Sleeping With Shoulder Pain

Sleeping With Shoulder Pain

Barring athletic injuries, shoulder symptoms will most commonly begin in a person’s forties or fifties—seemingly out of nowhere! One day you go to sleep well, and the next morning you wake up with a deep ache in your shoulder. Or maybe you began to notice a sharper discomfort while pulling on your jacket, tucking your shirt into the back or your pants, or ladies—putting on your back-closure bra.

Over the weeks or months that follow, your shoulder pain, which used to only be a daytime annoyance, begins to become a nighttime disturbance. You avoid sleeping on the painful side—yet still your “top” shoulder continues to ache. And even with the best of intentions, you may find you just can’t stop yourself from rolling onto your painful shoulder in the middle of the night. That’s when you experience a painful wakeup call!

Today I want to offer you two quick fix positions which can ease your discomfort, and hopefully restore your sleep. All you need in an extra pillow and a small, soft blanket or towel.

PAINFUL SIDE “UP”: Simply place an extra pillow in front of your chest so your aching arm can rest on top of it. This will help to decompress your shoulder joint. For some, placing that pillow between the side of their trunk and their affected arm brings increased comfort.

PAINFUL SIDE “DOWN”: If your shoulder pain is not as troubling and you long to sleep on your “favorite side”—which just happens to be your “bad shoulder side”—fold a soft towel or blanket and place it between your axilla (arm pit) and the top of your pelvis (most commonly referred to as your “hip”) on the side of your painful shoulder. Side lying with your middle section supported will take some of your body’s weight off of your “difficult” shoulder.

By making these small, but significant changes, you will likely find you experience a more comfortable (and healing) night’s sleep.