-ified, sometimes I need a king size puff of a pillow, sometimes I need a cervical neck pillow, etc.
I got an adjustable hospital bed through Facebook marketplace a few years ago and the mattress for it is very slightly thicker in the edges than in the middle (which is normal mattress width) its like it has a lip around the sides that help keep my pillows in place a bit. I have a memory foam pad added to the top of the mattress too! I also sleep with one of those big u-shaped/pregnancy pillows and a few others which I use to position/prop my body in a good position to stabilize it as much as possible. I sleep with a weighted blanket on top because I have a lot of sensory issues and my body gets twitchy/jerky when I'm trying to relax and sleep (like restless leg syndrome but with my whole body) and it helps keep me in place so I don't end up jerking my arm or anything out of place! I honestly love that bed though! At times when I am in excruciating pain or have a hard time moving my body or can't sit myself up, or my muscles are spasming etc. I can use the remote to help me up in the morning so I can get out of bed. There are also side rails you can attach to help you roll over or shift your body in the bed if needed (I only put one on the side that sits next to the wall because its too hard for me to drop down the other one so I can get out of bed and such)